Urban Livestock in New Orleans: The Zooarchaeology of the French Quarter and Treme

Summary

Urban farmsteads with livestock were an important component of life in eighteenth and nineteenth century New Orleans.  In this presentation historical research and zooarchaeological analysis of faunal remains from sites in the French Quarter and the Treme are used to examine how meat and meat products were processed and discarded in the urban setting.  The archaeological contexts include the public space of St. Anthony’s Garden located behind the St. Louis Cathedral, the Ursuline Convent, and the Rising Sun Hotel.  Preliminary faunal analysis is also included from an 18th century communal ditch in the Treme neighborhood.  These contexts and comparisons with other settings indicate that meat production was often focused in the greater urban setting of New Orleans and surrounding suburbs.  Important aspects of livestock production were carried out by immigrant and African-American populations.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• New Orleans Archaeology at the Tricentennial   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 204