Zooarchaeology and the Siege of Fort Stanwix: Reconstructing an American Revolution Landscape

Summary

Recently, National Park Service archeologists at Fort Stanwix National Monument, Rome, N.Y., excavated a previously undisturbed feature after an inadvertent discovery was unearthed during trenching to connect city water to a new fire suppression system at the reconstructed fort. Data recovery and laboratory analysis of artifacts confirmed the feature dated to the siege of Fort Stanwix by British forces during August 1777. Observations of taphonomic signatures present on faunal remains indicate food waste and other unwanted material was discarded over the wall of the fort and collected in acidic gravelly soils. The refuse was eventually capped with clay. Faunal remains lying at the edges of the clay cap exhibit deterioration from exposure to the acidic soil while the osseous material enveloped in the clay cap was better preserved. These taphonomic markers observed in the field and laboratory contribute to an understanding of feature formation processes of the American Revolution landscape.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Poster Submission 2018   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 812