"Some interest has been expressed in regard to the diet of the children": The Documentary and Archaeological Implications of Food at the Dorchester Industrial School for Girls.

Summary

         The "flora" portion of past diets tends to be an aspect of archaeological assemblages that becomes partially inferred, rather than completely recreated. When they exist, documentary records such as purchase lists and recipes can suggest dietary preferences. Archaeologically recovered macrobotanical assemblages display a concrete portion of consumption practices, but within the constraints of showing a small percentage of plant material that only survives in certain preservation environments. While many archaeological sites do not posess these sets of information, the Dorchester Industrial School for Girls has both. This paper compares detailed documentation of donated foodstuffs and planned meals listed in the school’s Annual Reports to results of a macrobotanical analysis conducted on samples taken from the site in order to recreate the diet of the site’s inhabitants. It also provides a critical discussion of the disparities between the two evidential sources and their implications on future attempts to recreate past foodways. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018   •
• Schoolhouse Rock! 400 Years of Race, Gender, and Class in Boston Area Educational Institutions

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 880