Archaeology on the Half Shell: Preliminary Analysis of Shellfish Consumption at Coan Hall (44NB11), Virginia

Summary

Coan Hall is the site of the first English settlement on the Northern Neck of Virginia, established by John Mottrom, an English merchant-planter, around 1640. Mottrom resided there with his family, servants, and slaves until his death in 1655. His descendants occupied the house until the early 18th century. It was situated on the banks of the Coan River, a brackish tributary of the Potomac River that empties into the Chesapeake Bay.

Representative samples of shellfish, predominantly those of eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica), will be analyzed from primary contexts at Coan Hall that represent three temporal periods: 1640s-1660s, 1670s-1680s, and 1710s-1720s. These periods correlate with phases of household occupation and with the demolition and filling of a large basement beneath the dwelling with domestic refuse from the nearby early 18th-century house that replaced Coan Hall.

Quantitative analyses will demonstrate whether there are measurable differences in the shellfish remains between contexts. We will establish whether shellfish were exploited from single versus multiple habitats and whether shellfish deposits represent single versus multiple harvesting episodes. This research will demonstrate the importance of shellfish to the diets of early settlers and explore the relationship between early colonists and the landscape of the Chesapeake Bay.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20837