From Frontier to Farm Town: Subsistence and Diet in Old Wethersfield, Connecticut, 1636-1750

Summary

Recent excavations at the Webb-Deane-Stevens (WDS) museum in Wethersfield, CT, resulted in the discovery of deeply-buried portions of the 17th- and early 18th-century landscapes. The stratified deposits contain a rich assemblage of domestic artifacts, personal items, architectural materials, food remains, and cultural features. The preservation of these deposits is excellent and the faunal assemblages include large and medium mammal bones, as well as small mammals, birds, fish, and eggshell. English colonists first arrived on the site in the 1630s as part of the initial Wethersfield settlement and were among the first Europeans to settle Connecticut. Incorporating the methods of ethnohistory and historical archaeology, this study examines the WDS faunal remains in the context of primary accounts of hunting, fishing, animal husbandry, and diet to shed light on the ways European settlers adapted to the Connecticut frontier and, in turn, impacted the local environment. The data also helps us to understand how English foodways and food procurement strategies evolved as the Connecticut Colony became more established in the 18th century.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21709