Zooarchaeology and Commerce at the Old Village of St. Louis: An Examination of the Berger Site (23SL2402)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "From Iliniwek to Ste Genevieve: Early Commerce along the Mississippi" session, at the 2019 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Since 2013, Missouri Department of Transportation archaeologists have investigated grounds that are being impacted by rehabilitation of the Poplar Street Bridge in downtown St. Louis, an area that was part of the original village that was platted in 1764. Late in 2016, excavations at the Berger site revealed possible wall trenches, a large ash-filled pit, and a shallow basin that were related to 18th-century occupations in City Block 41. As one of six French colonial properties in the project area, this site is unique in having artifacts suggestive of trade with distant native communities. Refuse deposits also furnished much larger samples of animal remains than any of the other properties, and these provide a zooarchaeological perspective on local and distant animal resources that were acquired by Euro-Americans on the west side of the Mississippi River for local consumption and for export.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2019   •
• From Iliniwek to Ste Genevieve: Early Commerce along the Mississippi

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 240