Cats and Dogs in Late 18th Century Philadelphia Society
Author(s): Marie Pipes
Year: 2019
Summary
This is an abstract from the "Zooarchaeology, Faunal, and Foodways Studies" session, at the 2019 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.
Cats and dogs have lived with humans for thousands of years. Our relationship with both species evolved and changed over time as their social importance in Euromerican culture shifted from being working animals to status symbols, especially during the 18th century. Unlike other domesticated species, their remains tend to be poorly represented in archaeological deposits. That is due to differential disposal methods used for pets as opposed to food waste. Excavations at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, PA, exposed large faunal deposits containing the remains of hundreds of cats and dogs. This paper explores the social context for cats and dogs in late 18th Philadelphia, describes the cat and dog assemblages, and discusses the physical evidence for different breeds of dogs.
Cite this Record
Cats and Dogs in Late 18th Century Philadelphia Society. Marie Pipes. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, St. Charles, MO. 2019 ( tDAR id: 449090)
This Resource is Part of the Following Collections
Keywords
General
cats
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Dogs
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Social Relationships
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Zooarchaeology
Geographic Keywords
United States of America
Temporal Keywords
Late 18th Century
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 235