Chicken Toes and Dominoes: Dining and Recreation at Shirley Heights Fort in Antigua, West Indies

Summary

This is a paper/report submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Shirley Heights (1791-1854) was a military fort located on the former British Caribbean colony of Antigua, constructed during a period of rising tensions from French invasions of British territories and increased resistance of enslaved Africans. Excavations conducted at the Blockhouse of Shirley Heights in 2018 sought to add to the growing body of research on Antiguan military sites and the soldiers who lived and worked there. The primary research goal was to examine how faunal material was differentially utilized according to the class-based divisions between the military men at the fort. Excavations of a kitchen scrap drain associated with the Officers’ Quarters provided insight into the series of last meals prior to the site’s abandonment, as well as butchery and food preparation patterns. In contrast, a hangout spot for soldiers across the road from their own barracks revealed how cattle bone was used to make gaming pieces.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• 2020 SHA General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 895