"More For Delight Than To Multiply": An Analysis Of A Potential Animal Membrane Condom Using Zooarchaeology By Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS)

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

This paper presents an analysis of a tentatively identified animal membrane condom from the colonial Oxon Hill Manor Site (18PR175) in Maryland using Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) to identify the taxon from which the artifact was made. Taxonomic identification of the condom allows for more in-depth exploration of the relationship between colonial livestock industries and industries related to venereal disease prevention. The results provide a starting point for future research into the trade, manufacture, and possible importation of colonial prophylactic devices and their role in shaping broader colonial attitudes towards sexual health and hygiene. Our results also provide insight into the effects of modern preservation processes on the collagen structure of faunal membrane artifacts required for successful identification using ZooMS. Such information will inform the use of conservation practices that will preserve the integrity of similar membranous artifacts for ZooMS and other molecular analyses in the future.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow