Chew, Chew: The Zooarchaeology of a Twentieth-Century Railroad Depot in Ogden, Utah

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In 1979 and 1980, archaeologists at Weber State University conducted excavations at the historic site of Fort Buenaventura in Ogden, Utah. Beyond a few posts, the excavations yielded few pieces of Fort Buenaventura's history but did uncover a rich archaeological legacy related to the adjacent Union Pacific railroad depot from the 1880s-1940s. Since the 1860s, Ogden has been a hub for railroad traffic and operations, and artifacts uncovered over 40 years ago tell a story of the decadent life of railroad dining as evidenced by serving ware, food and beverage bottles, and thousands of animal remains. Now scholars from the State Historic Preservation Office, Salt Lake Community College, and Aims Community College are turning their attention to the faunal assemblage and historical records to better understand what types of meat were on the railroad's menu in the early 20th century. Zooarchaeological analyses of species identification and butchery practices have unveiled details about meat transport, processing, consumption, and disposal, demonstrating the value of re-examining curated collections.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52502