Pig Feet and More: Analysis of a Historic Faunal Sample from Ellensburg City Block 24
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC Ballroom C/D
Start Date
15-5-2014
End Date
15-5-2014
Keywords
Ellensburg, Historic Faunal Analysis, Archaeology, 19th Century, Pig, Chicken, Cattle, Dog, Cat, Bones
Abstract
City Block 24 in Ellensburg, Washington, was occupied by Euroamericans and overseas Chinese starting in the late 1800s. A 1989 community archaeology project excavated a portion of downtown and recovered cultural materials mostly from the late 1800s and early 1900s. The excavated fauna was not analyzed or reported at the time. My project involved examining all of the fauna recovered from half (18) of the 5 x 5 foot excavation units, a sample of 457 specimens. Identified taxa are dominated by domesticated species, including pig, cattle, chicken, dog, and cat, but there is also one wild species, pheasant. Most of the modified bones were saw-cut, except for the chicken, dog, and cat elements. Pig bones were primarily lower limb, foot elements and vertebral remnants of pork chops. Unlike other sites from the 19th century West Coast, most of the identifiable bones were pig and chicken instead of cattle.
Recommended Citation
Taylor, Allie, "Pig Feet and More: Analysis of a Historic Faunal Sample from Ellensburg City Block 24 " (2014). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 119.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2014/posters/119
Poster Number
34
Additional Mentoring Department
Anthropology and Museum Studies
Pig Feet and More: Analysis of a Historic Faunal Sample from Ellensburg City Block 24
SURC Ballroom C/D
City Block 24 in Ellensburg, Washington, was occupied by Euroamericans and overseas Chinese starting in the late 1800s. A 1989 community archaeology project excavated a portion of downtown and recovered cultural materials mostly from the late 1800s and early 1900s. The excavated fauna was not analyzed or reported at the time. My project involved examining all of the fauna recovered from half (18) of the 5 x 5 foot excavation units, a sample of 457 specimens. Identified taxa are dominated by domesticated species, including pig, cattle, chicken, dog, and cat, but there is also one wild species, pheasant. Most of the modified bones were saw-cut, except for the chicken, dog, and cat elements. Pig bones were primarily lower limb, foot elements and vertebral remnants of pork chops. Unlike other sites from the 19th century West Coast, most of the identifiable bones were pig and chicken instead of cattle.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Lubinski, Patrick