The Starving Time at Jamestown Faunal Analysis of Pit 1, Pit 3, the Bulwark Ditch, Ditch 6, Ditch 7, and Midden 1 James City County, Virginia Report submitted to: William M. Kelso Jamestown Rediscovery Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities Submitted by: Dr. Joanne Bowen and Susan Trevarthen Andrews October 2000 Table of Contents Page List of Figures ............................................................................................................... iii List of Tables................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgments ...........................................................................................................v Introduction .....................................................................................................................1 Faunal Evidence ..............................................................................................................1 A Study of Ca. 1610 Jamestown......................................................................................5 Medieval Cuisine.............................................................................................................5 The Starving Time...........................................................................................................9 Fish.........................................................................................................................11 Turtles ....................................................................................................................12 Snakes ....................................................................................................................13 Birds.......................................................................................................................14 Mammals................................................................................................................16 Commensal Mammals ............................................................................................18 Famine...........................................................................................................................21 Surviving the Famine .............................................................................................22 Conclusion.....................................................................................................................27 Bibliography..................................................................................................................29 Appendix A. Description of the Faunal Remains ..........................................................41 Methods..................................................................................................................41 Recovery Rate ........................................................................................................41 Lab Techniques ......................................................................................................41 Analytic Techniques...............................................................................................43 Relative Dietary Estimates ..............................................................................43 NISP................................................................................................................43 Minimum Number of Individuals....................................................................44 Usable Meat Weight........................................................................................44 Biomass...........................................................................................................45 Taphonomy ............................................................................................................45 Age Data.................................................................................................................46 Taxa Identified .......................................................................................................47 Crustaceans .....................................................................................................48 Bermuda Fish ..................................................................................................48 Jamestown Fish ...............................................................................................51 Reptiles/Amphibians .......................................................................................58 Bermuda Turtles..............................................................................................58 Jamestown Turtles...........................................................................................59 Snakes and Vipers...........................................................................................60 Bermuda Birds................................................................................................61 Jamestown Birds.............................................................................................63 Wild Mammals................................................................................................67 Commensal Mammals.....................................................................................71 Domestic Mammals.........................................................................................72 Humans ...........................................................................................................75 Fishing and Hunting ...............................................................................................75 Taphonomic Analysis.............................................................................................78 Relative Dietary Importance...................................................................................81 i Table of Contents (cont’d) Page Kill-Off Patterns.....................................................................................................86 Element Distributions and Cuts of Meat ................................................................89 Butchering and Cuts of Meat..................................................................................92 Appendix B. Summary Tables.......................................................................................97 Appendix C. Kill-Off Data ..........................................................................................109 Appendix D. Element Distributions.............................................................................137 Appendix E. Butchering Charts...................................................................................143 Appendix F. Osteological Measurements....................................................................145 ii List of Figures Page 1. 17th Century Chesepeake, Relative Dietary Importance, Wild vs. Domestic ................................................................................................3 2. 17th Century Chesepeake, Relative Dietary Importance, Sturgeon ....................10 3. 17th Century Chesepeake, Relative Dietary Importance, Cattle vs. Horse .........21 List of Tables Page 1. Early Jamestown Assemblages, ca. 1610, Biomass Percentages ..........................7 2. Assemblages Analyzed .......................................................................................42 3. Taxa Identified....................................................................................................49 4. Pit 1, Taphonomic Influences .............................................................................79 5. Pit 3, Taphonomic Influences .............................................................................79 6. The Bulwark Ditch, Taphonomic Influences ......................................................80 7. Ditch 7, Taphonomic Influences.........................................................................80 8. Ditch 6, Taphonomic Influences.........................................................................81 9. Midden 1, Taphonomic Influences .....................................................................81 10. Combined Features, Element Distribution..........................................................91 11. Pit 1, Summary of Faunal Remains.....................................................................99 12. Pit 3, Sequence A, Summary of Faunal Remains..............................................101 13. Pit 3, Sequence B, Summary of Faunal Remains..............................................102 14. Bulwark Ditch, Sequence A, B, and C, Summary of Faunal Remains..............104 15. Bulwark Ditch, Sequence D, Summary of Faunal Remains..............................105 16. Ditch 7, Summary of Faunal Remains ..............................................................106 17. Ditch 6, Summary of Faunal Remains ..............................................................107 18. Midden 1, Summary of Faunal Remains...........................................................108 19. Pit 1, Age Distribution Data, Pig ......................................................................111 20. Pit 3, Sequence A, Age Distribution Data, Pig .................................................112 21. Pit 3, Sequence B, Age Distribution Data, Pig .................................................113 22. Bulwark Ditch, Sequence A, B, and C, Age Distribution Data, Pig .................114 23. Bulwark Ditch, Sequence D, Age Distribution Data,