Archeological and Palynological Analysis of Specimens and Materials Recovered in Two Historic Period Privies and a Well in Saint Alice Revetment, Saint James Parish, Louisiana

摘要

The historical background, environmental setting, and the previous archeological investigations at the Welcome Plantation site along the St. Alice Revetment, St. James Parish, Louisiana is summarized. Fieldwork by Coastal Environments, Inc. on two historic privies and a well resulted in a variety of historic period cultural material which is analyzed in this report. Dating of the features was based upon ceramic and glass artifacts and confirmed the hypothesis that the site was late 19th century. The ceramics, glass, and metal artifacts were all common on farmsteads and plantations at that time. Faunal remains present in the features indicated a dependence on domesticated cow and pig, although eggs, fish, and oysters were also present. Botanical studies indicated that plant foods in diet included anise (or caraway), tomatos, chili pepper, squash, watermelon, grape, hackberry, and maize. Socioeconomic status of the privy users was ambiguous because of the relatively sparse quantity of artifacts and because of a lack of comparative data for the area. The suggestion is made that the dietary differences in the two privies may reflect seasonal differences in the availability of certain foods. (Author)