Foodways in colonial western Pennsylvania: An analysis of faunal remains from Hanna's Town (36WM203)

The following research examines faunal remains from three areas of the Historic Hanna's Town site in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. With the cooperation of the Westmoreland County Historical Society and Indiana University of Pennsylvania, faunal remains from three specific areas of the site were carefully analyzed in order to answer general questions regarding the subsistence practices and sociocultural diversity of eighteenth century western Pennsylvania frontier communities and their residents. Topics such as taxonomic abundance, skeletal frequencies, butchering practices, and indicators of ethnicity and socioeconomic status are addressed using standard zooarchaeological methods. For each area, proportions of domestic game versus that of wild game are discussed, as well as the ways in which the cuts of meat present and the butchering practices employed vary. This analysis reveals specific elements of Western Pennsylvania colonial frontier life that have not previously been discussed relative to the Hanna's Town community.