Slave Subsistence at the Upper South Mabry Site, East Tennessee: Regional Variability in Plantation Diet of the Southeastern United States

Archaeologists have identified patterns in the archaeological record of plantation sites which they attribute to the status differences of the plantation inhabitants; however, most of these investigations have been restricted to the coastal areas of the deep South. Recent excavations at plantations in Tennessee have provided the opportunity to compare this coastal subsistence pattern with data from two plantations in the Upland South. This thesis compared eight faunal assemblages from four plantations, two coastal and two inland contexts, in order to investigate whether inland plantations exhibit the same patterns which have been identified on coastal plantations. Faunal remains were used to compare dietary diversity, to examine habitat exploitation and to investigate skeletal portion utilization. Faunal assemblages from coastal plantations have revealed a fairly consistent pattern in which a lot of wild species of animals from a wide variety of habitats are represented. Slave assemblages contain a lower diversity of species than planter assemblages although both seem to exploit most of the habitats which are locally available. Slave assemblages are comprised mainly of head, back and foot portions of pig and cow while planter assemblages contain meatier portions such as steaks, roasts, hams and chops. The means of analysis used in this thesis suggest a different interpretation of coastal plantation subsistence. Slave and planter assemblages did not differ in terms of the number of species which were exploited but planter assemblages did contain more specimens from more costly habitats. Planter assemblages are not comprised mostly of high yield carcass portions but instead contain a greater proportion of middle yield portions. This analysis also indicated a difference in subsistence patterns between coastal and inland plantations. While coastal plantation residents relied most heavily on aquatic animals such as fish and reptiles, residents of inland plantations relied most heavily on mammals. Differences between the environments do contribute to the differences in animal group use but other things such as the economic base and type of labor system in use on the plantations appear to be contributing factors