SLAVE DIET AT MONTICELLO

The results of a detailed analysis of the faunal remains from the slave dwelling known as Building o at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's well-known Virginia plantation, do not conform with the expected slave quarter faunal pattern in that more complete carcasses and higher quality cuts of meat are represented. The bone assemblage contrasts with the lower quality meats found in the Storehouse at Monticello, which also is thought to have been occupied by slaves. This raises the issue of differences in meat diet within the slave community at Monticello, and it is suggested that either higher status or a complex taphonomic history involving the deposition of mixed plantation refuse may explain the patterning that is present. © The Society for American Archaeology 1990.