Ye Pleasant Mount: 1989 1990 Excavations - Open site which ...

lent fauna group was domestic animals, which were represented by 20 % of the MNI and
78 % of the biomass. Wild terrestrial animals and estuarine species contrihuted 31 % of
the MNI and 21 % of the biomass for the total species assemblage at the Thomas Hird
Lot.
Reitz and Honerkamp (1983), using the data from the Thomas Hird Lot primarily,
have identified a subsistence strategy for early historic settlers in the southeastern Coastal
Plain. They determined that English settlers modified the English subsistence strategy (term
the English barnyard complex by Anderson 1971) to fit the ecological and social constraints
of their new country. The English subsistence pattern for meat in the diet was based on
the consumption primarily of domesticated species. These included goats, sheep, aged
cows, swine, domesticated rabbits, and several domesticated fowl. Only a small portion of
the meat diet incorporated wild foods; these consisted mostly rabbit, deer,and a few
offshore marine fishes. The New World adoption to this pattern continued a preference
toward domesticated species, primarily cow, pig and chicken. Sheep, which were a
significant component of the English diet, became nominal in the southeasterners' diet.
More supplementation of wild foods also developed. Deer, rabbit, turkey and estuarine
fishes and turtles were the most favored.· These changes can be attributed to the increased
availability of these animals. In much of Europe by the eighteenth century only the
wealthy and privileged classes could hunt wild game because of the limited number
available. Sheep may have become less favored in the Southeast because of many diseases
they were susceptible of and because of the extra care needed to protect them from
predators.
The fort site of Michilimackinac, located on the Straits of Michilimackinac in
Michigan, offers an interesting comparative· study from a different region. Fort
Michilimackinac has been studied extensively during the last two decades. Elizabeth Scott
(1985) recently examined French subsistence at the Fort from 1715 to 1781. She found
that the French priest's diet during the earliest occupation (1715-1730) of the fort was
more heavily dependent on wild species. The sample used for this period was extremely
small, however, and may be unreliable. During the period of 1730-1761, Scott determined
that French subsistence showed decreased use of mammals but with an increased use of
fish and wild bird species. None of the mammal bone was identifiable to a species. The .
British period (1761-1781) occupation showed a dramatic increase in mammal and bird, but
a decrease in fish species. Domesticated mammal species (cow and pig) were identified
for the first time during this period.
Scott concluded that the French missionaries and other early inhabitants of the fort
adopted a diet similar to the aboriginal diet. This probably resulted from the lack of easy
access to imported foods (the fort was isolated more than forts farther to the east). Later,
during British occupation imported foods became more readily available and therefore an
increased reliance on domesticated species occurred (Scott 1985). The British period at
8