Report of the Archaeological Investigations of the New Castle Court ...

4.1.1 FAUNAL REMAINS FROM FEATURE 19 (SU E)
NEW CASTLE COURT HOUSE PLAZA
NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE
4.0 ARTIFACT ANALYSIS
The 275 bones that make up the Feature 19 faunal assemblage were relatively evenly distributed
across eleven contexts in excavation units 8, 9, 23, 24, 27 and 28. The greatest concentration of
bones, slightly less than half the total number, was recovered from EU 9. The majority of the
bones were extremely fragmented, weathered, or worn. Due to weathering and fragmentation,
indeterminate remains account for 53 percent of the assemblage (Table 5). Some of the soil from
EU 27, Level 2 was water-screened and it was from this level that at least one mouse, several
small fish bones, and a single rabbit bone were recovered. However, the majority of the
assemblage was composed of the fragmented remains of large food mammals.
Table 5. Faunal Remains Recovered from Feature 19 (SU E)
NISP % NISP MNI % MNI Bioms (kg) % Bioms
Cow; Bos taurus 15 5.5 2 15.4 2.95 32.5
Sheep/Goat; Ovis/capra 11 4.0 1 7.7 0.37 4.1
Deer; O. virginianus 1 0.4 1 7.7 0.15 1.7
Sheep/Deer; Ovis/Cervidae 2 0.7 --- --- 0.11 1.2
Pig: Sus scrofa 6 2.2 1 7.7 0.55 6.1
Large Mammal 10 3.6 --- --- 1.54 17.0
Medium Mammal 59 21.5 --- --- 1.72 19.0
Small Mammal 2 0.7 1 7.7 0.00 0.0
Indet Mammal 128 46.5 --- --- 1.53 16.9
Mouse/Vole; Microtus sp. 5 1.8 2 15.4 0.00 0.0
Rodent Indet 1 0.4 1 7.7 0.00 0.0
Rabbit; Sylvilagus species 1 0.4 1 7.7 0.00 0.0
Large Bird 1 0.4 1 7.7 0.04 0.0
Small Bird 1 0.4 1 7.7 0.00 0.0
Indet Bird 9 3.3 --- --- 0.02 0.2
Indet Fish 12 4.4 --- --- 0.00 0.0
Indet Animal 8 2.9 --- --- 0.00 0.0
Turtle; Terrapene Carolina 3 1.1 1 7.7 0.09 1.0
TOTAL 275 100.2 13 100.1 9.07 99.7
The bones recovered from Feature 19 were dominated by the remains of large food mammals (see
Table 5). These were mostly domestic animals, cattle, sheep, and pigs, but at least one scapula
belonging to a deer was identified. All together, the remains of large and medium mammal
accounted for about 82 percent of the biomass and 38 percent of the NISP. Evidence of butchery
in the form of saw marks was observed on two rib/vertebrae fragments from a medium-sized
mammal and a scapula from a small bird (i.e., pheasant or small hen) appeared to have been cut
through. All three bones were recovered from EU 9 (levels 5 and 6). The assemblage was
representative of at least two cows, one immature as a large section of weathered metapodia was
recovered from EU 28. Eight of the 15 bones identified as cow were tooth fragments while seven
of the 11 identified sheep bones were also teeth. Pig was limited in number and consisted mostly
of toes, although two small sections of a forearm or radius were was identified in EU 9.
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