Animal Remains
Animal bones and marine items were largely confined to the refuse pits previously discussed, although a few garbage bones and oystershells had been spread around the site in the course of the bulldozing. Bones from the pits comprised the usual range of ox, pig, and deer remains that are to be found amid the garbage of most colonial sites. A group of the less readily identifiable bones were submitted to the Smithsonian Institution for examination and the following identifications were provided:
Left humerus, wild duck, (white-winged scoter, Melanitta deglandi). From T.N. 17.
Fibula of pig (Sus scrofa), domestic. From T.N. 17.
Shaft of humerus, domestic goose. From T.N. 22.
Mandible of possum (Didelphis sp. marsupialis, subsp. virginiana), edible. From T.N. 22.
Mandible of "marine gar," or needlefish, of the Belonidae family, probably Strongylura marina (Walbaum), a very common sea fish in this area, which runs in fresh water, and is frequently eaten. From T.N. 24.
Figure 12.—Colono-Indian cup excavated at Williamsburg which is comparable to a fragment from Tutter's Neck (fig. 18, no. 17). Height, 3-7/8 in.
Also submitted for examination were specimens from a number of scallop shells, which were plentiful in Pits C and D, and examples of mussel and clam shells from Pit C. The identifications were as follows:
Fresh water mussel of a type eaten by the Indians, Elliptio complanatus. From T.N. 18.
Fossil clam, Glycymeris sp. From T.N. 18.
Fossil scallop of a variety no longer living in this area. From T.N. 22.
The identification of the scallop as being fossil was somewhat surprising in view of the prevalence of such shells in Pits C and D. However, it should be noted that Pit E (T.N. 24) contained a fragment of fossil whale rib. Such bones are plentiful in the Tidewater marl beds and are frequently found on the shores of the James and York Rivers.