`Fried chicken belongs to all of us': The Zooarchaeology of Enslaved Foodways on the Long Green, Wye House (18TA314), Talbot County, Maryland

Abstract

This project analyzes the zooarchaeological remains excavated from three slave quarters, located on the Long Green of the Wye House Plantation (18TA314). The zooarchaeological data used dates from about 1650 until 1865. The dissertation focuses on how the late 18th century - archaeologically c. 1770 - was a period of immense change at Wye House and this caused coinciding changes in food consumption. Faunal data is combined with historical and archaeological information to assess the validity of utilizing African-American food patterns. The dissertation interrogates the role of archaeologists in reifying racism and in the reproduction of inferior histories for African-Americans based on dominant narratives. The research incorporates the consideration of other social, political, historical, and economic variables to assess the development of local and regional cuisines. This dissertation evaluates why designations of Soul Food and African-American foodways emerged, how this cuisine compares to Southern Cooking, and the ideologies behind keeping the two cuisines separate.