Faunal analysis table of the privy contents excavated in 2014


This file appears in: A Privy Full of Goat Skulls: The Archaeology of 936 St. Peter Street
Faunal analysis table of the privy contents excavated in 2014

Animal remains from one 10 cm level within the privy were fully analyzed in the archaeology laboratory at the University of New Orleans. A rough sorting of the remaining faunal material indicated that the analyzed sample was representative of the whole faunal assemblage. Each bone within the analyzed sample was identified to the most precise taxonomic level possible. Man-made alterations to the bones were also recorded along with several other interpretive categories. A total of 1,416 bones or bone fragments were recorded. Of those, 457 were identified to family, genus, or species. When the Percent NISP (or Number of Identified Specimens) was calculated for the ten identified taxa, Caprine bones and fragments comprised over two-thirds (69%) of the identified specimens. Goats and sheep are notoriously difficult to differentiate skeletally, and, thus, elements falling into the sheep/goat range are generally identified as Caprine.


This file appears in: A Privy Full of Goat Skulls: The Archaeology of 936 St. Peter Street