A Zooarchaeological Study of Households and Fishing in Charleston, South Carolina, USA, 1710–1900

A zooarchaeological study of fish remains deposited between 1710 and 1900 within a large urban center provides information about households, social hierarchies, and fisheries. Charleston (South Carolina, USA) is an international seaport founded on the southern Atlantic coast of North America in 1670. Fish were important in the city’s cuisine and economy, with Africans involved in many aspects of the fishery. Fish in upper-status townhouse zooarchaeological assemblages are more diverse but from lower trophic levels compared to assemblages from other contexts. This fishery largely focused on in-shore waters until the mid-1800s, when changes presaging those of the twentieth century occurred.