Foodways of the Florida Frontier: Zooarchaeological Analysis of Gamble Plantation Historic State Park (8MA100)
Mary Maisel
SEPTEMBER 12, 2024 7PM EST IN PERSON EVENT AT: USF St. Petersburg campus Nelson Poynter Memorial Library
The Gamble Plantation sits on the banks of the Manatee River in Ellenton Florida and has been home to a wide variety of occupants since its construction in 1844. Archaeological research at the site has recovered material culture spanning the entire occupation of the estate. One of the most universal aspects of life that these many residents shared is that they all prepared, consumed, and disposed of food and food waste in the same midden on the property. This presentation will discuss the analysis of faunal remains recovered from the 2017 and 2018 excavations of Gamble Plantation, the evaluation of the perceived status of diners through the perceived quality of meat, and think broadly about what this information might suggest about social relationships on the Florida Frontier.
Mary S. Maisel is an archaeologist living and working in Tampa, Florida. Mary holds a Master’s in Applied Anthropology from The University of South Florida, specializing in zooarchaeology with additional skills in human skeletal excavation and analysis. Mary currently works with Archaeological Consultants Inc., Sarasota, Florida. In South Florida, Mary has worked on the Fort Brooke estuary cemetery, Reflections of Manatee’s “Archaeology of Freedom” at Manatee Mineral Springs Park, and several sites featured on 60 Minutes (Grave Injustice). She has previously been employed by the Smithsonian Institution’s Arctic Studies Center where she worked as a field tech and administrative associate. During her time with the Smithsonian, Mary worked at archaeological sites in Newfoundland, Labrador and Quebec, Canada as well as Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, USA.