I have read an account of a private from an IL regiment during the Civil War where in he talks about how he and his fellows find a large bed of mussels in the river next to where they were camped. Believing they were incredibly fortunate, they gathered several hundred of them so as to have a feast. Unfortunately frying them did not work so they tried boiling them. To their chagrin, even after boiling for several hours the mussels were still like rubber and inedible. I believe Lou Brennan also excavated a large Native American mussel midden along the Hudson. Cheryl Claasen also excavated test units through some deeply stratified Native American mussel middens in several different states. KRD -----Original Message----- From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bill Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2013 11:33 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Freshwater mussels on 18th century sites Lyle, The freshwater mussel shells recovered from the site are between three and four inches in length. From what I have read Native Americans sometimes dried or smoked them. Herb Kraft excavated a pit at the Pahaquarra site in the Delaware Water Gap which contained about 7,000 freshwater mussels. I don't know if drying or smoking them would make them less rubbery but I have eaten mussels cooked by professional chefs that were the consistency of chewing gum. Bill -----Original Message----- From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lyle E. Browning Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2013 11:05 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Freshwater mussels on 18th century sites On the question of consumption, assuming you're referring to the 4-5" long shell that is usually black on the exterior (at least the ones I saw in the incredibly polluted Tidewater James River in VA), how were they cooked to be edible? All reports I've had, including one attempt on my own, left a rather large rubber pellet;) Unless they were meant to be consumed as some consume oysters, ie, as sliders. Lyle Browning On Jan 24, 2013, at 10:30 AM, Bill wrote: > Thanks Jim, > > Yes I was aware of the button cottage industry in Delaware, in fact we hit a small deposit on the Route 301 project for DelDOT. No evidence for making button, purely consumption. > > Bill Liebeknecht > > -----Original Message----- > From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jim > Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2013 10:12 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: Freshwater mussels on 18th century sites > > Probably not the case in your situation, but freshwater mussels were used to make shell buttons. Cheryl Claasen published a SHA monograph on the subject. Delaware sustained a cottage industry in making shell button blanks from imported shell, the blanks then shipped to Connecticut for finishing; but this was in the 20th century, ending abruptly in the early 1990s. > > > > James G. Gibb > > Gibb Archaeological Consulting > > 2554 Carrollton Road > > Annapolis, Maryland USA ?? 21403 > > 443.482.9593 (Land) 410.693.3847 (Cell) > > www.gibbarchaeology.net ? www.porttobacco.blogspot.com > > On 01/24/13, Bill<[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Thanks! I will. > > -----Original Message----- > From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Keith Doms > Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2013 9:15 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: Freshwater mussels on 18th century sites > > I think we had 1 or 2 from Block 1191 Wilmington but that is nineteenth century. Check with Alice to see if she had any from Thompson's Loss and Gain. > > KRD > > -----Original Message----- > From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bill > Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2013 9:06 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: Freshwater mussels on 18th century sites > > Recent excavations on an early 18th century site in central Delaware recovered some freshwater mussel shells amongst the faunal remains. > Normally freshwater mussels are associated with Native American sites in the Middle Atlantic region. This presents the possibility of a Native American presence or interaction with the European inhabitants of the site (circa > 1720 to 1735). Several glass seed beads recovered from floatation further support this theory. My question is: Has anyone found freshwater mussel shells on non-Native American 18th century sites in the region? > > Thanks for your input in advance! > > Bill Liebeknecht, MA, RPA > Principal Investigator > Hunter Research, Inc. > Trenton, New Jersey