In my extensive review of Havana royal warehouse account records from the
1760s through the 1820s, I found no mention of lamb or mutton in any of the
numerous lists of purchases of meat, which was pretty much dominated by
beef, pork, and to a lesser extent fish, which is likely to reflect the
products available to Cuban fishermen based across the harbor in Regla
during the period. The records I have are less complete for the period
from 1800 through the 1820s, however, so it's possible there might be some
sporadic evidence for it there. The Tampa area fisheries lasted well into
the 1830s during the American period, so I wonder if the archaeological
evidence you've found might reflect the late supply of lamb/mutton from
American or other sources. Also, there was quite a bit of trade with the
Lower Creeks (particularly Coweta) and nascent Seminoles during this
period, and so I wonder if they might have been a potential source as
well. My impression is that Cuba is an unlikely source of this meat, given
the totality of the records I've seen for the period.
John
--
John E. Worth, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology
University of West Florida, 11000 University Parkway, Pensacola, FL 32514
Phone: (850) 857-6204 Fax: (850) 857-6278
Email: [log in to unmask]
Home Page: http://www.uwf.edu/jworth
Graduate Advising Resource Page:
http://www.uwf.edu/jworth/teaching.htm#Advisement
2012 Field School Blog: http://pensacolacolonialfrontiers.blogspot.com/
On Fri, Dec 28, 2012 at 3:40 PM, Leo Demski <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hello and happy holidays to all! Thanks to everyone who replied to my
> earlier question about typologies, especially horseshoes- you guys are
> great, and helped out immeasurably!
> This listserv is such a great resource, like a continually changing
> roundtable discussion. Thanks to everyone who has kept it going these many
> years...you rock and have my continued admiration and appreciation...(you
> know who you are, though I want to also single out Anita for her unbridled
> awesomeness)... {thunderous applause to everybody!}
>
> Now then, as for my question- we are trying to identify some bones from
> the site of an 18th century Cuban Fishing camp (Rancho) on the west coast
> of South Florida. They appear to be lamb, but we were not certain if
> there's a way to tell lamb from mutton, or if that's even a worthwhile
> distinction. In the present day, lamb is more of a specialty/special
> occasion ingredient in Cuban cuisine, but we wondered if anyone knows about
> economic factors/social status regarding lamb meat vs. mutton in the past,
> especially in the hispanic diaspora.
>
> The difference between the two is that "lamb" typically refers to a young
> sheep under 12 months old which has no permanent incisor teeth, whereas
> "mutton" refers to sheep older than a year, who have more than two
> permanent incisors. Of course, what we found are butchered bones, without
> teeth, so this distinction seems somewhat difficult.
>
> In other cultures, mutton has often been considered a less desirable,
> though cheaper (and tougher) meat, and therefore more available as a food
> source to the poor; lamb on the other hand was more tender/desirable but
> also more expensive and thus eaten largely by the rich/elite. We are
> trying to evaluate if this might apply to the late 18th century Cubans as
> well- any suggestions or ideas?
>
> Thanks,
> -Leo Demski
> Archaeological Assistant
> Sarasota History Center
> [log in to unmask]
> (941) 861-6891
>
<http://pensacolacolonialfrontiers.blogspot.com/>
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