Seventeenth-century foodways of british puritans at preacher’s cave, Eleuthera, Bahamas: zooarchaeological and historical evidence

British colonization of the Bahamian island of Eleuthera began in the mid-­‐ seventeenth century with the arrival of Puritans who came from Bermuda, seeking refuge from religious
persecution. Funded by a group of British investors called the Eleutherian Adventurers, This first group of settlers shipwrecked and took refuge in a cave, now known as Preacher’s Cave, where they adapted to the island’s maritime tropical environment. Archaeological excavations conducted at Preacher’s Cave recovered a large quantity of faunal remains. This thesis presents an analysis of these materials and compares the resultant findings to existing historical records pertaining to this settlement. Whereas historical sources document chronic shortages of imported food supplies, the archaeological faunal assemblage demonstrates that the Preacher’s Cave settlers relied primarily upon available resources of the sea and nearby habitats.