Feasting on Broken Glass: Making a Meal of Seeds Bones and Sherds
by Mary C. Beaudry

Drawing on various lines of evidence that provide insight into late 18th- and early 19th-century episodes of dining at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury, Massachusetts, I explore ways in which historical archaeologists can move from discussions of food and foodstuffs to explore menus, meals, and dining. I argue that by drawing together many lines of evidence—food remains such as bones, seeds, and shells; documentary sources; and ceramics, glassware, and utensils—archaeologists are able to “feast” upon the evidence and to go beyond merely reporting on what people ate in the past.