A Zooarchaeological Analysis of Vertebrate Remains From Chota-Tanasi, A Historic Cherokee Village in East Tennessee

This study involves the examination and analysis of a faunal sample from the historic Overhill Cherokee village of Chota-Tanasi (4MR2-40MR62), Monroe County, Tennessee. A total of 33,385 pieces of bone was examined in an effort to determine which animals were utilized by the Cherokee and the probably importance of each species in the Cherokee diet. Analyses of this material showed that deer, bear, and turkey were the most important animals contributing to the meat diet. Ethnographic and historic sources suggest that the introduction of trade guns may have led to increased exploitation of the bear. Available data indicate that bison and elk were rarely included in the Cherokee diet. Although larger mammals provided the bulk of the meat utilized, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds were important supplemental sources.

The introduction of European domestic stock and how it may have altered or replaced the use of native species were also investigated. Domestic animal bones from the site include horse, pig, chicken, and probably cow. Since very few bones of these animals were found, domestic species may have only been infrequently used by the Cherokee. The Chota faunal sample thus failed to show extensive use of domestic animals in the middle and late eighteenth century; this is in contrast to historically documented evidence. Animals represented in the faunal sample also were evaluated in terms of their cultural role in the Cherokee belief system, which includes myths, sacred formulas, magic, remedies, and cures.