Walleye Dentary From Historic Privy

This dentary (lower jaw bone) was found in CAP's excavation of a privy (outhouse) associated with Saints' Rest, MSU's first dorm which burned down in 1876. Former Campus Archaeologist Autumn M. Painter identified this particular dentary as belonging to a walleye, a fish commonly found in the Great Lakes region and in shallow bays and inland lakes throughout Michigan. Dentaries and other skeletal elements from numerous walleyes were found in the privy, indicating this was a commonly consumed food on campus and possibly locally caught! Other food-related items found in the privy include pork, cow, and possibly sheep/goat bones, fruit seeds, and others. As privies are perfect places to get rid of trash, it is no surprise that in addition to food refuse, items such as ceramic dinner wares, smoking pipes, inkwells, and other types of materials were discovered. Check out Autmun's blog about this topic: http://campusarch.msu.edu/?p=5052 Photogrammetry model created by Jack A. Biggs with Agisoft Metashape.