Explorations

1. What does Rothschild’s approach to research tell us about the lives and eating habits of 18th and 19th Century New Yorkers?
2. Based on Rothschild’s research, what are the effects of geography, culture, class, or ethnicity on the eating habits of early New Yorkers? Have New Yorkers’ eating habits changed over time? If so, what factors contribute most to changes in our eating habits?
3.  Rothschild presents an excellent introduction to the techniques of historical archeology. What kind of information about the lives of early New Yorkers are best revealed by her techniques?  What aspects of colonial New York culture does her approach miss?
4.  Summarize Rothschild’s “faunal” research of the African Burial Ground. What does her research reveal about the lives of the people buried at this site?