Finny Merchandise: The Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) Trade in Gold Rush–Era San Francisco, California

Conrad, Cyler; Desilva, Upuli; Bingham, Brittany; Kemp, Brian M.; Gobalet, Kenneth W.; Bruner, Kale; Pastron, Allen G.

doi:10.1086/716744

Finny Merchandise: The Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) Trade in Gold Rush–Era San Francisco, California

Journal Article · Fri Oct 29 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Journal of Anthropological Research

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/716744· OSTI ID:1879368

^[1]; Desilva, Upuli ^[2]; Bingham, Brittany ^[3]; Kemp, Brian M. ^[4]; Gobalet, Kenneth W. ^[5]; Bruner, Kale ^[3]; Pastron, Allen G. ^[6]

Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States); Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)
Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (United States)
Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States)
California State University, Bakersfield, CA (United States)
Archeo-Tec: Consulting Archaeologists, Oakland, CA (United States)

During California’s Gold Rush of 1849–1855, thousands of miners rushed to San Francisco, Sacramento, and elsewhere throughout northern California, creating a significant demand for food. In this work, we investigate the role of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and Pacific cod (G. macrocephalus) during the Gold Rush era using historical records, ancient DNA, and vertebral morphology in the cod assemblage recovered from Thompson’s Cove (CA-SFR-186H), a Gold Rush–era site in San Francisco. From the 18 cod bones recovered from Thompson’s Cove, our analysis of five specimens for ancient DNA indicates that Atlantic cod were imported during the 1850s, likely as a (largely) deboned, dried and salted product from the East Coast of the United States. Curiously, while locally available in very deep waters off the California coast, Pacific cod were minimally fished during the 1850s and became abundantly available in the 1860s after an Alaska-based fishery developed.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: 89233218CNA000001

OSTI ID:: 1879368

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-19-28226

Journal Information:: Journal of Anthropological Research, Journal Name: Journal of Anthropological Research Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 77; ISSN 0091-7710

Publisher:: University of Chicago PressCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (18)

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59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Ancient DNA
Cod
Gadus microcephalus
Gadus morhua
Gold Rush
San Francisco
Zooarchaeology

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