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

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. Here we investigate the role of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and Pacific cod (G. macrocephalus) during the Gold Ru...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of anthropological research 2021-12, Vol.77 (4), p.520-549
Main Authors: Conrad, Cyler, Desilva, Upuli, Bingham, Brittany, Kemp, Brian M., Gobalet, Kenneth W., Bruner, Kale, Pastron, Allen G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ancient DNA
Archives & records
BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Bones
Cod
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
Gadus microcephalus
Gadus morhua
Gold Rush
Morphology
San Francisco
Zooarchaeology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary: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. Here 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.
ISSN:0091-7710
2153-3806
DOI:10.1086/716744