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Hello all, I have recently completely the analysis of a late eighteenth to mid-nineteenth-century farmstead in central Kentucky, USA. A number of features have been excavated, and most, if not all, are thought to have been deposited by the wealthy landowner and family. Here is my dilemma: in an historic context such as this (ca. 1825), if I have geese and turkey identified in the zooarchaeological record, should these be interpreted as being wild or domesticated? I know that turkeys were first domesticated in the New World, but am unsure if this would hold true for any found in an historic context. And what about geese? What makes this situation interesting is that, at this site, the features have a mean ceramic date of 1825, but we have an 1849 estate bill of sale (so approx. 25 years later) that lists geese and turkey (type not specified for either) as being sold at auction from this property. Would these animals be interpreted as wild or domesticated? I think it is feasible for Canadian geese to be on a person's property, and potentially caught and sold as a belonging, without actually being domesticated. I have seen Canadian geese on a number of farm properties, but they were not put there by the landowners, they were merely passing through for the winter. I am not sure exactly how to deal with this for interpretative purposes. Thanks in advance for any help or guidance you are able to send my way! Tanya Peres Tanya M. Peres, PhD, RPA Assistant Director Zooarchaeologist Program for Archaeological Research Department of Anthropology University of Kentucky 1020A Export Street Lexington, KY 40506-9854 859-257-1944 Office 859-323-1968 FAX www.uky.edu/as/anthropology/PAR www.uky.edu/~tmpere2