12 Adam R. Heinrich Brock Giordano Late-Nineteenth-Century Foodways in the “Garden State” at the Woodruf House, Rahway, New Jersey: Insights from Small Faunal and Large Macrobotanical Samples ABSTRACT Excavations of a late-19th-century property in Rahway, New Jersey recovered a rich privy deposit related to the prominent Woodruff family. Food remains in the privy include a small amount of faunal material and a very large macrobotanical collection that stand as a benchmark providing insights into the food consumption of the afluent and the development of New Jersey’s identity as the “Garden State.” Introduction Archaeological faunal and botanical remains provide invaluable information about historical behaviors. By the 19th century, people living in urban areas relied increasingly on local markets for their food, while urban lots were less com- monly used for keeping livestock, gardens, and orchards. Food remains found in urban contexts can provide archaeologists with information about consumer behavior in regional and local market networks. Regionally, market systems, involving distant or nearby farms raising stock or produce for sale in the urban markets, can be recon- structed (Reitz 1986; 2007; Landon 1996, 1997; Bowen 1998; Zierden and Reitz 2009; Heinrich 2010; Heinrich and Schrire 2011). Locally, it is possible to illuminate household consumption pat- terns, socioeconomic status, gendered spheres, and cuisine (Schulz and Gust 1983; Heulsbeck 1987, 1991; Lyman 1987; Mrozowski et al. 1996:59–65; Shackel 2000:85–97,139–145). One of the irst lessons archaeology students learn is the importance of sample sizes. Archaeologists seek appropriate samples because distinct replicable patterns allow more conident identiication and attribution of historical behaviors to social groups (South 2002:43). The importance of large sample sizes has been the focus of a wide range of zooarchaeological literature, particularly that concerned with wild-game use in prehistoric times. In these contexts, attention is drawn to questions about faunal diversity and whether smaller samples truly encompass the range of animals exploited (Grayson 1978, 1979, 1981, 1984:116–130; Cruz-Uribe 1988; Meltzer et al. 1992; Lyman 1995; Cannon 2001; Lyman and Ames 2007). In historical archaeology, large sample sizes are valuable for the same reasons they are important in archaeological investigations of other time periods. Small samples may overlook the full range of consumption behaviors and overemphasize aberrations. While large sample sizes are generally sought, this article illustrates that small faunal-sample sizes may also provide clear and valuable information unobscured by issues of long periods of accumulation, numerous depositional agents, or large amounts of hard-to- identify bone fragments. At the Woodruff House (28-UN-42), a late-19th-century privy (ca. 1870–1890) context from Rahway, New Jersey, yielded a small faunal sample that gives an interesting perspective on meat consumption and market reliance within an urban context. Recovered along with the faunal remains was a very large macrobotanical sample. The macrobotanical sample reveals that a great diversity of plant foods was consumed at the site. Historical patterns of meat and plant use are poorly understood for New Jersey; therefore, these inds help increase the archaeo- logical knowledge of historical food consumption there. These inds also place the Woodruffs and Rahway into a temporal and regional context of cuisine and food supply in a state that prides itself on being an historical agricultural leader nicknamed the “Garden State.” The Woodruffs in Rahway Rahway, New Jersey, was sparsely settled during the later 17th century. By the 19th century the area was a budding urban center accessible by the Rahway River and the rail Historical Archaeology, 2015, 49(4):12–29. Permission to reprint required. Accepted for publication 24 September 2014.