The North Carolina Department of Transportation Presents
|
|
Hunting
Hunting in the American colonies was both a necessity and status symbol. Among the aristocracy, hunting was a status symbol. Because indentured servants or African-American slaves did most of the physical labor on plantations, aristocrats in the colonies had time to hunt as did the upper classes in England. The average colonial farmer instead had to devote his time to maintaining his farm.
|
|
Perhaps surprisingly, enslaved African Americans also hunted in colonial America. Black slaves brought hunting and fishing skills to the New World from Africa. Although the land was different, the enslaved were able to successfully adapt their skills to the new environment. Slaves hunted primarily with traps, hunted and fished at night when it did not interfere with their daily tasks, and some slaves even hunted with guns.
Archaeologists at the Eden house site found pieces of the settler's guns, called muskets, which were used for hunting and protection. They also found lead shot that was used in the guns, as well as gunflints, which were used to create a spark and ignite the powder in the muskets. |