Botanical remains from a seventeenth-century privy at the Cross Street Back Lot site

Abstract

Botanical remains, including some 250,000 individual seeds and pits, were recovered from the late 17th-century Cross Street Back Lot privy (Feature 4). Analysis of 23 flotation samples taken from 9 contexts has revealed a sequence of events related to the different uses of the privy prior to its final capping. The predominant uncharted floral remains offer a detailed look at the use of native and non-native fruits, nuts, and spices and at the prevalence of weedy or adventive plant species in the urban north end of late 17th-century Boston.