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. In this work, we investigate the role of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and Pacific cod (G. macrocephalus) during th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Anthropological Research
Main Authors: Conrad, Cyler, Desilva, Upuli, Bingham, Brittany, Kemp, Brian M., Gobalet, Kenneth W., Bruner, Kale, Pastron, Allen G.
Language:unknown
Published: 2023
Subjects:
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Pacific
atlantic cod
Gadus morhua
Alaska
Online Access:http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1879368
https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1879368
https://doi.org/10.1086/716744
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. In this work, 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.

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