Analysis of the faunal remains from the 1985 excavations at Occaneechi Town yielded results that were similar in many ways to analysis results following 1983 and 1984 field seasons. Deer, bear, turkey, and catfish provided a majority of the meat represented by the two assemblages. Pig, mountain lion, and raccoon were also important in the 1983-1984 assemblage. Overall, the 1983-1984 assemblage contained a much wider variety of species than the 1985 assemblage. It has been suggested (Ward 1984b) that the refuse contained in the fill of many of the burial pits from the Fredricks site represent the remains from ritual feasts. If so, it is not surprising that more unusual species would be identified in the fill of these pits than in the fill representing refuse from everyday behavior.
Nearly 88% of the faunal remains recovered during the 1983-1984 excavations were retrieved from burial fill, whereas only 4.6% of the remains from the 1985 assemblage were from burial fill. This difference in contexts from which the faunal remains were derived may account for the greater variety of species in the 1983-1984 assemblage. Except for this difference, analysis of the faunal remains from the 1985 assemblage provided solid confirmation of the patterns of faunal exploitation defined by the 1983-1984 analysis. European-domesticated animals did not play a major role in the subsistence patterns of the Occaneechi, and basic patterns of faunal exploitation remained similar to those employed in late prehistory.