I just took a look at the article The History of Boston in 13 Objects from Boston Magazine. Nothing was too out of the ordinary, except for item #3, a cat skeleton. The description to go along with the skeleton is:
In 18th-century Boston, the dark arts occasionally trumped sensible Puritan values, as this unfortunate domestic cat can attest. Its skull was intentionally smashed in, and then its bones were carefully placed in an earthenware bowl and buried under the threshold of the Three Cranes Tavern, a Revolutionary-era watering hole in what is now Charlestown. Chances are this unfortunate feline was a sacrificial offering to fend off evil spirits. As bizarre as it sounds, many a dead cat has been discovered under the thresholds and hearths of homes throughout the U.S. and Europe.
I've never heard about anything like that before, and it's particularly surprising to hear about it in Boston because of its Puritan roots. Is this article correct? If so, how common were these sacrifices and the superstitions behind them? Where did this practice come from?
EDIT: Sorry about the mistake in the title, it should be 18th century US and Europe.
Good news! The Boston City Archaeologist agrees that it's completely bizarre. There's a lot that I don't know here, but I'd mention that there's also African precedents for burying sacrificial animals under thresholds. There were certainly Africans—slave and free—in Boston during the 18th century, some of whom were certainly employed as carpenters and barkeeps, so this might be pulling on African traditions as well. Cool stuff.