Final answer:
The Pilgrims likely feasted on turkey and squash during the first Thanksgiving due to turkeys being native to North America and both items being staples in the diet and agriculture of the time, fostered by the collaboration with Native Americans.
Step-by-step explanation:
Why the First Thanksgiving Featured Turkey and Squash
The famous 'first' Thanksgiving in 1621 marked the Pilgrims' celebration of their first successful harvest in the New World. According to Edward Winslow's account in Mourt's Relation, the feast included foods like venison, fish, fowl, and beer. There was an abundance of ducks and geese, and the Massasoit brought deer to the feast. While turkey is not explicitly mentioned by Winslow, it was common in the area, and turkeys were native to North America and had been previously brought to England from the Americas before English settlers reintroduced them to New England.
Regarding squash, the Pilgrims and Native Americans cultivated crops such as corn, wild rice, squash, and pumpkins, which were inherently significant to the regional diets and thus likely to have been part of such a feast. Foods like squash represented the fruitful exchange between the Pilgrims and Native Americans and the bounty of their first harvest together, exemplified by the help from indigenous people like Squanto who taught the Pilgrims vital agricultural techniques.
The origins of Thanksgiving are deeply rooted in the historical exchange between the Pilgrims and the Native peoples, and the inclusion of turkey and squash on the menu was a reflection of the available food resources and agricultural practices of the time. The native wildlife and the crops that were successfully harvested contributed to the sustenance of the settlement and therefore were fitting choices for a celebration of thankfulness.