Kristrina A. Shuler

Childhood Lead Exposure in an Enslaved African Community in Barbados: Implications for Birthplace and Health Status

Lead was ubiquitous on Caribbean sugar plantations, where it was used extensively in the production of sugar and rum. Previous studies suggest that skeletal lead contents can be used to identify African-born individuals (as opposed to Creoles) among slave burials found in the New World. To test this hypothesis, we measured lead concentrations in enamel samples from 26 individuals from the Newton Plantation cemetery in Barbados, which was in use from around 1660 to 1820, and compared the results with enamel (87) Sr/(86) Sr measurements that had been previously obtained for the same population. Results show a clear association between low (i.e., below 1 ppm) enamel lead concentrations and higher enamel (87) Sr/(86) Sr ratios which have previously been interpreted as being indicative of African birth, suggesting that individuals with low enamel lead levels were indeed born in Africa as opposed to the New World. Based on these results, we propose that enamel lead measurements provide an effective and inexpensive way to determine African birth from skeletal remains. Furthermore, the lead measurements can provide useful insights into the health status and childhood environment of enslaved Africans during the colonial period.

CHALLENGES IN APPROACHES TO SKELETAL STATURE ESTIMATION: AN EXAMPLE FROM PREHISTORIC EASTERN MISSISSIPPI AND WESTERN ALABAMA

Abstract Although stature is used widely as a bioarchaeological health indicator, its determination and subsequent interpretation are not always straightforward. A study of 77 individuals from eight prehistoric populations from the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway illustrates this issue. Application of three common stature estimation formulae to five Middle/Late Woodland and four Mississippian groups strongly suggests that use of partial versus whole bone, choice of element, and stature estimation method can create disparate patterns in health interpretation, not only for the direction of differences but particularly regarding the degree of differences among groups.

Evaluating Alcohol Related Birth Defects in the past: Skeletal and biochemical evidence from a colonial rum producing community in Barbados, West Indies

Alcohol Related Birth Defects (ARBD) are yet undocumented among past communities, although alcohol is the leading cause of non-heritable birth defects in the US today. We evaluate potential ARBD at Newton Plantation, Barbados (ca. 1660-1820), where earlier studies suggest frequent, community-wide consumption of lead-tainted rum by enslaved Africans. Skeletons excavated in 1997-1998 (n=45) were examined for congenital anomalies, using clinical/experimental descriptions to differentially diagnose possible ARBD. Enamel lead data served as a proxy for developmental exposure to tainted rum in a subsample (n=26). Elevated enamel lead (3.8μg/g), vertebral synostosis, and micrognathism in one subadult fit expectations for exposure. An adult male with low enamel lead (0.3μg/g) had congenital anomalies, but not those described with ethanol or lead exposures. Contrary to expectations, we did not identify ARBD in most individuals, including those with isotopic signatures of Barbadian origin who also showed consistently elevated dental lead levels. We discuss how such patterns may have emerged from timing of exposures and colonial medical practices, but underreporting remains a likely concern with ARBD, past and present. Ours is the first attempt to explore developmental signatures of alcohol use archeologically. We report the first possible case of ARBD from a past community.

Upper limb entheseal change with the transition to agriculture in the southeastern United States: A view from Moundville and the central Tombigbee River valley

We analyzed entheseal change in 159 skeletons from Moundville and surrounding settlements using primary fibrocartilaginous attachments of the upper limbs. Risk of entheseal change did not differ bilaterally, suggesting a wide variety of activities were used to exploit a diverse ecosystem. Consistent with predictions, Mississippian (1000-1500 CE) agriculturalists experienced greater risk of entheseal change than did Late Woodland (500-900 CE) hunter-gatherers. Attachments used in arm flexion were most affected, while rotator cuff entheses remained consistent over time. A temporal increase in muscular changes in males in concert with faunal evidence for resurgence of larger game (e.g., deer) is consistent with continued reliance on hunting alongside domestication of maize. Among Mississippians, younger males appear to have been carrying out the most strenuous tasks, contrary to earlier studies that suggested a decline in male activities with domestication. Mound centers consistently experienced the greatest upper body changes, in spite of faunal and botanical data supporting provisioning of elites by outlying sites. Center males, respectively, experienced more than 26 and 12 times greater changes at elbow extensors and brachialis than those from outlying settlements, with a significant decline from young to middle age among adults. Center females experienced increased risk at biceps insertions and common extensors of the humeri - trends that disappeared with age. Overall findings suggest increased upper body demands and shifting sex and age-dependent divisions of labor with maize intensification, but trends across settlements point to significant status-related body size selection in center males, with fewer differences among females.