The Life History of an Enslaved African: Multiple Isotope Evidence for Forced Childhood Migration from Africa to the Caribbean and Associated Dietary Change

J. E. Laffoon; R. Espersen; H. L. Mickleburgh

doi:10.1111/arcm.12354

The Life History of an Enslaved African: Multiple Isotope Evidence for Forced Childhood Migration from Africa to the Caribbean and Associated Dietary Change

J. E. Laffoon^*, R. Espersen, H. L. Mickleburgh

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Archaeological excavations of an enslaved African domestic area at the Spring Bay Flat plantation on the island of Saba, Dutch Caribbean, uncovered a small concentration of artefacts (shell, metal nails, animal bones and five human teeth) overlaid with a lock hinge, interpreted as a lockbox and its contents. Dental anthropological and multi-isotope (strontium, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen) analyses of the teeth revealed that they belonged to a single individual who originated from Africa and survived a period of pronounced nutritional stress as a juvenile. The results provide rare insights into the life history of an individual who probably experienced enslavement, (forced) migration from Africa and adaptation to plantation life in the colonial-era Caribbean.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	350-365
Number of pages	16
Journal	Archaeometry
Volume	60
Issue number	2
Early online date	4 Feb 2018
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.12354
Publication status	Published - Apr 2018

Funding

RE received funding from the EUROTAST project (2011–15), which was supported by the European Union through the Marie Curie Actions [grant number FP7-ITN-2011-290344], and pursued new avenues for studying the European Transatlantic Slave Trade. JEL and HLM are funded by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC Synergy grant agreement no. 319209. At the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, we thank Suzan Verdegaal-Warmerdam and Remy van Baal for their contributions to the stable isotope measurements, and Robin van der Velde for her assistance with the processing of the samples. We are very grateful to SABARC for granting permission to study the Saban archaeological collections.

Funders	Funder number
EUROTAST
Seventh Framework Programme
FP7 People: Marie-Curie Actions	FP7-ITN-2011-290344
European Commission
European Research Council	319209

Keywords

Caribbean
dentine
diet
enamel
isotopes
juvenile
migration

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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AB - Archaeological excavations of an enslaved African domestic area at the Spring Bay Flat plantation on the island of Saba, Dutch Caribbean, uncovered a small concentration of artefacts (shell, metal nails, animal bones and five human teeth) overlaid with a lock hinge, interpreted as a lockbox and its contents. Dental anthropological and multi-isotope (strontium, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen) analyses of the teeth revealed that they belonged to a single individual who originated from Africa and survived a period of pronounced nutritional stress as a juvenile. The results provide rare insights into the life history of an individual who probably experienced enslavement, (forced) migration from Africa and adaptation to plantation life in the colonial-era Caribbean.

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The Life History of an Enslaved African: Multiple Isotope Evidence for Forced Childhood Migration from Africa to the Caribbean and Associated Dietary Change

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

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