Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
An Inconvenient Corpse: Settler Adaptation To Winter Death And Burial Through Structural And Oral History, Robyn S. Lacy
An Inconvenient Corpse: Settler Adaptation To Winter Death And Burial Through Structural And Oral History, Robyn S. Lacy
Northeast Historical Archaeology
While the archaeology of death and burial is a popular avenue of research, considerations for burial practices during winter months in northerly climates when temperatures regularly drop below 0°C / 32°F aren’t regularly considered. Excavations in search of the early 17th-century burials associated with Sir George Calvert’s English colony in Ferryland, Newfoundland considered different options for winter body disposal. While burial on land presented the most plausible option in the colonial period, deaths during the winter would have posed a problem for settlers. With limited options for digging in frozen ground, the storage of dead bodies during the …
"Ashes To Ashes And Dust To Dust": Observations On Humanskeletal Taphonomy At Two Historic Cemeteries In Northernrhode Island, Joseph N. Waller Jr.
"Ashes To Ashes And Dust To Dust": Observations On Humanskeletal Taphonomy At Two Historic Cemeteries In Northernrhode Island, Joseph N. Waller Jr.
Northeast Historical Archaeology
This paper reports on a study of human bone taphonomy at two historic period cemeteries in northern Rhode Island. The analyses demonstrate that various local factors contributed to the degradation of human bone at the two cemeteries under investigation. Factors investigated as part of this study include soil pH, soil texture, time elapsed since burial, and the age of the deceased at the time of death. The . study concludes that soil texture and soil permeability were more correlated with bone deterioration at the two historic cemeteries than soil acidity, which is commonly assumed to cause rapid bone deterioration in …