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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Resurrectionists' Excursions: Evidence Of Postmortem Dissection From The Spring Street Presbyterian Church, Shannon A. Novak, Wesley Willoughby
Resurrectionists' Excursions: Evidence Of Postmortem Dissection From The Spring Street Presbyterian Church, Shannon A. Novak, Wesley Willoughby
Northeast Historical Archaeology
In this paper we contextualize two unique individuals recovered from the historic Spring Street Presbyterian Church burial vaults in lower Manhattan (ca. 1820-1846). The crania of one adolescent and one infant display clear evidence of a craniotomy. Both had complete circumferential incisions to remove the calvarium for internal examination. Both crania were sectioned using a saw, though the adolescent underwent further postmortem preparation: thin scalpel marks indicate defleshing, and metal pins embedded in the frontal and occipital bones would have facilitated disarticulation and rearticulation of the vault, presumably for teaching. By the early 19th century, the illicit exhumation of graves …
The Children Of Spring Street: Rickets In An Early Nineteenth-Century Congregation, Meredith A. B. Ellis
The Children Of Spring Street: Rickets In An Early Nineteenth-Century Congregation, Meredith A. B. Ellis
Northeast Historical Archaeology
This paper examines the prevalence of rickets, or vitamin D deficiency, in the subadult skeletal remains from the burial vaults of the Spring Street Presbyterian Church of New York City. The burial vaults of the church were active from approximately 1820–1846 and contain the remains of at least 86 subadults (minimum number of individuals count [MNI] of left tibiae). Over 34% of the subadult tibiae in this collection display pathology consistent with vitamin D deficiency. Since vitamin D is acquired through access to sunlight and specific foods, a high rate of rickets can give clues about living conditions, parenting strategies, …
Archaeologies Of Disease And Public Order In Nineteenth-Century New York: The View From Spring And Varick, William Werner, Shannon A. Novak
Archaeologies Of Disease And Public Order In Nineteenth-Century New York: The View From Spring And Varick, William Werner, Shannon A. Novak
Northeast Historical Archaeology
The authors situate evidence of disease among the burial population of the Spring Street Presbyterian Church within evolving attitudes towards public health and civic order in 19th-century Manhattan. Two personal vignettes illustrate how individuals interacted with the physical space of the church’s vicinity at different moments in the history of municipal reform. The first, a 16-year-old girl named Louisa, was virtually absent from the historical record until the recovery and analysis of her skeletal remains from the church burial vaults. Her skeletal biography conveys the cosmopolitan nature of Manhattan social relations in the early 19th century and the complex ways …
"That Class Of Person Who Cannot Afford A Pew": Analysis Of The Human Remains From The Spring Street Presbyterian Church Burial Vaults, Thomas A. Crist
"That Class Of Person Who Cannot Afford A Pew": Analysis Of The Human Remains From The Spring Street Presbyterian Church Burial Vaults, Thomas A. Crist
Northeast Historical Archaeology
The analysis of the skeletal remains of 85 people interred between ca. 1820 and 1846 in the vaults of the abolitionist Spring Street Presbyterian Church provides unique insights regarding the biological history of antebellum New York City unavailable from other sources. Even though the sample size is small, the remains reflect the prevalence of infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, nutritional deficiencies, premature deaths, and high infant mortality that characterized the rapidly industrializing city. Among the most remarkable discoveries were a rare case of abdominal cancer; a mother and her full-term fetus in utero buried together; two autopsied children; and a dental …
Stories From The Rubble: Analysis Of Mortuary Artifacts From The Spring Street Presbyterian Church Vaults, Rebecca L. White, Douglas B. Mooney
Stories From The Rubble: Analysis Of Mortuary Artifacts From The Spring Street Presbyterian Church Vaults, Rebecca L. White, Douglas B. Mooney
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Archaeological investigations of the Spring Street Presbyterian Church vaults resulted in the recovery of coffin plates, hardware and other burial-related artifacts that convey information regarding the individuals interred within these chambers. These interments also offer a glimpse at mortuary customs and practices in vault burials during the first half of the 19th century.
Lost Within The Rubble: The Archaeological Findings From The Spring Street Presbyterian Church Burial Vaults, Douglas B. Mooney
Lost Within The Rubble: The Archaeological Findings From The Spring Street Presbyterian Church Burial Vaults, Douglas B. Mooney
Northeast Historical Archaeology
Archaeological investigations of the former Spring Street Presbyterian Church property resulted in the discovery of four stone and brick subterranean congregational burial vaults. In active use for only about 25 years, these chambers were found to contain the remains of more than 200 individuals, including large numbers of children. Excavations revealed that remains had been impacted by both natural and manmade processes at various points in the past; however, a total of 46 discrete burials were identified during the excavations. Findings from these investigations provide much previously unavailable information regarding the structure, internal organization, and preservation of remains within 19th-century …