Stable Isotope Analysis of African Slave Burials from the Grassmere Plantation, Nashville, Tennessee

Summary

Carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of dental apatite from a captive slave population (ca. 1840s) from the Grassmere Plantation (now the Nashville Zoo) in Tennessee is examined to reconstruct childhood diet and determine whether individuals were local to the Middle Tennessee region or forcefully moved from another locale. Among the 19 burials recovered, enamel apatite was obtained from 11 individuals, representing 3 juveniles and 8 adults (3 males, 4 females, and 1 unsexed). At least two teeth per individual were sampled to examine dietary changes through childhood. Preliminary results show that the δ13C values range from -9.8 to -1.7; mean δ13C = -4.18. Agricultural census data for the Grassmere Plantation in 1850 shows that maize, a C4 plant, was the primary crop (2,590 bushels), followed by oats (600 bushels) and potatoes (150 bushels). The δ13C data suggest that while most of the captive slave individuals had access to maize, it was not equitably distributed. The δ18O values range from -5.4 to -3.4; the mean δ18O = 4.15. This suggests a shared water source that was likely of local origin.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage