Scientific and Historical Analysis of Dis-articulated Human Skeletal Remains from James Fort, 1607 - (1615?)

Summary

The Jamestown Rediscovery Project has investigated early colonial burials, but the vast majority of Jamestown graves remain unexcavated. However, the continuous and evolving occupation of the site throughout and beyond the James Fort period means that disarticulated human bones are periodically discovered within sealed, fort-period contexts that are not graves. The fill layers of a fort bulwark trench, an early fort well, and the cellar of an early work building all yielded partial human crania over the course of the 20 year project before ‘Jane’s’ discovery. These examples tell their own stories, answering some questions and presenting new ones about where they came from and how they were deposited in unexpected contexts.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Survival Cannibalism at Jamestown, Virginia: A Case Study in Interdisciplinary Historical Archaeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-62,09