Bioarchaeological Analysis of Human Skeletal Remains from the Historic First Baptist Church Cemetery, Philadelphia (ca. 1700–1860): Preliminary Results

Summary

The inadvertent discovery of the historic First Baptist Church of Philadelphia cemetery resulted in the recovery of a large sample of human skeletons composed of commingled remains as well as discrete individuals associated with intact coffins. Analysis of the skeletal remains prior to reburial provides insight into demography, behavior, and living conditions among members of this congregation interred circa 1700-1860. While preservation of the remains is variable within the cemetery, preliminary results include a paleodemographic profile consistent with high infant and childhood mortality. Moderate prevalence rates of developmental enamel defects are also indicative of physiological stress experienced during early childhood. In addition to paleodemographic and paleopathological trends, we present the osteobiography of an adult male exhibiting multiple well-healed traumatic injuries and evidence of autopsy—a form of postmortem examination that appears infrequently in public cemeteries dating to this period.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22425