Dental Health and Activity Indicators in the Burials from the Godet Cemetery

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Exploring Globalization and Colonialism through Archaeology and Bioarchaeology: An NSF REU Sponsored Site on the Caribbean’s Golden Rock (Sint Eustatius)" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Sint Eustatius (Statia) is a Dutch Caribbean island with historical evidence of three main cultural groups: native people, people of African descent and people of European descent. As a hub of 18th century trade for various colonial powers, Statia is an important location for using archaeological and forensic bioarchaeological analyses to study globalism and colonialism. Examination of the dentition from burials from an 18th century cemetery excavated between 2012 and 2018 was conducted to explore dental health and activity patterns of individuals interred in this cemetery. Teeth from both adults and subadults, likely of African ancestry, were available for analysis. This study employs evidence from dental caries, enamel attrition, dental calculus, and enamel defects to assess dental health and diet. Activity indicators, such as antemortem chipping and wear facets, were also documented. Despite belonging to an enslaved and/or marginalized population, dental health during childhood and adulthood was relatively good. Chipping on the facial surface of some anterior teeth suggests the use of teeth for grasping hard objects, such as straight pins. The presence of pipe facets paired with the biological ages of some individuals indicate they were younger tobacco smokers.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Exploring Globalization and Colonialism through Archaeology and Bioarchaeology: An NSF REU Sponsored Site on the Caribbean’s Golden Rock (Sint Eustatius)   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25825