Forgotten Families of the Furnace: Ancestral Origins and Genetic Relationships Reflected in Death

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Retrospective: 50 Years Of Research And Changing Narratives At Catoctin Furnace, Maryland", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In 2015, funding was awarded to the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society to provide data-grounded interpretation of a cemetery and its skeletal remains (circa 1790-1840) previously impacted by development. Phase I involved updated analysis, including assessments of demography, bone and dental pathology, and isotope studies, with the data compared to other historical skeletal series in the Mid Atlantic. Phase II examined population heterogeneity using genome-wide ancient DNA (aDNA). Results from 27 of the 33 enslaved and free laborers at the furnace confirm that these individuals are primarily of African ancestry, with European admixture in some. Five maternal groupings were recognized, consisting of siblings and mothers and their children. Other genetic markers associated with health, including Sickle-cell disease, were also noted. This research lends insight into the origins and relationships of those in the cemetery, burial patterns, and the social and biological effects of iron working on this marginalized population.  

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023   •
• Retrospective: 50 Years Of Research And Changing Narratives At Catoctin Furnace, Maryland

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow