Humans Remain: Bioarchaeology and Community at the Historic First Baptist Church of Williamsburg

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Individuals Known and Unknown: Case Studies from Two Burial Contexts at Colonial Williamsburg" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

We present the results of osteological analysis of human remains excavated at the original site of the historic First Baptist Church of Williamsburg, Virginia. The goals and parameters of our analysis were defined through a process of public engagement evolved from the ethical framework of the New York African Burial Ground Project. Limited by poor preservation conditions, skeletal and particularly dental assessment nonetheless yielded information deemed vital by community members. We determined the ancestral remains of three excavated individuals to be those of a late teen of indeterminate sex, an adult male, and a probable adult male. The presence of dental caries, calculus and hypoplasia suggests overall poor dental health, and abnormal occlusal wear for one individual (Burial 13) indicates his possible occupational use of the dentition. Most importantly, our findings helped to confirm the African American descendant community’s long-held claim to the site and rich legacy of one of the nation’s oldest churches. This project demonstrates both the value and potential of publicly-engaged bioarchaeology as a means of community creation, engagement, and empowerment. ***This presentation will include images of human remains.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Individuals Known and Unknown: Case Studies from Two Burial Contexts at Colonial Williamsburg   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 41661.0