The question of the ultimate origin of African slaves is one of the most perplexing in the history of trans-Atlantic slavery. Here we present the results of a small, preliminary isotopic study that was conducted in order to determine the geographical origin of 25 enslaved Africans who were buried at the Newton plantation, Barbados, sometime between the late 17th and early 19th century. In order to gain a more nuanced understanding of the slaves' origin, we used a combination of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and strontium isotope analyses. Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were determined in bone and dentinal collagen; oxygen and strontium isotopes were measured in tooth enamel. Results suggest that the majority of individuals were born on the island, if not the estate itself. Seven individuals, however, yielded enamel oxygen and strontium ratios that are inconsistent with a Barbadian origin, which strongly suggests that we are dealing with first-generation captives who were brought to the island with the slave trade. This idea is also supported by the fact that their carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values differ markedly between their teeth and bones. These intra-skeletal shifts reflect major dietary changes that probably coincided with their enslavement and forced migration to Barbados. While it is impossible to determine their exact origins, the results clearly demonstrate that the slaves did not all grow up in the same part of Africa. Instead, the data seem to suggest that they originated from at least three different areas, possibly including the Gold Coast and the Senegambia.

Although the interpretation of entheses has undergone considerable discussion recently, the role of interobserver error, especially in comparative contexts, has been only sporadically addressed. Using standards developed by Hawkey and Merbs, currently the most widely used system, rates of reproducibility were evaluated in two prehistoric North American skeletal series. Eight observers of varying experience levels scored 17 long bone entheses, representing both fibrous and fibrocartilaginous attachment types, on 58 individuals. Results showed rates of reproducibility to be only marginally higher than what would be expected by chance alone. Observer experience level did not appear to be a factor nor was attachment type. As might be predicted, those entheses enjoying the highest rates of reproducibility exhibited relatively smooth attachment morphology and/or less defined boundaries whereas those with the lowest rates displayed the greatest range of surface morphology expression. Possible explanations for the levels of interobserver error observed include difficulties in reducing the highly variable enthesis morphology to a few discrete categories, categories that encompass too many criteria, and use of vague terminology in describing morphological features. Consequently, comparison of data across studies by different observers, especially those not trained by the developer of a given scoring method, must be undertaken with great caution. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Lead was ubiquitous on Caribbean sugar plantations, where it was used extensively in the production of sugar and rum. Previous studies suggest that skeletal lead contents can be used to identify African-born individuals (as opposed to Creoles) among slave burials found in the New World. To test this hypothesis, we measured lead concentrations in enamel samples from 26 individuals from the Newton Plantation cemetery in Barbados, which was in use from around 1660 to 1820, and compared the results with enamel (87) Sr/(86) Sr measurements that had been previously obtained for the same population. Results show a clear association between low (i.e., below 1 ppm) enamel lead concentrations and higher enamel (87) Sr/(86) Sr ratios which have previously been interpreted as being indicative of African birth, suggesting that individuals with low enamel lead levels were indeed born in Africa as opposed to the New World. Based on these results, we propose that enamel lead measurements provide an effective and inexpensive way to determine African birth from skeletal remains. Furthermore, the lead measurements can provide useful insights into the health status and childhood environment of enslaved Africans during the colonial period.

Despite the rise in African Diaspora bioarchaeology, poor preservation and sampling bias has impeded Caribbean research. Paleodemography and infectious diseases are assessed here for 46 skeletons exhumed in 1997-98 from a slave cemetery at Newton Plantation (ca. 1660-1820). Life expectancy is closer to historic predictions than in earlier craniodental studies. High rates of periosteal infection were encountered but no evidence of specific skeletal diseases. Absence of sequelae does not support Newton as a healthy population relative to others. Rather, extreme stress, particularly for Newton females, is evidenced by the lowest relative mean age at death of any diaspora skeletal sample, and many mild to moderate lower limb infections in men, women and adolescents attest to injuries on the sugar gangs. Activity stress and abuse, coupled with disease and malnutrition, culminated in high mortality and replacement. This first comprehensive study of health on a Caribbean sugar plantation contributes to a growing biology of the African Diaspora and over three decades of Newton Plantation research. Specifically, it demonstrates the importance of systemic, multidisciplinary and comparative approaches to reconstructing the complex life stresses of slavery.

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