Childhood lead exposure in an enslaved African community in Barbados: Implications for birthplace and health status

Abstract

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.

Biogeochemical evidence for residence, diet, and health of theWoman in the Iron Coffin(Queens, New York City)

“…Enamel 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values of Woman in the Iron Coffin (WIC; Table ) compared with those of South American/Caribbean burials and New York burials. Burial data taken from Goodman et al (), Price et al (), Schroeder et al (, ), Nystrom et al (), and Bastos et al (). Boxes represent general 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ranges of various bedrock ages/lithologies (data from Goodman et al, ; Hodell et al, ; Price et al, ) and New York (Goodman et al, ; Nystrom et al, )…”

“…Lead (Pb) concentrations (ppm) of Woman in the Iron Coffin (WIC; Table ), Colorado Mental Health Institute of Pueblo, CO (CMHIP) burials (Keller et al, ), New York African Burial Ground (NY ABG) burials (Goodman et al, ), and Newton Plantation, Barbados, burials (Schroeder et al, ). After methods of Schroeder et al (), Pb concentrations are delineated into five grades of health problems: none, mild (nausea), moderate (vomiting, colic, weakness, and convulsions), severe (severe colic, marked weakness, and frequent convulsions), and very severe (severe colic, spasms, paralysis, and coma)…”

“…Hill (VA) reported in France et al () and dated to the 18th and 19th centuries. Pb concentrations (ppm) were contrasted to those of the enslaved Black peoples of the Newton Plantation (Schroeder, Shuler, & Chenery, ) and from the New York African Burial Ground (Goodman et al, ). Pb concentration data were also compared with those of the late‐19th‐century burials associated with the Colorado Mental Health Institute of Pueblo, CO (CMHIP), which include Black peoples and other ethnic, racial, and cultural groups interpreted to have originated across the United States and Europe (Bower et al, ; Keller et al, ).…”

“…These include the Newton Plantation, Barbados (Schroeder, O'Connell, Evans, Shuler, & Hedges, 2009), which ranges in age from the late 17th to early 19th centuries; the large 17th-century cemetery in Campeche, Mexico, which also included interments of non-Black peoples (Price, Tiesler, & Burton, 2006); two burial sites of enslaved Black peoples located in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, Brazil (Bastos et al, 2016); and a small burial site in St. Martin in the Caribbean (Schroeder, Haviser, & Price, 2014). (Schroeder, Shuler, & Chenery, 2013) and from the New York African Burial Ground (Goodman et al, 2009).…”

“…Through the two small windows in WIC's life via one hair strand and one tooth, we interpret that she likely subsisted on a diet of C 3 vegetation (e.g., lettuce, apples, beans, and carrots), C 4 vegetation (corn and sugarcane), and terrestrial herbivore protein (e.g., beef, chicken, and pork). Marine foods (fish and shellfish) are also a possible dietary (Keller et al, 2016), New York African Burial Ground (NY ABG) burials (Goodman et al, 2009), and Newton Plantation, Barbados, burials (Schroeder et al, 2013). After methods of Schroeder et al (2013), Pb concentrations are delineated into five grades of health problems: none, mild (nausea), moderate (vomiting, colic, weakness, and convulsions), severe (severe colic, marked weakness, and frequent convulsions), and very severe (severe colic, spasms, paralysis, and coma) component.…”