Death, Dissection, and the Destitute.

Marland, Hilary; Richardson, Ruth

doi:10.2307/2163011

Cited by 91 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Demonstrating this, most patients in the complete sample used here ( N = 2258) and total (2341) were Black and/or AA: 85.2% in the total and 85.2% in the complete (14.8% are of White patients) (Zuckerman et al, 2022). While Black and/or AA patients did account for the majority of patients at the MSA in the early 20th century, the overrepresentation is also primarily because their families were disproportionately unable to claim their bodies prior to burial—a phenomenon common to pre‐WWII institutionalized populations in the US (Richardson, 1987).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biocultural perspectives on bioarchaeological and paleopathological evidence of past pandemics

Zuckerman

Tribble

Austin

et al. 2022

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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ObjectivesPandemics have profoundly impacted human societies, but until relatively recently were a minor research focus within biological anthropology, especially within biocultural analyses. Here, we explore research in these fields, including molecular anthropology, that employs biocultural approaches, sometimes integrated with intersectionality and ecosocial and syndemic theory, to unpack relationships between social inequality and pandemics. A case study assesses the 1918 influenza pandemic's impacts on the patient population of the Mississippi State Asylum (MSA).Materials and MethodsWe survey bioarchaeological and paleopathological literature on pandemics and analyze respiratory disease mortality relative to sex, age, and social race amongst patient deaths (N = 2258) between 1912 and 1925. Logistic regression models were used to assess relationships between cause of death and odds of death during the pandemic (1918–1919).ResultsFindings include substantial respiratory mortality during the pandemic, including from influenza and influenza syndemic with pneumonia. Older patients (40–59 years, 60+ years) had lower odds (p < 0.01) of dying from respiratory disease than younger patients, as did female patients compared to males (p < 0.05). Age patterns are broadly consistent with national and state trends, while elevated mortality amongst Black and/or African American patients may reflect intersections between gender roles and race‐based structural violence in the Jim Crow South.DiscussionFuture work in biological anthropology on past pandemics may benefit from explicit incorporation of biocultural frameworks, intersectionality, and ecosocial and syndemic theory. Doing so enables holistic analyses of interactions between social context, social inequality and pandemic outcomes, generating data informative for public health responses and pandemic preparedness.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biocultural perspectives on bioarchaeological and paleopathological evidence of past pandemics

Zuckerman

Tribble

Austin

et al. 2022

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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“…There can be no justification for any black market along these lines, based as they are upon greed and inequity, and medical schools outside India that utilize such sources are acting unethically. This recent bone trade is akin to the use of unclaimed bodies for dissection with its lack of informed consent and disrespect toward the deceased and their families 5,14–17 . But what about the earlier trade, which accounts for the bulk of skeletons found in Western Anatomy departments?…”

Section: Skeletons In the Closet And The India Bone Tradementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The pre‐1985 bone trade was on a par with the acquisition of bodies prior to the 1832 Anatomy Act in the United Kingdom and its equivalent in other countries. The 1832 Act came about due to growing societal repugnance at the unscrupulous behavior of anatomists in obtaining bodies for their medical schools 5,18–21 . The Act itself did not bring about acceptable standards as are practiced in the late 20th and early 21st centuries since unclaimed bodies continued to be the primary source of bodies for well over 100 years.…”

Section: Background To the India Bone Tradementioning

confidence: 99%

“…And this was far from an isolated practice that today would be considered ethically dubious. Think of the dissection of unclaimed bodies, or obtaining brains from pathology postmortems, neither with informed consent nor with the next‐of‐kin's knowledge 2,4,5 . Think, too, of anatomy museums with, in some instances, skeletal material, embryos, and fetuses stemming from eras pre‐dating modern ethical discernment, once again lacking informed consent 6–8 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anatomists' uses of human skeletons: Ethical issues associated with the India bone trade and anonymized archival collections

Jones

2023

Anatomical Sciences Ed

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Concerns have recently been expressed about the continuing availability of human bones from India, obtained originally for educational purposes but lacking the requisite informed consent that would be expected today. More generally, a broader claim is being made, namely, that the practice of using any unconsented bones in educational settings is unethical and should cease. These calls, in turn, raise broader issues regarding the availability of anonymous archival collections in anatomy museums. Although this debate centers on undergraduate anatomy teaching, much anthropological research utilizes human remains of past populations for which there can have been no consent. A suggested alternative for undergraduate teaching is the use of 3D images of human bones, rather than the bones themselves. In addressing these issues, the background to the India bone trade is assessed, and the year 1985 is pinpointed as having significant ethical weight. The cultural and ethical interests inherent in studying archival anonymous skeletal material are weighed against indiscriminate reburial. Although any use of unconsented material represents ethical compromise, account should be taken of changing ethical expectations with time. It is concluded that: there is no justification for repatriation or disposal of all bones for which specific informed consent has not been obtained; continued use of anonymous archival human bones in a professional setting is acceptable, even in the absence of informed consent, with the proviso that there are no culturally relevant groups seeking repatriation; the continued existence of bones in long‐standing private collections cannot be justified since it amounts to long‐term storage with no identified goals; the notion that 3D images are an ethically superior alternative to actual human bones is unsustainable, since there is an intimate connection between the bones and the 3D images.

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“…14 At a time when the bodily integrity of the dead was becoming increasingly important to the bereaved, autopsies and the public exploitation of bodies constituted an additional form of violence. The anatomical studies of previous centuries had been conducted on the bodies of socially vulnerable, anonymous, or infamous people, as well as victims of torture (Richardson, 2001). In 1842, far from being treated as sacred, as they would be later, the bodies of the victims were thus put to use for the furtherance of science.…”

Section: Scientific Opportunities and Health Restrictionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass Death and Funerary Transition: The Meudon Railway Disaster (France, 1842)*

Carol

2022

Death Studies

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HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

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Death, Dissection, and the Destitute.

Cited by 91 publications

References 0 publications

Biocultural perspectives on bioarchaeological and paleopathological evidence of past pandemics

Biocultural perspectives on bioarchaeological and paleopathological evidence of past pandemics

Anatomists' uses of human skeletons: Ethical issues associated with the India bone trade and anonymized archival collections

Mass Death and Funerary Transition: The Meudon Railway Disaster (France, 1842)*

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