The impact of social experiences of physical and structural violence on the growth of African enslaved children recovered from Lagos, Portugal (15th–17th centuries)

Abstract

ObjectivesThe purpose of this article is to examine the impacts of physical and structural violence on the well‐being of early modern enslaved Africans by comparing the growth of children in an archaeological sample recovered from Lagos, Portugal with that of modern children known to have lived under socially oppressive and racist political regimes.Materials and methodsThe age of 18 individuals was estimated from the length of developing teeth. Long bone lengths for age in the enslaved African sample were compared with two black juvenile known age samples: the Raymond Dart (South Africa) and Hamann‐Todd (United States) collections. Z‐scores were calculated for all samples using black children in the South Africa Long Bone (SALB) database as the reference. The similarity of growth across the samples was tested and skeletal growth profiles (SGPs) were devised for the three samples.ResultsThe children in the Lagos, Raymond Dart, and Hamann‐Todd samples were all small for age compared to the SALB reference. While children in the Dart sample tended to be the smallest for age and in the Hamann‐Todd the largest, with the children in the Lagos sample falling between them, the three samples did not show significant differences in growth status.DiscussionThe growth deficits shown in this study demonstrate the severe impacts of physical and structural violence on the lives of these children. Although uncertainty remains regarding the timing of growth insults relative to arrival, slavery in Portugal as materialized in these individuals was as violent as in other countries.

Discarded in the trash: Burials of African enslaved individuals in Valle da Gafaria, Lagos, Portugal (15th–17th centuries)

“…More recently, 25 individuals (560 ± 30 BP, Cal AD 1310-1360, Cal BP 640-590, andCal AD 1385-1425, Cal BP 565-525, Beta-438015) and 114 individuals (370 ± 30 BP, Cal AD 1445-1530, Cal BP 505-420, and Cal AD 1545-1635, Cal BP 405-3015, Beta-434529) were also dated. Although there is considerable discussion on how slavery can be identified in the archaeological record and how difficult, if not impossible, this task can be (Handler and Lange, 2006;Okumura, 2011), in the case of Valle da Gafaria, archaeological evidences and historical records strongly suggest that the individuals were enslaved, as discussed in detail in previous studies (Cardoso, Spake, Wasterlain, & Ferreira, 2019;Wasterlain, Costa, & Ferreira, 2018;Wasterlain et al, 2016).…”

Interpolation of the Maresh diaphyseal length data for use in quantitative analyses of growth

“…To demonstrate the impact of the updated reference values in bioarcheological analysis, we calculated z ‐scores for a sample of subadults from an archeological sample using the original Maresh (1970) and new references values. Data for this example were obtained from a previously published paper in which the estimated dental ages and measured lengths of all available diaphyses were made available publicly through the Supporting Information (Cardoso, Spake, Wasterlain, & Ferreira, 2019). This sample consists of 18 sets of juvenile remains from a burial of enslaved individuals recovered in Lagos, Portugal, and dating to the 15th through 17th centuries.…”

“…This sample consists of 18 sets of juvenile remains from a burial of enslaved individuals recovered in Lagos, Portugal, and dating to the 15th through 17th centuries. More information on this sample is available elsewhere (Cardoso, Spake, Wasterlain, & Ferreira, 2019; Neves, Almeida, & Ferreira, 2011; Wasterlain, Costa, & Ferreira, 2018; Wasterlain, Neves, & Ferreira, 2016). To simulate the impact of using the new reference values, z ‐scores were calculated using the original and new reference values and subsequently plotted against age.…”

Interpreting error in the estimation of skeletal growth profiles from past populations: An example demonstrating skeletal growth in historic African American communities

“…Much of this work describes the relationship between nonspecific indicators of physiological stress (including stunted growth) and environmental markers that researchers often use to conduct inter‐ and intra‐population level comparisons (e.g., Armelagos et al, 2009; Clark et al, 1986; Goodman, 1985; Goodman & Rose, 1990; Gowland, 2015; Temple, 2014). While some of this research demonstrates a link between stress markers and stunted growth (Agarwal, 2016; Armelagos et al, 1972, 2009; Cardoso et al, 2019; Mays et al, 2017; Watts, 2013), the relationship may not be as simple as a direct correlation (Saunders & Hoppa, 1993; Silva et al, 2012; Stuart‐Macadam, 1992; Wood et al, 1992). As a result, Saunders and Hoppa (1993) and Spake and Cardoso et al (2019) conclude that the error introduced via biological mortality bias is likely small in comparison to methodological issues such as those introduced through data collection or age estimation.…”

“…First, growth will be presented as if estimated ages were treated as a single, known point value. This is the method most often seen in the literature and is most often used to compare growth cross-contextually (e.g., Armelagos et al, 1972;Cardoso et al, 2019;Cardoso & Garcia, 2009;Schillaci et al, 2011;Schug & Goldman, 2014) [Maresh], are included in each growth analysis (Maresh, 1970). Males and females are combined in the Maresh sample because sex is unknown in both study samples.…”