Written in Bone

I recently visited a really incredible exhibit which is now on display at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C. The exhibit is entitled "Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th-Century Chesapeake" and describes how archaeologists and forensic anthropologists study human remains in order to learn about how the people of the past lived. The exhibit includes many examples of bones that show the effect that different types of trauma or diseases have on the skeleton.

One of the most fascinating parts of the exhibit focused on an excavation that took place right here in Anne Arundel County, Maryland and was carried-out by the Lost Towns Project. On display is the skeleton of a boy that archaeologists found buried in what was once the basement of a plantation house on the Leavy Neck site. The boy was buried in a shallow hole which was too small and caused the skeleton to bend at the the hips and knees. The body was covered with a thick layer of clay and then the cellar was filled in with trash. The lack of care taken in the burial of this boy shows that he was most likely considered to be a person of very little value to the family who lived on the plantation. The boy's skeleton also shows signs of physically demanding work and poor nutrition which indicate he was almost certainly an indentured servant. In addition, scientists discovered that the boy's wrist was broken prior to death. Archaeologists believe that the clandestine nature of the burial, the lack of regard for the body, along with the physical trauma suffered by this boy indicate abuse and possibly a violent death. The archaeologists and forensic anthropologists who study the "Leavy Neck Boy" admit that they will never know exactly the events that led to this boy's death but that his skeleton certainly has aided them learning a lot about the every day lives of indentured servants in the Chesapeake.

This was a really interesting and informative exhibit that is great for visitors of all ages and all levels of archaeological understanding. The exhibit is on display through February 2011. Check out the following link for more information on the exhibit: http://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/index.html