Archive for January, 1986

1986    (J. S. Handler, A. C. Aufderheide, R.S.  Corruccini), Lead Contact and Poisoning in Barbados Slaves: Historical, Chemical, and Biological Evidence. Social Science History 10: 399-425.

Lead contact and lead poisoning have received scant attention in discussions of early West Indian societies but are potentially important issues in considering the health and medical problems of blacks. Although our discussion focuses on Barbados, the West Indian historical literature strongly suggests that our general findings are applicable to other Caribbean areas and have implications for understanding some of the disabilities of early white populations as well. In this paper we also seek to illustrate how bioanthropological and chemical analyzes of slave skeletal remains and historical data can complement one another in defining and investigating various dimensions of slave life.

Lead Contact and Poisoning in Barbados Slaves: Historical, Chemical, and Biological Evidence

1986    (J. S. Handler and R. S. Corruccini), Weaning among West Indian Slaves: Historical and Bioanthropological Evidence from Barbados. William and Mary Quarterly 43: 111-17.

This article demonstrates how documentary and physical evidence can be brought to bear in shedding light on one aspect of New World slave life; more specifically, the problem of fertility differentials between enslaved populations of the United States and the British Caribbean.