A Bioarchaeological Comparison of Oral Health at Three Postbellum African American Cemeteries in Coastal and Central Georgia

Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Anthropology Theses Department of Anthropology Summer 8-12-2014 A Bioarchaeological Comparison of Oral Health at Three Postbellum African American Cemeteries in Coastal and Central Georgia Lain Graham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/anthro_theses Recommended Citation Graham, Lain, "A Bioarchaeological Comparison of Oral Health at Three Postbellum African American Cemeteries in Coastal and Central Georgia." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2014. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/anthro_theses/82 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Anthropology at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Anthropology Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL COMPARISON OF ORAL HEALTH AT THREE POSTBELLUM AFRICAN AMERICAN CEMETERIES IN COASTAL AND CENTRAL GEORGIA By LAIN KIMMEL GRAHAM Under the Direction of Dr. Bethany Turner ABSTRACT This research is a comparative analysis of oral health from three historic African- American cemeteries in Georgia. The Area 1 (9CH1168), Area 2 (9CH875) and the Avondale (9BI164) cemeteries were excavated and relocated from 2008-2010. The aggregate population consists of 486 individuals, spanning pre-and-post-Reconstruction eras. Statistical and bioarchaeological techniques are used to address the hypothesis that differential nutrition and subsequent health outcomes significantly vary (as estimated from dental analyses), based on the cemetery’s composition, location, and individuals social status. Oral pathological conditions were characterized in an effort to identify variation between populations, while moving beyond a monolithic narrative of the African-American experience in the post-Bellum South. A statistical range of variation within and between the cemeteries was observed, revealing differences in the frequency of pathologies between cemeteries based on age and sex. Maladies most greatly afflicted Avondale’s population, Area 1 experienced the least and Area 2’s females had the most oral pathologies. INDEX WORDS: Bioarchaeology, African Diaspora Archaeology, Avondale Burial Place, Dental Caries, Cultural Resource Management, Georgia A BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL COMPARISON OF THE ORAL HEALTH AT THREE POSTBELLUM AFRICAN AMERICAN CEMETERIES IN COASTAL AND CENTRAL GEORGIA By LAIN KIMMEL GRAHAM A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts In the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2014 Copyright by Lain Kimmel Graham 2014 A BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL COMPARISON OF ORAL HEALTH AT THREE POSTBELLUM AFRICAN AMERICAN CEMETERIES IN COASTAL AND CENTRAL GEORGIA by LAIN KIMMEL GRAHAM Committee Chair: Bethany L. Turner Committee: Jeffrey B. Glover Frank L’ Engle Williams Hugh B. Matternes Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University August 2014 iv DEDICATION It is the intent of this work to honor the lives of the deceased through the bioarchaeological investigation of their remains, and represent their lives through the reconstruction of their lived experiences. I would like to dedicate this thesis to my mortuary colleagues at New South Associates, Dr. Hugh B. Matternes and Valerie Davis, M.A., for without their leadership and guidance, there would not be data to analyze or background to contextualize. I am truly indebted to you both, my “archaeology parents” who have raised me, tested me, and sent me out to conduct ethical and scholarly work. To my husband, Jordan Graham, who has for the past 12 years, nurtured my dreams and has shown me unconditional love and support. Without you, I would simply not be who I am today. Finally, and most importantly, I’d like to dedicate this thesis to the descendants of the individuals rediscovered in these three cemeteries. May the memory of your ancestors live on in you. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee— Dr. Turner, Dr. Glover, Dr. Williams and Dr. Matternes. I truly appreciate all of your time, comments and support during the formation of this thesis. It was my pleasure to be your student; and I treasure my time at Georgia State because of each of you. Avondale Burial Place, Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT): This project would not have been possible without permission from the Georgia Department of Transportation, with particular thanks to be paid to Ms. Sharman Southall, and Ms. Sara Gale, who not only gave their blessing for this project but have encouraged the ongoing research of this community far beyond the scope of the Avondale Burial Place project. Their work serves as a testament and example to the knowledge that can be gained if you resolve to dig deeper, initiate community and descendant involvement and go beyond what is required, to do what is ethical. I would like to thank the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, for permission to use the Area 1 and Area 2 data. Special thanks to Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Air Field’s Post Archaeologist and Cultural Resource Program Manager Brian Greer, and Assistant Cultural Resources Manager Paul Maggioni. Brian and Paul were instrumental in the project design and execution. They have permitted and encouraged my ongoing efforts to learn more about these past communities. To New South Associates’ founders, Dr. Joe W. Joseph and President Mary Beth Reed, thank you for allowing me to work on these projects, both in the field and in the lab. Joe and Mary Beth gave me my first professional job in archaeology as a field and laboratory technician and, for the past seven years, they have encouraged me to pursue my interest in bioarchaeology— I cannot thank you both enough. vi On a more personal note, I would like to acknowledge my support team, of dear friends and family who have contributed to this work in more ways than they realize, by loving and encouraging me when I need it most. Thank you first and foremost to my cemetery friends, Valerie Davis and Lindsay Smith Gladson, with whom I worked on these excavations. We managed to get through the frigid cold of winter and the blistering heat of summer together, not to be thwarted by deep and precarious grave shafts, bad weather, and the ever-curious and occasionally dangerous wildlife. Lindsay dealt with me as a dig partner for eight plus hours a day spanning two years, and instead of tossing me into an empty grave shaft, we became dearest friends. To Sadhana Singh, who exhibits style and grace in everything that she does— she is one of my closest friends at New South or in any other arena. To my Georgia State sisters, Sara Turner, Elise Geissler, Emily Vanderpool and Megan Parker—without you girls graduate school would have been more daunting and far less entertaining. Thank you for the encouragement, motivation and memories. Finally, thank you to my ever-supportive and loving family: my grandfather who set the bar for higher education, my grandmother who is the most generous and loving person you will ever meet, my mother who proved you can do it all (get a master’s degree while raising a family), and to my brothers who conditioned me from childhood to make myself heard despite my diminutive size and to substantiate my claims. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..............................................................................................v TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES............. ............................................................................................. xii LIST OF FIGURES. ...................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................1 1.1 Research Questions and Expectations .......................................................................1 1.2 Overview of the Chapters............. ...............................................................................5 CHAPTER 2 THE HISTORY OF BIOARCHAEOLOGY AND AFRICAN DIASPORA ARCHAEOLOGY .......................................................................................9 2.1 African Diaspora Archaeology .................................................................................10 2.2 Public Archaeology and Descendant Populations ...................................................13 2.3 Forensics and Bioarchaeology Research Questions and Expectations ................14 2.4 African Diaspora Theory Research Questions and Expectations .........................17 2.5 Social Theory in Burial Tradition........ ....................................................................19 3 ORAL HEALTH........ ...................................................................................................24 3.1 Dental Caries........ ......................................................................................................26 3.2 Abscesses................................................................ .....................................................28 3.3 Ante-Mortem Tooth Loss ..........................................................................................28 3.4 Enamel Hypoplasias ..................................................................................................30

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