THE NEW YORK AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND U.S. General Services Administration VOL. 4 The Skeletal Biology, Archaeology and History of the New York African Burial Ground: Burial African York New History and of the Archaeology Biology, Skeletal The THE NEW YORK AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND: Unearthing the African Presence in Colonial New York Volume 4 A Synthesis of Volumes 1, 2, and 3 Volumes of A Synthesis Prepared by Statistical Research, Inc Research, Statistical by Prepared . The Skeletal Biology, Archaeology and History of the New York African Burial Ground: A Synthesis of Volumes 1, 2, and 3 Prepared by Statistical Research, Inc. ISBN: 0-88258-258-5 9 780882 582580 HOWARD UNIVERSITY HUABG-V4-Synthesis-0510.indd 1 5/27/10 11:17 AM THE NEW YORK AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND: Unearthing the African Presence in Colonial New York Volume 4 The Skeletal Biology, Archaeology, and History of the New York African Burial Ground: A Synthesis of Volumes 1, 2, and 3 Prepared by Statistical Research, Inc. HOWARD UNIVERSITY PRESS WASHINGTON, D.C. 2009 Published in association with the United States General Services Administration The content of this report is derived primarily from Volumes 1, 2, and 3 of the series, The New York African Burial Ground: Unearthing the African Presence in Colonial New York. Application has been filed for Library of Congress registration. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. General Services Administration or Howard University. Published by Howard University Press 2225 Georgia Avenue NW, Suite 720 Washington, D.C. 20059 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 1 2 3 4 5 ISBN 0-88258-258-5 978-0-88258-258-0 Howard University’s New York African Burial Ground Project was funded by the U.S. General Services Administration under Contract No. GS-02P-93-CUC-0071 Report preparation by Statistical Research, Inc., Michael Heilen. Layout and design by Simpson & Convent. Typeset and printed in the United States of America. Printed on acid-free paper. Cover Images: Detail of the Maerschalk Plan (Francis Maerschalk, 1754) Artifacts from the New York African Burial Ground (Photographs by Jon Abbott): Enameled cuff link face, Burial 371, Catalog No. 1875-B.001. Bead Type 12, Burial 340, Catalog No. 01651-B.79. Oval turquoise enamel face, Burial 211, Catalog No. 1186 -B.001. Pins, Burial 12, Catalog Nos. 253-B.001, .002. Ring, copper alloy with glass insets, Burial 310, Catalog No. 1486-B.001. Bead Type 9, Burial 340, Catalog No. 01651-B.78. Bead Type 15, Burial 340, Catalog No. 01651-B.75. Button, bone, turned. Burial 171, Catalog No. 931-B.002. Cast silver pendant, Burial 254, Catalog No. 1243-B.001. Burial 335 (Photograph by Dennis Seckler) Cover design by Star Bullock + Associates, Mark A. Bartley Contents List of Figures ...........................................................................................................................................................................IX List of Tables .......................................................................................................... ................................................................XIII Foreword .................................................................................................................................................................................. XV Editorial Method .................................................................................................................................................................. XVII Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................................................................XIX 1. Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................................................1 Content and Organization ..............................................................................................................................................................3 Research Context ............................................................................................................................................................................5 2. Project History ......................................................................................................................................................................9 Fieldwork .....................................................................................................................................................................................12 The July 27, 1992, Subcommittee Hearing ...................................................................................................................................16 Howard University and John Milner Associates, Inc.’s Research Design .........................................................................................18 The Federal Steering Committee ..................................................................................................................................................19 Landmark Status Designation ......................................................................................................................................................20 The Office of Public Education and Interpretation ........................................................................................................................22 The Analytical Phase of the New York African Burial Ground Project ............................................................................................22 Transfer of Human Remains to Howard University....................................................................................................................22 Skeletal Laboratory Analysis ....................................................................................................................................................22 Nonskeletal Laboratory Analysis ..............................................................................................................................................26 Historical Research ...................................................................................................................................................................28 Reinterment .............................................................................................................................................................................33 3. The African Burial Ground in Historical and Archaeological Context .....................................................................37 A Publicly Engaged Biocultural Approach to Research ..................................................................................................................37 Slavery in New York ......................................................................................................................................................................38 New York and the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans .....................................................................................................42 New York Settlement ...................................................................................................................................................................45 Landownership, Development, and the African Burial Ground ..............................................................................................46 Calk Hook Farm ..................................................................................................................................................................46 The Van Borsum Patent ......................................................................................................................................................47 Land Development in the Vicinity of the African Burial Ground ..........................................................................................47 New York African Landownership, the Common, and the African Burial Ground ..........................................................................47 IV • Co n te n t s New York African Landownership ......................................................................................................................................53 The Common .....................................................................................................................................................................56 The Establishment and Use of the African Burial Ground ...................................................................................................58 Closing of the African Burial Ground ..................................................................................................................................61 Archaeological Evidence for the Presence and Lives of Enslaved African New Yorkers ...................................................................66 Recent Bioarchaeological Investigations in the Vicinity of the African Burial Ground ...................................................................68 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................................................................71 4. Processes of Enslavement: Origins and Identity .........................................................................................................75