The bioarchaeology of dissection and autopsy in the United States / Kenneth C. Nystrom, editor
- Published
- [Cham] : Springer, [2017]
- Copyright Date
- ©2017
- Physical Description
- 1 online resource (xix, 346 pages) : illustrations
- Additional Creators
- Nystrom, Ken
Access Online
- Series
- Contents
- Foreword; Foreword II: The Afterlife of Death ; Contents; About the Editor; Contributors; Chapter 1: Introduction; Dissection vs. Autopsy; Organization of€the€Volume; Part I: Evidence from€Early Colonial America; Part II: Evidence from€Public Cemeteries; Part III: Evidence from€Medical Institutions; Part IV: Evidence from€Almshouse Cemeteries; References; Part I: Evidence from Early Colonial America; Chapter 2: Renaissance Anatomy in€the€Americas: A€Bioarchaeological Perspective on€the€Earliest Skeletal Evidence of€Autopsy in€the€New World; Introduction., Historical Context and€Archaeology of€the€Saint Croix Island Settlement The Practice of€Autopsy in€Renaissance Europe; Bioarchaeological Evidence of€Autopsy at€Saint Croix Island, 1604-1605; Discussion; Conclusion; References; Chapter 3: Evidence for€Early Seventeenth-Century Surgery and€Dissection at James Fort, Virginia; Introduction; Skeletal Evidence; JR1425C; JR2361C; JR2158X; Jamestown's First Surgeons and€Their Tools; Conclusion; References; Chapter 4: A Dissection at the€Coffeehouse? The€Performance of€Anatomical Expertise in€Colonial America., Introduction: Dissection as€a€Public Drama and€Private Inquiry The Archaeological Evidence for€Dissection or Autopsy at€the€Williamsburg Coffeehouse; Colonial Medicine in€Virginia; Spaces of€Dissection Performance; Discussion; References; Part II: Evidence from Public Cemeteries; Introduction; New York African Burial Ground; Old Frankfort Cemetery; Eighth Street First African Baptist Church Cemetery; Alameda-Stone Cemetery; Newburgh Colored Burial Ground; Freedman's Cemetery; References., Chapter 5: Partible Persons or Persons Apart: Postmortem Interventions at the€Spring Street Presbyterian Church, Manhattan Cityscapes; Extensions and€Articulations; Adult Autopsy; Infant Autopsy; Adolescent Dissection; Conclusion; References; Part III: Evidence from Medical Institutions; Chapter 6: Teachings of€the€Dead: The€Archaeology of€Anatomized Remains from€Holden Chapel, Harvard University; Introduction: Teachings of€the€Dead; The Holden Chapel Collection; Excavation; Methods and€Frameworks; Description of€Human Remains from€Holden Chapel; Overview; MNI and€Demographics., and Taphonomy Cut Marks and€Evidence of€Anatomization; Disease and€Trauma; History of€the€Harvard Medical School; Curriculum; Overview; On Specimens; On the€Roles of€Bones; On the€Imperfect Teachings of€the€Dead; Reflections; Findings; Lessons; References; Chapter 7: Skeletal Evidence of€Anatomical and€Surgical Training in€Nineteenth-Century Richmond; Discovery and€Investigation; Medical Training in€Nineteenth-Century Richmond; Human Skeletal Remains; Evidence of€Amputation, Dissection, and€Surgery; Conclusion; References; Historic References.
- Summary
- Encountering evidence of postmortem examinations - dissection or autopsy- in historic skeletal collections is relatively rare, but recently there has been an increase in the number of reported instances. The Bioarchaeology of Dissection and Autopsy brings together in a single volume the skeletal evidence of postmortem examination in the United States. Ranging from the early colonial period to the early 1900's, from a coffeehouse at Colonial Williamsburg to a Quaker burial vault in lower Manhattan, the contributions to this volume demonstrate the interpretive significance of a historically and theoretically contextualized bioarchaeology. The authors employ a wide range of perspectives, demonstrating how bioarchaeological evidence can be used to address a wide range of themes including social identity and marginalization, racialization, the nature of the body and fragmentation, and the emergence of medical practice and authority in the United States.
- Subject(s)
- ISBN
- 9783319268361 (electronic bk.)
3319268368 (electronic bk.) - Bibliography Note
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
View MARC record | catkey: 20269036