Bioarchaeology of Urban versus Rural Historic North Carolina Family Cemeteries

Abstract

The urban U.S. in the 18th and 19th centuries often is characterized by poor childhood health due to high population density, poor sanitary conditions, and high levels of pollution. While bioarcheological investigations have identified poor nutrition and high activity levels of enslaved populations in the Southeastern U.S., the impact of urban environments in this predominantly agricultural, non-industrialized region remains relatively understudied. This investigation focuses on how endogenous and exogenous factors impacted subadult morbidity and mortality patterns of two families from the urban and rural southeastern U.S. during the 18th and 19th centuries. Skeletal and dental lesions associated with disease and malnutrition were documented in a minimum of 13 commingled subadults from the Rhem family vault, located in New Bern, North Carolina. These variables were compared to a contemporary sample of 4 subadults from the Foscue burial vault, built by a land-owning family in rural eastern North Carolina, to identify rural and urban health differences. Greater evidence of pathologies was visible in the Rhem infants and children compared to the lack of stressors in the Foscue neonates. These patterns may reflect the impact of weaning stressors and deleterious urban conditions on the health of the Rhem subadults, which their high status failed to buffer. In contrast, the Foscue neonates were more susceptible to childbirth complications and demonstrated no significant pathologies possibly due to buffering via maternal passive immunity. This evidence highlights the complexity of urban and rural health and the significance of intrauterine and early childhood environments on subsequent health outcomes.