Biological Impacts of Colonial Practices: Bioarchaeological Reconstruction of Health and Demography

这个生物考古项目考察了殖民做法对人口健康和死亡率的影响。关于年龄、性别、病理、创伤、残疾、死因和其他发病率指标的骨骼数据被用来检验关于殖民实践中的困难、疾病和生命损失的假设。这些生物考古成果可以扩展我们关于奴役和边缘化的生物和文化后果的知识，超出了有限和有偏见的历史记录所能理解的范围。该项目让代表性不足的少数族裔学生参与以科学为基础的研究和对涉及他们自己的社区历史的经验数据的解释。这项研究代表了一种多学科合作，使当地社区参与到研究过程中来，让他们作为科学知识的共同生产者和关键的利益攸关方直接参与研究进程，以确保研究结果被理解并传达给社区和公众。该项目涉及对美国西南部一个历史墓地的骨骼遗骸进行挖掘和分析，这些墓地由被征召为奴隶的土著人民组成。假设将通过从婴儿、儿童和成年男性和女性的骨骼遗骸中获得的人口、健康和创伤数据来检验，以扩大我们对殖民期间奴役和边缘化的影响的了解。找回和分析骨骼遗骸，并将这些遗骸重新埋葬在当地教堂墓地，是一个更大的项目的一部分，该项目将把这个地点确定为遗产遗址，并提供一个教育部分，展示从这个历史地点的骨骼中检索到的关于生命、健康和死亡的数据。该项目的成果将为今后关于殖民做法、发病率和死亡率的研究提供坚实的基础。该项目由生物人类学计划和既定的激励竞争性研究计划(EPSCoR)共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This bioarchaeological project examines the impact of colonization practices on population health and mortality. Skeletal data on age, sex, pathologies, trauma, disability, cause of death, and other indicators of morbidity are used to test hypotheses about hardships, illnesses, and loss of life in the context of colonization practices. These bioarchaeological outcomes can extend our knowledge regarding the biological and cultural consequences of enslavement and marginalization beyond what can be understood from limited and biased historical records. The project engages underrepresented minority students in science-based research and interpretation of empirical data involving their own community history. The research represents a multidisciplinary cooperation that engages the local community, directly involving them in the research process as co-producers of scientific knowledge and critical stakeholders in ensuring that the research findings are understood and communicated to the community and public audiences.Settler colonialism is typically understood to be based on appropriation of resources and persistent removal of local, indigenous cultures. This project involves the excavation and analysis of skeletal remains from an historic cemetery in the American Southwest comprised of indigenous people who were conscripted into servitude. Hypotheses will be tested with the demographic, health and trauma data derived from the skeletal remains of infants, children, and adult males and females to expand our knowledge about the effects of enslavement and marginalization during colonization. Retrieval and analysis of the skeletal remains, and the reburial of these remains in the local church cemetery, is part of a larger undertaking that will establish this location as a heritage site with an educational component featuring data retrieved from the skeletons about life, health, and death in this historic location. The outcomes of this project will provide a solid basis for future studies on colonial practices, morbidity and mortality. This project is jointly funded by the Biological Anthropology Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.