Biological Consequences of Segregation and Economic Deprivation: A Post-Slavery Population from Southwest Arkansas
In: The journal of economic history, Band 49, Heft 2, S. 351-360
ISSN: 1471-6372
Analysis of 80 skeletons from Cedar Grove, Arkansas, permits comparison of the skeletal data with historic accounts and interpretations of textual data. The high frequencies of skeletal lesions indicating dietary deficiencies and infectious disease demonstrates that this was a highly stressed population and that Cedar Grove participated in the historically documented nationwide decline of Afro-American health. The evidence is overwhelming that congenital syphilis was a major contributor to high infant mortality and population decline.