Research

This study examines skeletal morphology of the remains of enslaved Africans and Afro-descendants to:

1. Understand how certain biological groups formed and changed over time 

2. Explore gene flow and other evolutionary processes that may explain how the biological variation is distributed

3.  Investigate patterns of biological relatedness that may not be reflected in historic migration data. See pilot data here and here.

This study examines the modes of description and essentialization of runaway enslaved persons in fugitive slave advertisements and other archival documents. Using thematic analysis in MAXQDA software themes of description are identified in the data and assessed for variation within and among sampled sites. See pilot data here (recorded version here).

This study proposes a theoretical model that describes the positionality of the skeletal remains and burials of Black decedents. Drawing from the work of Caribbean philosopher, Frantz Fanon, this study adapts his theories of alienation and spatial compartmentalization to construct a theoretical model that describes the initial and repeated encounters that occur between the living and Black decedents that have direct consequences for their placement.