Abstract
During the 19th century, residents of Five Points, Manhattan, lived in increasingly crowded, unsanitary conditions and often labored at dangerous and debilitating jobs. While wealthier city inhabitants could afford a healthy diet, a physician’s care, or a seasonal change of residence, medicine was the solitary option for the less fortunate. This study utilizes a large assemblage of medicinal vessels and archaeobotanical remains to examine the reality of disease in the Sixth Ward, the available choices for treatment, and the preferences of the Five Points population. Comparisons are made with medicinal choices at other 19th-century New York sites and some tentative conclusions are drawn about working-class versus middle-class behavior regarding health.
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Bonasera, M.C., Raymer, L. Good for what ails you: Medicinal use at five points. Hist Arch 35, 49–66 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03374392
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03374392