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Race, Gender, and Intersectionality in the Bioarchaeology of the African Diaspora: Perspectives from Colonial Peru

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Abstract

Over the past three decades, there has been a growing body of research examining the history of African slavery in colonial Peru. These studies have contributed new information about the origins, roles, and experiences of enslaved peoples of African descent in colonial society. However, despite these advances, relatively few studies exist that directly examine the lives of enslaved women of African descent. This article responds to these concerns by using bioarchaeological evidence to examine the lives of enslaved women in conditions of plantation slavery in central Peru. As a case study, it focuses on recent bioarchaeological research at Hacienda La Quebrada, a former sugar estate located in the coastal region of Cañete, Peru. Research findings reveal the disproportionate impacts of conditions of plantation slavery on young women, many of whom perished by their twenties—an average of 10 years younger than enslaved men. Skeletal indicators of work offer further insights into these patterns, suggesting that enslaved women endured additional labor burdens while facing limited access to resources and care. These findings counter traditional narratives of enslavement in Peru that often center on the labor of adult men, instead illuminating the roles of women in the colonial economy and early Afro-Peruvian life. In doing so, this project offers a model of an intersectional approach to the study of African slavery in colonial Peru and to bioarchaeological studies of the African diaspora more broadly.

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Data Availability

The Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica La Quebrada collections and associated catalogs are curated at the project’s laboratory in Quilmaná, Peru, under Ministry of Culture Resolution No. 472–2019/DGA/VMPCIC/MC.

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Acknowledgements

This study was conducted as part of the Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica La Quebrada, a community-engaged research program directed by Claire Maass and José Luis Santa Cruz Alcalá. The author would like to thank the members of the Mesa de Trabajo Afroperuana de San Luis and local officials and residents in La Quebrada for their continued support during this project. Pedro Lira, Luis Salazar, Vanessa Salomón, Gonzalo Irureta Salvatierra, Wendy Flores Livia, Ingrid Martinez, Johnny Taira, Maria Luisa Valdivieso, Florentino Zarate, and Renato Flores Sueldo who contributed in excavating and cleaning the archaeological remains discussed in this article. Alex Robert Zuñiga and Gabriela Ore assisted with mapping the archaeological site. Funding for this project was generously provided by the Fulbright US Student Program, the Mellon Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, and Stanford University.

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Maass, C.K. Race, Gender, and Intersectionality in the Bioarchaeology of the African Diaspora: Perspectives from Colonial Peru. J Archaeol Method Theory 30, 805–827 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-022-09577-3

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