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The Children of Spring Street

The Bioarchaeology of Childhood in a 19th Century Abolitionist Congregation

  • Includes population level analyses that are combined with individual biological profiles from sorted burials and individual stories combed from burial records and archival data

  • Includes historic cases offering an interesting opportunity to combine historically proscribed social categories and biological age categories

  • Explores the bioarchaeology of childhood, an under-theorized stage of life precisely because it is so contextual and variable

Part of the book series: Bioarchaeology and Social Theory (BST)

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eBook USD 69.99
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  • ISBN: 978-3-319-92687-2
  • Instant PDF download
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  • Own it forever
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  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
Softcover Book USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Hardcover Book USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiii
  2. Introduction

    • Meredith A. B. Ellis
    Pages 1-16
  3. A Sketch of a City

    • Meredith A. B. Ellis
    Pages 17-30
  4. Transitioning: 9.5–14.5 Years of Age

    • Meredith A. B. Ellis
    Pages 109-129
  5. Deconstructing Childhood

    • Meredith A. B. Ellis
    Pages 131-138
  6. Back Matter

    Pages 139-143

About this book

This book examines how the shifts in the early 19th century in New York City affected children in particular. Indeed, one could argue that within this context, that “children” and “childhood” came into being.

In order to explore this, the skeletal remains of the children buried at the small, local, yet politically radical Spring Street Presbyterian Church are detailed. Population level analyses are combined with individual biological profiles from sorted burials and individual stories combed from burial records and archival data. 

What emerges are life histories of children—of infants, toddlers, younger children, older children, and adolescents—during this time of transition in New York City. When combined with historical data, these life histories, for instance, tell us about what it was like to grow up in this changing time in New York City

Keywords

  • embodiment of social identity and lived experience of childhood
  • isotope and health signatures of variation in weaning timing
  • unique skeletal and historical experiences of childhood
  • transition the data and theory into a narrative
  • life histories and family life in 19th century New York

Authors and Affiliations

  • Anthropology Department, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, USA

    Meredith A. B. Ellis

About the author

Meredith A.B. Ellis holds a PhD in Anthropology from Syracuse University. She also holds Master’s Degrees in Anthropology and English Language and Literature. She is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Florida Atlantic University.  Her research interests include social bioarchaeology, the bioarchaeology of childhood, the 19th century United States, and health and inequality. She has worked on the Spring Street Presbyterian Church collection, the China Gulch faunal collection, and the Donner Party Alder Creek Campsite collection.  

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Children of Spring Street

  • Book Subtitle: The Bioarchaeology of Childhood in a 19th Century Abolitionist Congregation

  • Authors: Meredith A. B. Ellis

  • Series Title: Bioarchaeology and Social Theory

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92687-2

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2019

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-92686-5Published: 09 August 2018

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-06491-4Published: 25 January 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-92687-2Published: 28 July 2018

  • Series ISSN: 2567-6776

  • Series E-ISSN: 2567-6814

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIII, 143

  • Number of Illustrations: 5 b/w illustrations, 22 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Archaeology, Physical-Biological Anthropology

Buying options

eBook USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • ISBN: 978-3-319-92687-2
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
Softcover Book USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Hardcover Book USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)