Gabrielle Dunbar

• BA (Hons) History and Archaeology
• Pierced bodies: 18th century runaway slave advertisements and the appearance of Africans carried in to slavery

18th century newspaper advertisements requesting the return of ‘runaway’ slaves provide detailed information about the ethnicity and appearance of captives carried in to slavery from different parts of Africa. Studies have so far focused on scarification (skin markings) and dental modification (teeth filing). Using recently digitised collections of 18th century ‘runaway’ advertisements from the USA and Caribbean I will search for references to body piercing (of the ear and lip), and attempt to determine which African ethnic groups favoured piercing, and which did not. This kind of information contributes greatly to the study of African ethnicities in the Americas.

Project Supervisor: Dr Jane Webster, School of History, Classics & Archaelogy
 
Funding Source: Newcastle University