Erna Johannesdottir

ESR1: Osteoarchaeological perspectives on slave health and nutrition
Supervision:  Dr. Kate Robson-Brown
Host Institution:  Department of Archaeology, University of Bristol

About me:

I am a biological anthropologist with a research focus on osteology. I am interested in studying skeletal material to gain insights into physical quality of life, demography history and the cultural practices of past populations. For my master’s thesis I studied various health and stress indicators in skeletons from different time periods and areas in Iceland, with the purpose of understanding how physical quality of life evolved and differed within the country. In my PhD research I will analyse skeletal remains from historically significant sites linked to the transatlantic slave trade, and build on existing skeletal reports to infer biological ancestry, and detail information on health, patterns of trauma and African cultural practices expressed through physical modifications. I hope my research will contribute to other research projects in the EUROTAST network by providing information about the distinct lives, histories and origins of enslaved African people.