News Release
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February
8, 2006
Anthropologist to Speak on Excavation of Slave Cemetery in
North Carolina
Anthropologist Patricia Lambert will deliver a lecture at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, in the Student Union Forum at Boise State University. Her address is titled “The Cemetery at Eaton’s Ferry: Biocultural Reflections on the African-American Experience in Antebellum North Carolina.” Part of the Department of Anthropology Lecture Series, the event is free and open to the public.
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Anthropologist
Patricia Lambert |
In 1960, a small, unmarked cemetery at Eaton’s Ferry
Landing on North Carolina’s Roanoke River was excavated during the creation
of Gaston Reservoir. At that time, nothing was known about the cemetery or
who was interred there. Recent research on the human skeletal remains and
associated artifacts indicate the cemetery was used from 1825-1850 by people
of African ancestry. As the land was owned by William Eaton Sr., the
county’s largest slaveholder, the cemetery likely represents the final
resting place of many slaves. The remains thus offer a unique opportunity to
examine the biological consequences of slavery during the tumultuous period
leading up to the Civil War.
Lambert is an associate professor and director of the Department of
Anthropology at Utah State University. Her research examines the history of
human health and disease, and the origins and causes of violence and war in
northern North America and Peru, through the study of human skeletal remains
from archaeological sites.
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Contact: Faith Brigham, Department of Anthropology, (208) 426-3023,
fbrigha@boisesetate.edu
Media Contact: Kathleen Craven, University Communications, (208)
426-3275, kcraven@boisestate.edu
Boise State University is the largest institution of higher education in
Idaho with about 18,600 students and 2,200 faculty and staff. More than 190
undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and technical degrees are offered within
eight colleges. A metropolitan university located in the capital city, Boise
State is committed to life-enhancing research, teaching excellence and
public service.
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Last reviewed on Wednesday, January 03, 2007