Megan ByrneEarly American Autopsies
November 3rd 2006 21:51
It was a bitter in the winter of 1604-05 in St. Croix Island, near Portland Maine. A combination of malnutrition and harsh weather claimed the lives of almost half of the 79 French settlers led by Pierre Dugua and Samuel Champlain that year.
The results of these deaths? Early American autopsies. US and Canadian forensic anthropologists have confirmed a skull discovered during excavations by the National Park Service in June, 2003, belonged to a man who had been the subject in a series of autopsies to determine the cause of so many deaths over such a short period of time.
The first snow fell in October in 1604; thirty-five of the settlers died and scientists have since concluded their deaths were caused by scurvy. Champlain’s writings describe the dire situation of that winter and further state that his barber/surgeon was ordered to "open several of the men to determine the cause of their illness."
According to Thomas Crist of Utica College in upper New York state, “this is the same procedure that forensic pathologists use to conduct autopsies today”. Crist led the anthropological team who analyzed the remains.
The graves were originally excavated in 1969 by a team from Temple University in Pennsylvania and the remains re-interred by the National Park Service after consultation with the French and Canadian governments. The excavation project, in 2003, was led by Steven Pendery from the National Park Service's Northeast Region Archaeology Program.
St. Croix Island is protected by the National Park Service as part of Saint Croix Island International Historic Site.
The National Park Service announced the autopsies will be the subject of a program on the Discovery Health Channel series "Skeleton Stories" on November 10.
The results of these deaths? Early American autopsies. US and Canadian forensic anthropologists have confirmed a skull discovered during excavations by the National Park Service in June, 2003, belonged to a man who had been the subject in a series of autopsies to determine the cause of so many deaths over such a short period of time.
The first snow fell in October in 1604; thirty-five of the settlers died and scientists have since concluded their deaths were caused by scurvy. Champlain’s writings describe the dire situation of that winter and further state that his barber/surgeon was ordered to "open several of the men to determine the cause of their illness."
According to Thomas Crist of Utica College in upper New York state, “this is the same procedure that forensic pathologists use to conduct autopsies today”. Crist led the anthropological team who analyzed the remains.
The graves were originally excavated in 1969 by a team from Temple University in Pennsylvania and the remains re-interred by the National Park Service after consultation with the French and Canadian governments. The excavation project, in 2003, was led by Steven Pendery from the National Park Service's Northeast Region Archaeology Program.
St. Croix Island is protected by the National Park Service as part of Saint Croix Island International Historic Site.
The National Park Service announced the autopsies will be the subject of a program on the Discovery Health Channel series "Skeleton Stories" on November 10.
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