BRAZIL: New studies of bones, teeth and skull fragments of slaves found buried under a house near Rio de Janeiro's historic port shed new light over the dark history of slave trade

Record ID: 572958

  • Title: BRAZIL: New studies of bones, teeth and skull fragments of slaves found buried under a house near Rio de Janeiro's historic port shed new light over the dark history of slave trade
  • Date: 4th February 2012
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF PHOTOS OF SLAVES
  • Embargoed: 19th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil, Brazil
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: History
  • Reuters ID: LVA8367BAUYOMXCW2AZRE8AX5HRJ
  • Story Text: Hidden under several layers of earth and forgotten over the past two centuries, the remains of dozens of slaves discovered in Rio de Janeiro are helping reveal the true scope of slave trade in Brazil.
    Although the discovery of the so-called "cemetery of the new blacks" happened in the early 1990s, only now are scientists able to confirm the city had the busiest slave port in the Americas.
    Twenty years later, a careful analysis of the teeth have taken scientists a step closer to understanding the history of the at least half a million Africans who were shipped to colonial Brazil in the 18th century.
    Scientists estimate that 20,000 to 30,000 slaves who arrived in critical health or dead were left rotting in the burial ground at the Gamboa district from 1760 to 1830.
    The cemetery, which lacked headstones and coffins, was later closed due to legal and sanitary issues when slave trade was abolished. As the years passed, it was buried under layers of sand and earth.
    But the remains are being uncovered by people like businesswoman Mercedes Guimaraes who found the skeletons during a renovation work she started in 1992. Her home is now a museum that gathers photos and objects from Brazil's slavery period, which lasted from around 1550 until its final abolition in 1888.
    Gurimares recalled how she found the human bones under her house.
    "(I was doing) some structural work. We were supposed rebuild several pillars, and when the construction workers ripped up the floors, they also began digging up bones. When we saw that, we thought they (bones) were from a mass murder, but later a neighbour told us this was a slave cemetery. We notified authorities and the city hall, and they sent archaeologists over who confirmed this was in fact the cemetery of the new blacks," she said.
    Teeth from 30 partial skeletons found under her home were recently analysed in a forensic research centre in Brasilia, where scientists were able to trace them back to different African regions.
    Using strontium isotope analyses of tooth enamel -- a technique that helps detect where a person was raised -- professor Murilo Bastos and his team were able to confirm the large geographical area from where the "new blacks" were taken.
    "To our surprise the 30 different individuals (analysed) presented a high diversity of geographical origins. We can't precisely point out where they came from in Africa, but we can confirm that they came from many different regions. To our surprise, which was very interesting, this confirms the historic data," Bastos said.
    The discovery shows slaves shipped to Brazil were taken from a much larger area than historians previously thought. It also shows that more slaves arrived in the country through Rio's Valongo port.
    A separate study of cosmetic tooth modifications, common in some regions of Africa, showed that many slaves were snatched from what is now Sudan and Mozambique.
    Bastos said the discoveries were made thanks to a technology that is now available in Brazil.
    "We take the sample that is in a liquid state and place it inside the machine. This machine is heated at 10,000 degrees Celsius in plasma and it separates all chemical elements present in the sample. These elements go through a magnetic field and later a mass spectrometer measures the different masses of the chemical elements. That is how we are able to identify the different elements we are studying," he said.
    The government's recent push to transform Rio's port district into a posh neighbourhood with art galleries and restaurants has helped uncover more remains over the past years.
    Experts believe such discoveries will eventually reveal more secrets about the country's slave trade history and possibly make way for tourist attractions around the trail of slaves in the city.
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