Osteoarchaeological evidence for medical dissection in 18th to 19th century Aberdeen, Scotland

Rebecca Crozier; Alison Cameron; Bruce Mann; Elizabeth Ashcroft; Rachel Wood

doi:10.1080/00794236.2021.1972584

Osteoarchaeological evidence for medical dissection in 18th to 19th century Aberdeen, Scotland

Rebecca Crozier^* (Corresponding Author), Alison Cameron, Bruce Mann, Elizabeth Ashcroft, Rachel Wood

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This paper describes the analysis of a small assemblage of fragmentary human
remains discovered during renovations in a residential property in Aberdeen City, Scotland. Two sets of cranial remains display clear evidence for dissection/autopsy activities; a craniotomy and a trephination. Radiocarbon dating places them in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, arguably contemporary with the passing of the Anatomy Act of 1832. Drawing together evidence from osteological analysis, radiocarbon dating, historical sources and the context of discovery, it is argued that the assemblage may have been generated by ‘resurrectionist’ activities associated with the clandestine acquisition of cadavers for anatomical dissection.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	159–175
Number of pages	17
Journal	Post-Medieval Archaeology
Volume	55
Issue number	2
Early online date	7 Oct 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/00794236.2021.1972584
Publication status	Published - 7 Oct 2021

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10.1080/00794236.2021.1972584Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Crozier_etal_A_Osteoarchaeological_Evidence_For_VoR
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
Final published version, 844 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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abstract = "This paper describes the analysis of a small assemblage of fragmentary humanremains discovered during renovations in a residential property in Aberdeen City, Scotland. Two sets of cranial remains display clear evidence for dissection/autopsy activities; a craniotomy and a trephination. Radiocarbon dating places them in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, arguably contemporary with the passing of the Anatomy Act of 1832. Drawing together evidence from osteological analysis, radiocarbon dating, historical sources and the context of discovery, it is argued that the assemblage may have been generated by {\textquoteleft}resurrectionist{\textquoteright} activities associated with the clandestine acquisition of cadavers for anatomical dissection.",

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note = "Open access via T&F agreement ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: We would like to thank Police Scotland and Detective Sergeant Stephen Beattie for their initial response to the discovery, and to Jamie Grieve, Margaret Bruce and Leighanne Deboys for their assistance and expert advice in identifying the skeletal remains. Thanks to the owners of the property who allowed access. Aberdeenshire Council Archaeology Service kindly facilitated and funded the work. ",

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Osteoarchaeological evidence for medical dissection in 18th to 19th century Aberdeen, Scotland

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