Evidence for tuberculosis in 18th/19th century slaves in Anse Sainte-Marguerite (Guadeloupe - French Western Indies)

During the American colonization in the 18th and 19th century, Africans were captured and shipped to America. Harsh living and working conditions often led to chronic diseases and high mortality rates. Slaves in the Caribbean were forced to work mainly on sugar plantations. They were buried in cemeteries like Anse Sainte-Marguerite on the isle of Grande-Terre (Guadeloupe) which was examined by archaeologists and physical anthropologists. Morphological studies on osseous remains of 148 individuals revealed 15 cases with signs for bone tuberculosis and a high frequency of periosteal reactions which indicates early stages of the disease. 11 bone samples from these cemeteries were analysed for ancient DNA. The samples were extracted with established procedures and examined for the cytoplasmic multicopy β-actin gene and Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA (IS 6110) by PCR. An amplification product for M. tuberculosis with the size of 123 bp was obtained. Sequencing confirmed the result. This study shows evidence of M. tuberculosis complex DNA in a Caribbean slave population.

Explorations in Bible lands during the 19th century

by H.V. Hilprecht. With the cooperation of [Immanuel] Benzinger [u.a.]

Rough Waters: Life at Sea in the 19th Century

This talk consists of two parts - first part deals with what Jeffrey Bolster called “The Changing Nature of Maritime Insurrection”- and I will tie that into some research that I did on a New York clipper ship called the Contest. The second part of the talk will look at the rise of seafarer’s missions and that will tie Roald Kverndal’s magnum opus Seamen’s Missions: Their Origin and Early Growth into some research that I did on the earliest work done in New York among seafarers that pre-dated the American Seamen’s Friend Society.

Test on Tile Vaults in France in the 19th Century

Durante el s. XIX las bóvedas tabicadas se desarrollan enormemente, ampliando sus usos a nuevos tipos y extendiendose por zonas dónde no se habían utilizado tradicionalmente. Además, comienza a utilizarse el cemento como aglomerante en lugar del yeso. En este contexto se realizan muchos ensayos sobre ellas, con el objeto de validar un sistema que resultaba nuevo por estas razones. Se estudian a continuación una serie de ensayos de resistencia realizados en Francia entre 1837 y 1865, todos ellos sobre bóvedas de tamaño y geometría similar: entre 4 y 5 m de luz, y con flecha 1/10 de la luz, un tipo muy empleado en ese momento para la construcción de fábricas. El primero de ellos busca medir experimentalmente el empuje de una de estas bóvedas, para cerrar un debate sobre la existencia o no de empujes en las bóvedas tabicadas. Los siguientes quieren obtener la carga de rotura de las bóvedas, con el objeto de construir después unas similares.

The Theory and Practice of Restoration in England in the Second Half of the 19th Century: The Work of George E. Street

Análisis de la teoría y práctica de la restauración en Inglaterra en la segunda mitad del siglo XIX, enfocada al trabajo realizado por el arquitecto George Edmund Street, desde el punto de vista de su investigación sobre la historia de la construcción de la arquitectura gótica en Europa.