The history and health of a nineteenth-century migrant mine-worker population from Kimberley, South Africa

Abstract

Trenching by the Sol Plaatje municipality in Kimberley, South Africa, accidentally intersected 145 unmarked graves outside the fenced Gladstone Cemetery in 2003. The McGregor Museum was responsible for recovering the disturbed material. This paper describes the archaeological findings and demographic composition of the human remains excavated at the site and discusses briefly the pathological changes observed in the skeletons. One hundred and seven skeletons were exhumed from 15 graves along the trench. Remains from a minimum number of 26 individuals were also rescued from another site where material dug out of the trench had been dumped. All skeletal remains were analysed using standard anthropometric techniques, and visually examined for signs of pathology and trauma. Archaeological evidence as well as palaeopathological indications suggested that the skeletal remains were most likely those of migrant mine workers who died between 1897 and 1900, with the majority of the population consisting of young male individuals (n = 77, 20–49 years of age at the time of death) of low socio-economic status. The prevalence of infectious diseases (treponemal disease (8%), non-specific osteomyelitis (1%) and tuberculosis (1%)) observed in the sample, most likely reflects the pre-antibiotic era from which these individuals came as well as the overcrowded and unhygienic living conditions to which they were exposed on a daily basis. Cranial and long bone fractures (26.2%) observed are testimony to the high levels of interpersonal violence and hazardous mining environment described in archival documents, and other pathological lesions such as myositis ossificans (8%), spondylolysis (9%), Schmörl’s nodes (31%) and enthesophytes are indicative of the physical demands associated with mining activities. These results give substance to contemporary reports on the appalling conditions and hazards to which migrant workers were exposed when selling their labour on the mines in the late 19th century.