Dominated Bodies, Colonized Bodies: Differences in the Impact of Domination on the Body/Person and Body/Social in America, a Long-Term Bioanthropological Study

Geraldine Granados, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia

The concept of colonization is present in most discourses explaining the current world order. However, these phenomena have evolved over time and across different contexts, leading us to one of the pivotal moments that shaped the hierarchies we experience today: the colonization of the Americas from the 15th to the 19th centuries. Colonialism is a topic that interests historians, sociologists, and philosophers, but not in a deep way for the bioanthropologists. There is no clear empirical evidence of the implications or impact of colonization on people's lives and daily experiences. To better understand the different types of oppression experienced under colonialism, we propose analyzing four sets of human remains from various locations (Teotenango, Chapingo, San Juan de Dios, and Fond Saint Jacques). Our analysis will involve identifying stress indicators, using anthropometry and isotopic analyses to track changes over time, and generating paleodemographic data such as life expectancy, survival probability, and median age at death. We will then compare these results using statistical models uncommon in bioarchaeology. This project aims to contribute to the discussion on colonialism by providing bioanthropological evidence that focuses on the bodies of those affected by this long-lasting process.

Keywords: Bayesian methods , The Demography of Indigenous Populations, Historical Demography, Inequality, Disadvantage and Discrimination

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