NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE—An examination of nine sets of human remains removed from the grounds of the Nashville Zoo suggests that part of the property had once been a cemetery where enslaved African-Americans were buried. Shannon Hodge of Middle Tennessee State University found that all nine were under the age of 50 when they died. Six had arthritis of the knee and/or spine, indicating that they had carried heavy loads, and one young man had a damaged hip that may have been caused by the stress of heavy workloads at an early age. Archaeologist Larry McKee of TRC Companies Inc. found buttons, beads, and other artifacts dating between the 1820s and 1850s when he conducted the original excavation. “I’m thoroughly certain that what we’ve got now is part of the enslaved community using that as a burial ground,” he told The Tennessean. To read about escaped slaves in the Great Dismal Swamp, see ARCHAEOLOGY's "American Refugees."
