The skulls of Chief Nonosabasut and his wife Demasduit - Beothuk of Newfoundland

In March 1819 a young woman was abducted by white settlers and her husband was killed. They were among the few remaining members of the Beothulk of Newfoundland. Eight years later their skulls were removed from their burial hut and transferred to the University of Edinburgh, This paper describes the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International Journal of Osteoarchaeology
Main Authors: Black, S. M., Marshall, I. C. L., Kitchener, A. C.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/en/publications/98993799-1bc5-4f28-88c2-2262aca7e039
https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.1004
Description
Summary:In March 1819 a young woman was abducted by white settlers and her husband was killed. They were among the few remaining members of the Beothulk of Newfoundland. Eight years later their skulls were removed from their burial hut and transferred to the University of Edinburgh, This paper describes these two important skulls and details injuries and pathologies not previously recorded in detail. Chief Nonosabasut displayed evidence of extensive trauma to the region of his chin which is most likely to be evidence of previous, but well-healed, combat injuries. His wife, Demasduit, presented with an intriguing perimortern fracture to the left parietal bone which extended onto the base of the skull. This is discussed in the light of evidence available at the time of her death. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.