Children's Literature
- Linnea Hendrickson
At first glance an unlikely subject for an informational book for children, this account of the excavation of an African burial ground discovered beneath the streets of Manhattan in 1991, is well-written and gripping. It not only describes the excavation, but tells the story of "a people who had no opportunity to leave us either a written or oral history to 'tell' us who they were, what was important to them, what they believed, and how they lived." Detailed descriptions of particular burials dating from the 1690s to 1796 and the archaeological techniques involved are skillfully linked with the history of people of African descent from colonial times to the present. Well-documented with notes, a bibliography, sidebars, and an index, the book is illustrated with black and white photographs, many of the graves and their contents, and with reproductions of historical drawings, portraits, and maps. A time-line would have been helpful, as would dates on the recent photographs, but nevertheless this is an unusual and outstanding book of history and archaeology.
VOYA
- Sarah K. Herz
What is the significance of the African Burial Ground discovered in lower Manhattan in 1991? Why did it receive National Historic Landmark status in 1993? How does a burial ground help us to learn about the lives of people during a particular time? All of these questions are answered with fascinating historical and archaeological documentation that helps readers to understand the lives of Africans who came to New Amsterdam in 1626 with the Dutch West India Company, as well as black slaves from South and Central America and the Carribean islands. Through careful research archeologists piece together the lives of these black African farmers, soldiers, artisans, laborers, and slaves. Sadly, there were no diaries, written records, or oral histories because they were not allowed to learn to read or write. Thus the story of these colonial Afro-Americans and the injustices they suffered can finally be validated by this sacred burial ground. The authors carefully explain the tools and procedures archeologists use as they sift and study the skeletons and artifacts in the graves. For example, artifacts in one grave were buttons which were cleaned and studied under the microscope. The buttons' insignia was from the British Navy, worn on uniforms during the American Revolution. The authors provide a detailed historical context about the evolution of slavery after New York become a British colony in 1664. These chapters dominate a large portion of the book; however, African slavery in New York City in the seventeenth and eighteenth century is not common knowledge. The book is informative and might whet the curiosity of young readers who want to learn about archeology and its importance in discovering significant historical information. Because a group of citizens organized and pressured the government, the site is visited by many students and scholars. The African Burial Ground conducts tours, school programs, and seminars; it also has a newsletter that is distributed worldwide. This book is well written and attractively designed, and readers should have access to it in social studies classrooms as well as in libraries. It will generate lots of class discussion and writing projects. Index. Photos. Maps. Charts. Biblio. Source Notes. VOYA Codes: 4Q 3P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses, Will appeal with pushing, Middle School-defined as grades 6 to 8 and Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9).
School Library Journal
Gr 5 UpThe painstaking care with which archaeologists unearthed graves from a rediscovered cemetery in 1991 is reflected in the detailed research that frames this account of the African Burial Ground that has become a National Historic Landmark in New York City. Men, women, and children of African descent, both enslaved and free, have been a part of the city's history since the arrival of the Dutch in 1623. Drawing on a variety of scholarly resources and primary-source documents, Hansen and McGowan relate what is known about the experiences of the earliest members of the black community in Manhattan. Through black-and-white photographs of uncovered artifacts and reproductions of archival records and maps, a fascinating picture emerges. As the narrative states, analysis of skeletal remains have shown the signs of trauma caused by lives of hard labor, and in some cases perhaps, the effects of punishment for resisting slavery. An excellent portrayal of how archaeology helps to re-create and affirm the past.Janet Woodward, Garfield High School, Seattle, WA
Horn Book Magazine
Skeletons uncovered in 1991 during the construction of a new federal office building provide a dramatic focal point for this careful account of African-American life in New York City during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Expecting to find perhaps fifty burials in the old "Negroes Burying Ground," archaeologists eventually uncovered more than four hundred grave sites. The intriguing modern-day discovery recounted in the early chapters and illustrated with small (and gray, unfortunately) photographs is the most compelling part of the story, but the authors go on to a sobering, occasionally exhortative, history of the enslaved and free people of African origins who came to New York from many parts of the world in these centuries. They explain the information scientists and historians are gleaning from the disinterred skeletons, and they also draw on many scholarly sources of recent decades to examine periods of slave revolt prior to the Revolutionary War. Hansen and McGowan achieve much as they provide important details of both New York and national history and also demonstrate how "the important work of understanding our collective past continues." Some will be inspired to visit the recently established landmark site of the burial ground; many will ponder aspects of the story and want to read more. Maps, chapter notes, bibliography, and an index are included.
Kirkus Reviews
From Hansen (Between Two Fires, 1993, etc.) and McGowan, a moving and enriching story of the discovery of an African burial ground located in lower Manhattan. Although 18th-century maps of New York City show an area marked "Negroes Burying Ground," the land had been covered over by buildings for two centuries. In 1991, the area was once again excavated to build "a new thirty-four-story federal office building," but this time, a group of archaeologists hired by the US government were able to dig and conduct research. Their discoveries form the basis of this engrossing account. The painstaking methods of archaeologists, and their detective work, reveal much about the lives of Africans in colonial times. Hansen and McGowan recount that "it is as though people who have been written out of history have found a way to tell us about themselves through the objects buried with them," and that "a people who had no voice when they were living, and who had left no written records, would at last have their stories told." (b&w photos and illustrations, maps, notes, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 10-14)
