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Resumo

A broad historical sketch of tooth mutilation stresses the role of Negro slaves in introducing the African custom into America, and the possibility of filling in gaps in our knowledge along this line from recovered skeletal remains.As an example of what can be learned, a skeleton found recently in Grenada, West Indies, is described as that of a male Negro, with a West African type of dental mutilation. The individual represented is shown to have been around 35–40 years of age, below average in size, with bandy legs, signs of mild deficency disease, and a variety of dental and periodontal diseases. Geographical and historical factors are reviewed in an effort to decide whether or not he was one of the original slaves or a descendant of a slave. The authors conclude that the circumstances of the find warrant the belief that he had been born in Africa and received his mutilation there.An earlier report of another such find in Barbados, and the mention of a subsequent find in St. Croix, suggest that a more intensive search for Negro remains in the West Indies would prove fruitful.

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