Over the past two decades, there has been a growing body of historical and archaeological research examining the history of African slavery in colonial Peru. These studies have contributed new information about the origins, roles, and experiences of enslaved peoples of African descent in colonial society. However, in spite of these advances, there are few studies that directly examine the lives of enslaved women and children. This parallels a similar trend in African diaspora bioarchaeology, where women and children are less frequently treated as primary subjects of study. As African diaspora scholars have argued, this failure to engage the diversity of enslaved communities risks conflating their experiences, often resulting in the unintentional erasure of women and children from narratives of the past. This paper responds to these concerns by bringing together archaeological, bioarchaeological, and historical evidence in order to examine the lives of enslaved women and children on colonial sugar plantations in central Peru. As a case study, it focuses on research performed at Hacienda La Quebrada, a sugar estate located in the coastal region of Cañete. By situating its research findings in critical social (Black feminist and Afro-Latin/American decolonizing theory) and bioarchaeological (biocultural and life course approaches) frameworks, this paper demonstrates how the conditions and experiences of captivity differed across Hacienda La Quebrada’s enslaved community, likely as a result of intersecting factors such as age, gender, and status. In doing so, it offers a model of an intersectional approach to the study of African slavery in colonial Peru, and to bioarchaeological studies of the African diaspora more broadly. 

Bio:  

Claire Maass is a PhD candidate in the department of Anthropology at Stanford University. Her research uses historical archaeological, bioarchaeological, and community-engaged methods in order to study histories of African captivity and diaspora in Peru. Claire received her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity from the University of Chicago in 2014, and completed her master’s degree in Anthropology at Stanford University in 2016. She is currently a director of El Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica La Quebrada, and is a founding member of the Asociación de Investigadores del Patrimonio, Ambiente, Educación y Turismo del Perú (AIPAET Peru S.A.C.).  

Zoom details will be available shortly. For questions, please contact Jessica at jeslopez [at] stanford.edu (jeslopez[at]stanford[dot]edu)