Fashionable bodies
July 18, 2008 About my museum job, Archaeology, Blogs, Centre for Human Bioarchaeology, Conservation, MOLA OsteologyNatasha Powers (Head of Osteology) writes:
At MoLAS much of our commercial work involves studying the remains of people who died in the early 19th century. We have the unique opportunity to compare archaeological findings with the historical record. Over the next few weeks I’m going to talk a little about some of the discoveries made and the questions raised.
The team have recently completed analysis of nearly 750 individuals from the Catholic Mission of Saints Mary and Michael, Whitechapel. These people died and were buried between 1843 and 1854.
A number of women appeared to have unusually shaped ribs. By laying out the ribs in sequence it was possible to see a consistent pattern. The ribs were flattened from the side so that they pointed forwards and down, forming a somewhat triangular shape to the ribcage instead of a gentle curve. These deformities are caused by wearing corsets or stays.
We visited the Department of Fashion and Decorative Arts at the Museum to find out what type of underwear could have caused this. It turned out that the damaging effect of corsetry on the Victorian body is a ‘hot topic’ amongst costume historians. Writers in the 19th century campaigned against the wearing of tightly laced corsets and medical papers were published showing the effect on the internal organs.
You can see an illustration of ‘deformities to the ribs as a result of wearing a corset‘ at Project Gutenberg.
Understandably, our colleagues were largely unaware of the potential of the human remains to help answer this question. We are now looking forwards to working with the Curators to investigate this fascinating aspect of Victorian health further.
Phil Boarder :
Date: October 28, 2009 @ 11:38 am
May they rest in peace after you dug them up and played with their bodies.
Natasha Powers :
Date: November 2, 2009 @ 4:44 pm
Phil,
all human remains examined at MOLA have been excavated under the requirements of a planning application. The graves are moved because they would otherwise be disturbed by a new building.
We are required to obtain a licence for each exhumation and to work with respect and decency at all times. I can assure you that we take this responsibility very seriously. In most instances, the licence also outlines a requirement for reburial. Where human remains are curated, national and internal guidelines and policies ensure their continued good treatment.
You can read more about these guidelines and policies at:
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/Collections/OnlineResources/CHB/Policies