Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland

Forensic scientists dig into centuries-old graves at James Fort and sites across Colonial Maryland, using the clues left in bones to reconstruct the lives of people who lived in the Chesapeake Bay region in the 1600s and 1700s. The narrative follows Dr. Douglas Owsley and his team as they carefully uncover skeletons, examine teeth, leg bones, and other remains, and apply modern forensic techniques to determine age, diet, disease, and cause of death. Each skeleton reveals a personal story such as a fifteen-year-old European boy whose bones expose his origins and the harsh realities of early colonial life. By piecing together these human fragments, the book illuminates the social, health, and cultural landscape of early America while confronting the uncertainties that linger over the identities of the dead.