Adrienne C. Frie Dr. Patricia B. Richards University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 80 th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, April Symposium: People that no one had use for, had nothing to give to, no place to offer: The Milwaukee County Institution Grounds Poor Farm Cemetery

1. Determine whether autopsy practices differed between the Milwaukee County Coroner’s Office and the Milwaukee County Hospital to determine via which institution individuals came to the MCIG cemetery 1. Gain an increased understanding of historical autopsy practices, particularly craniotomy 1. Better understand the differing conceptions of the dead body that were circulating in the medical community at the time

1. Residents of Milwaukee County Institutions Milwaukee County Hospital inquiry (autopsy) Sent to a local medical college for dissection 2. Unclaimed individuals from the Milwaukee County Coroner’s Office Medicolegal autopsies Sent to a local medical college for dissection 3. Individuals anatomized by the local medical schools Standard burial – Ch. 406, 1871; Sec. 2 Ch. 406; Laws of 1903 Curated remains Non-standard burial – medical waste

Craniotomies and autopsies performed by the Milwaukee County Coroner’s Office were more standardized due to the low number of active coroners and the standardization of postmortem intervention. Expect: Standard autopsy practices More particular investigations/interventions related to investigating pathologies Craniotomies carried out at the Milwaukee County Hospital by pathologists and local students may be more idiosyncratic due to their exploratory and pedagogical goals. Expect: Less skilled craniotomies and autopsies More idiosyncratic and apparently unnecessary repetition of intervention Investigation/intervention of more elements than the standard cranium and torso Individuals coming to MCIG from the Milwaukee County Hospital are more likely to have been buried with additional material, or missing elements

Key: Saw mark – transects craniumPathology Saw mark – does not fully transect craniumPerimortem cut mark Saw mark – kerf Non-taphonomic breakage Abscess Perimortem cut Abscess *Only two perspectives are shown for ease of viewing

Key: Saw mark – transects bone entirelyPossible leverage point Non-taphonomic breakage Right Femur AnteriorPosterior Possible leverage points

From Hektoen 1894 The Technique of Post-Mortem Examination Anterior incision Posterior incision

“A circular incision is then made with the saw and the roof of the cranium removed. The incision in front should pass through a point three and a half inches above the root of the nose, behind through the occipital protuberance” Delafield 1872 A Hand-Book of Post-Mortem Examinations and of Morbid Anatomy: 9-10 Lot 10,537

“…the incision should follow a line which runs on both sides from the centre of the forehead to the base of the mastoid process and from these points backward and upward to a point a little above the external occipital protuberance, thus separating a wedge-shaped section of the calvaria…” Hektoen 1894 The Technique of Post-Mortem Examination: 53 Lot 10,623

Abscess Excised portion of calotte absent Key: Saw mark – transects cranium Saw mark – does not fully transect cranium Saw mark – kerf Pathology Lot 10,982

Most of the cranium was absent due to disturbance from the construction of the water pipe Key: Saw mark – transects cranium Lot 10,966

Source: Box 1919 Post-Mortem Manual: A Handbook of Morbid Anatomy and Post- Mortem Technique: 239 Source: Hektoen 1894 The Technique of Post-Mortem Examination: 165 PlanarBilanar

Possible leverage points Lot 10,302 Lot 10,626 Abscess Excised portion of calotte absent Lot 10,982 Key: Saw mark – transects cranium Saw mark – does not fully transect cranium Saw mark – kerf Non-taphonomic breakage Possible leverage point Pathology Lot 11,003

Lot 10,678 Lot 10,689 Lot 10,692 Key: Saw mark – transects bone Saw mark – does not fully transect bone Non-taphonomic breakage

Lot 10,699Lot 10,765 Lot 10,792 Key: Saw mark – transects bone Saw mark – does not fully transect bone Non-taphonomic breakage

Distribution of Post-Cranial Cut Marks Unassociated with Autopsy ELEMENTS (n=24) %N Frontal 4.21 Temporal, Left4.2 1 Temporal, Right8.3 2 Radius, Left4.2 1 Ulna, Left4.2 1 Femur, Left8.3 2 Femur, Right Femur, Left8.3 2 Patella, Left4.2 1 Tibia, Left8.3 2 Tibia, Right8.3 2 Fibula, Left Fibula, Right8.3 2 Foot, Left4.2 1 Foot, Right4.2 1

Lot 10,623 Lot 10,643 Lot 10,968 Lot 10,798 Key: Saw mark – transects bone Saw mark – does not fully transect bone Non-taphonomic breakage

Milwaukee County. Institutions and Departments- Photographs Box 2 Folder 17A: Medical Activity Collections of the Milwaukee County Historical Society

Source: Warner and Edmonson 2009 Dissection: Photographs of a Rite of Passage in American Medicine Front piece, Unattributed.

Lot 10,982

Patricia Richards would like to acknowledge the aid of several individuals who facilitated this research and provided valuable insight: Carrie Jones Emily Mueller-Epstein Tom Zych The MCIG Analysis Team Brooke Drew Nick Richards Emma Richards Adrienne Frie would like to acknowledge the aid of several individuals who facilitated this research and provided valuable insight: Dr. Patricia Richards Carrie Jones Emily Mueller-Epstein Tom Zych The MCIG Analysis Team Kevin Garstki