New York African Burial Ground Archaeology Final Report, Volume 1. Chapter 8. The Late-Middle Group

The Late-Middle Group comprises burials that have been distinguished from the main group because of stratigraphic relationships or because artifacts found with them are datable to the final third of the 18th century. It is possible that there is some overlap between the Late Middle and the Late Group, defined as post-1776. Nevertheless, in order to keep those burials that are most securely assignable to the later period (see Chapter 9) analytically distinct, we have separated out a Late Middle cohort, and for convenience use the start of the Revolutionary War as the end date. We use 1760 as an approximate beginning date for Late-Middle burials, though some overlap between the Middle and Late-Middle Groups is likely, since in many cases temporal group assignment is based solely on stratigraphic position. Relatively few burials (n=56) are assigned to the Late-Middle Group.A sketch of the town and its population precedes the presentation of the Late-Middle Group mortuary sample. The material culture, spatial distribution, and some unique and unusual burials assigned to this group are then discussed.