Investigating medical intervention, healthcare and social wellbeing in nineteenth century Otago through paleopathological analysis of the W. D. Trotter Skeletal Pathology Collection

Historical anatomical collections have the potential to inform on many aspects of colonial life. This thesis investigates medical intervention, healthcare and social wellbeing from isolated skeletal elements from five individuals from the W.D. Trotter Anatomy Museum’s skeletal pathology collection. These individuals were acquired in the colonial period in Dunedin between 1891 and 1902 and exhibit evidence of trauma. Archival documents in combination with the skeletal elements can help expand on our understanding of the lived experiences of individuals with physical impairments in colonial Dunedin. The Bioarchaeology of Care (BoC) model traditionally examines the provision of care in people in the past, however, tends to cater to individuals from archaeological contexts. This study developed a modified BoC model that can be used for individuals from anatomical collections. Anatomical human remains do not have a burial context and therefore can be combined with archival materials to contextualise their lived experiences. The colonial period in Dunedin provided many historical texts, including from the Dunedin Hospital, Otago Benevolent Institution, and the Otago Medical School. These allowed for the modified BoC to centre around medical intervention in colonial Dunedin and examine access to healthcare, social wellbeing, and post-mortem experiences. Using a BoC model puts the individuals’ humanity and identity at the forefront of analysis, and this is especially important for those that have been anatomised and unidentified. The case studies of these people highlighted examples of informal and formal medical care, and how a lack of formal care and disability may be related to structural inequalities in colonial Dunedin. Archival materials associated with the W.D. Trotter Anatomy Museum also showed how structural inequalities could have continued to affect individuals into death through anatomisation. This study followed recent bioarchaeological ventures to further investigate the treatment of those often forgotten in the archival record and return their humanity to them as best we can.