Breaking Ground, Breaking Silence: The Story of New York's African Burial Ground (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books) [Hardcover]

Joyce Hansen (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Series: Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books

How can we learn about the lives of African slaves in Colonial America? Often forbidden to read or write, they left few written records. But in 1991 scientists rediscovered New York's long-ignored African Burial Ground, which opened an exciting new window into the past.

A woman with filed teeth buried with a girdle of beads; a black soldier buried with his British Navy uniform, his face pointing east; a mother and child, laid to rest side by side: to scientists, each of these burials has much to tell us about African slaves in America.

Breaking Ground, Breaking Silence shows how archaeologists and anthropologists have learned to read life stories in shattered bones, tiny beads, and the faint traces left by coffin lids in ancient soil. At the same time, by blending together the insights found buried in the soil and the results of historians' careful studies, it gives us a moving, inspiring portrait of the lives Africans created in Colonial New York.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 UpAThe painstaking care with which archaeologists unearthed graves from a rediscovered cemetery in 1991 is reflected in the detailed research that frames this account of the African Burial Ground that has become a National Historic Landmark in New York City. Men, women, and children of African descent, both enslaved and free, have been a part of the city's history since the arrival of the Dutch in 1623. Drawing on a variety of scholarly resources and primary-source documents, Hansen and McGowan relate what is known about the experiences of the earliest members of the black community in Manhattan. Through black-and-white photographs of uncovered artifacts and reproductions of archival records and maps, a fascinating picture emerges. As the narrative states, analysis of skeletal remains have shown the signs of trauma caused by lives of hard labor, and in some cases perhaps, the effects of punishment for resisting slavery. An excellent portrayal of how archaeology helps to re-create and affirm the past.AJanet Woodward, Garfield High School, Seattle, WA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 8^-12. The monumental 1991 discovery of the mid-eighteenth-century African Burial Ground under the streets of Manhattan has uncovered the skeletal remains and artifacts of more than 400 graves as well as the history of the enslaved people whose voices had been lost. McGowan is head conservator of the team studying the burial ground; Hansen is a Coretta Scott King Award winner. They weave together the main strands of the inquiry. First, there is the painstaking analysis of the archaeologists, who can tell us much about the daily lives of the people buried there and also how the burials reflect African memories and culture. Then there is the physical anthropologists' analysis of how the buried bones reveal the causes of death and the harsh ways of life of the enslaved people. Finally, there is the work of the historians, who are piecing together how black New Yorkers lived and labored. The facts are riveting, and the book design is handsome, with lots of small black-and-white photographs, but the book is not easy reading. The narrative is disjointed, heavy, and repetitive, maybe because there are so many jumps from one kind of inquiry to the next and back again. Still, the technology will excite students as much as the history that breaks the silence. Hazel Rochman

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 130 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (April 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805050124
• ISBN-13: 978-0805050127
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,413,367 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, June 14, 2000

By 

Tammy (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breaking Ground, Breaking Silence: The Story of New York's African Burial Ground (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books) (Hardcover)

This book wonderfully encompasses a vast wealth of knowledge. Archaeology, history, current events, and modern day issues are just a few things. This book is extremely well written from the introduction, to the archeological dig, to an epilogue that summarized the issues behind the dig. I found it very informative about the history of African Americans during colonial times. I also thought that it was informative on the procedures followed for archeological digs. I really got a feel for the climate, attitudes, and living of African Americans during their first years in America. I would definitely use this book in a classroom study of the early Americans. It presents an alternate view than the pioneering white male view commonly seen during these times. The many pictures are graphic, well-taken and very interesting.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and factual data about a people of long ago, July 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Breaking Ground, Breaking Silence: The Story of New York's African Burial Ground (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books) (Hardcover)

Breaking Ground, Breaking Silence was perhaps not one of the most interesting books I have ever read, but it is definitely one of the most haunting. When the book first starts out, the reader has no idea that what is beneath centuries of asphalt are people long ago and long forgotten. The most wonderful thing about the book was the way researchers were able to construct the lives of those found. I thought going back in the past and intricately constructing their journeys and lives was incredible. I also enjoyed, for lack of a better word, the photographs. Perhaps the most haunting was the one of mother and child. I felt sorrow and pity for those who had to endure such hardships, but who willed something better for themselves and those who followed. Their lives should be recorded and the place where they were buried should be sacred. I don't know how many students will enjoy this as pleasure reading, unless they enjoy finding artifacts, but I am positive no media center should be without this resource. Kids should have at least exposure with this book to know it is out there. It would be a fantastic reference and addition to any collection. These lives should be celebrated and honored. They, I feel, deserve at least that as a payment for a price so dearly paid by many ancestors.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous book! For adults as well as kids!, May 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Breaking Ground, Breaking Silence: The Story of New York's African Burial Ground (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books) (Hardcover)

Great book! Yes, archaeology in NYC! Although this book is listed as a young readers book, I found it a facinating read for adults interested in this subject area of archaeology and black history. I have never found such a great book that combines both the history of a people that few books are written on with a modern day archaeological dig.

Great resource for teachers, black history month and just for those of us out there who are facinated with archaeology.