This injury could be one piece of evidence that helps identify the skull at the Smithsonian as Turner’s, said Kelley Fanto Deetz, a Black history scholar who was a consultant for “The Birth of a Nation,” a 2016 film about the insurrection written and directed by Norfolk native Nate Parker.ĭeetz cited a description of Turner that a Southampton resident created while authorities were trying to capture him in 1831 it said he had “a scar on one of his temples produced by the kick of a mule.” The skull at the National Museum of Natural History possibly shows signs of this injury. “The cultural and historical documentation, even if it’s oral, is likely to be qualitatively more reliable than genetics,” he said.Īnd on the subject of Nat Turner’s skull, the historical record offers no straightforward answers.Īt some point in his life, Nat Turner got kicked in the head by a mule. “I think it is possible, depending on the quality of the DNA sample, to get a highly likely or unlikely determination,” he said.īut Blakey cautions that scientific analysis should not stand alone. Comparing that to DNA of descendants should be able to provide an answer, and can typically be done within months. It’s possible to retrieve genetic material from protein that could still exist in an old skull, such as in the dentin of a tooth. Much more accurate, according to Blakey, is genetic analysis. “One skull is a very small sample of this highly variable world,” he said. Sex and race are more problematic because there is a lot of crossover in different traits. With objective measures of skeletal remains, it’s possible to estimate the age of an adult within about 10 years, he said. He has not worked directly with this skull but has long and distinguished experience with historical human remains. Michael Blakey is director of William & Mary’s Institute for Historical Biology. Reich, a geneticist, is a controversial figure among some scholars for assertions he has made about genetic variations between different races.Īlthough Owsley and his team are not talking publicly about their progress, it is possible to speak generally about the processes used to glean identifying information from human bones. Harvard University’s David Reich Lab is also assisting in the identification of the skull. The pandemic did nothing to speed the process along, he said, but “the complicating factor is the level of direct genetic comparisons” they are undertaking. He said that his team is taking great care with the identification of the skull and that the sophisticated techniques they’re employing take time. The skull has been in the museum’s custody for more than 4 1/2 years. Owsley confirmed Thursday that the institution retains possession of the skull but did not offer details on the progress of the forensic analysis or an estimated date of completion. She is quick to point out that she does not speak for all of Turner’s descendants who, seven generations on, are numerous. “Obviously if we are able to determine that it is the skull of our ancestor … that would be tremendously important on a spiritual and emotional level for the family.” “For me, the skull in and of itself is a very symbolic and emotional reference point,” said Aguirre, who like Wood lives in Maryland. Cousins and two of Turner’s great-great-great-great-great-granddaughters, Shanna Batten Aguirre and Shelly Lucas Wood, took possession of the skull and turned it over to a team led by Douglas Owsley at the National Museum of Natural History for forensic analysis. One of his patients was the daughter of a physician who was present when Turner’s body was cut up.įor years, Hatcher held on to the skull, but in 2016, long after it became clear the hall of fame wouldn’t happen, he agreed, with the National Geographic Society facilitating, to hand over the skull to descendants of Nat Turner. The family’s patriarch was a doctor in Richmond, Virginia, in the early 20th century. The administrator’s family had kept it in a closet for decades. Hatcher had received the skull from two Indiana civil rights activists, a husband and wife who themselves had gotten the skull from a longtime school administrator in Indiana. That night, he unveiled what would be the museum’s centerpiece: the skull of Nat Turner. Hatcher held a fundraising gala for a project he hoped to usher to fruition, the National Civil Rights Hall of Fame. In 2002, a former mayor of Gary named Richard G. Holden, “Surviving Southampton: African American Women and Resistance in Nat Turner’s Community.” The map is in a history written by Vanessa M. In August 1831, Nat Turner and other enslaved men - some willing, some forced - followed this route in the massacre that became known as Nat Turner’s Rebellion, or the Southampton Rebellion.
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