Ships’ boys, nippers and powder monkies: skeletal evidence for life at sea at an early age from Stray Park British Naval Cemetery (Plymouth)
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1During the era of the British Royal Navy in the 18th and 19th centuries, young boys made up a significant portion of the crews on warships. The Navy recruited these boys from as early as 6 years old, with the goal of providing them with many years of training. They received instructions on board, the youngests spent most of their time playing, while the older ones worked. As they grew older, the boys had to take on more and more sailor’s duties. However, historical documents do not precisely detail their activities. Nevertheless, this early exposure to seafaring activities can be observed through skeleton analysis. This study presents the results obtained for the immature individuals found in Stray Park cemetery in Plymouth (Devon, UK). This site was used to bury sailors who had died in the Royal Naval Hospital from 1762 to 1824. The analysis of 38 immature individuals, aged between 7 and 24 years old has informed on potential activities performed by these young sailors and allowed discussion regarding the evolution of their duties. Our results allowed us to show that, from childhood, muscle attachments leaves traces on the bones, allowing them to be studied. However, these results also highlighted the need for an enthesopathic study method adapted to immature skeletons. Age, laterality and enthesopathy location were found to play a predominant role in the formation of these activity markers. These data on potential activities, coupled with previous studies on diet, pathologies and trauma, coupled with archaeological and historical data, have ensured a far more comprehensive and developed understanding of the lives of these young sailors aboard British Royal Navy ships during 18th and 19th centuries. In addition to bringing these young individuals lives into view, this approach also holds wider potential for studies of child labour in general.
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Lorina Coiffard, Stéphane Rottier, Martin Smith, Gabrielle Delbarre et Melie Le Roy, « Ships’ boys, nippers and powder monkies: skeletal evidence for life at sea at an early age from Stray Park British Naval Cemetery (Plymouth) », Bulletins et mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris [En ligne], 37(S) | 2025, mis en ligne le 16 janvier 2025, consulté le 13 février 2025. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/bmsap/14772 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/133o5
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