I agree with all the comments, but think about this if money had not been spent to research the death of this person then we would not have the joy of discussing this subject.I would like to know more about the place of the burial, it would have much to do with the death of the person. What if it was buried beside the house then it is probable that the death would not be to secret, but if it was buried in the woods mabe that means that the death would not be purposeful at all mabe the kid had fallen out of a tree and broken his wrist, but that would not explain the ashes or the glass. The coin and the animal bones could be some personal posetions the animal bones mabe a pet?

As interesting as this bit of archaeology and forensics is, the comments here are just as fascinating. This article has brought out some white-racists, some black-nationalists, a fellow who is angry that his local police have not adequately to his satisfaction, investigated the murders of his two relatives, all sorts of revisionists, and at least an anarchist or two. The same event, that of some poor white European boy being murders in the 17th century has been interpreted here in the comments to argue against discussing slavery and race, as an argument against any and all governments (anti-"statism"), as a waste of time (since his relatives were murdered recently. I do not have the space to present the argument that anthropology and arcaheology are important and actually improve our lives in the present, or that this event, the killing and hiding of his burial, and the research done on this have nothing to do with any modern political agendas. The fact is, some people can be cruel, and exploitation of black or white or grey or yellow or any men or women is horrid, but, great care has to be taken in how to interpret events of the past.

The horror of chattel slavery still affects both black and white folk. Indenture, as horrid as it was for some people, was not as evil as chattel slavery. That is the essential difference between the two. With indenture, the labor was owned, with slavery in America, the man (or woman) was owned. All that being said, I am sorry that that fellow above lost his two family members to recent murders, but that has nothing to do with modern archaeology. Also, statism is not evil. The state serves certain functions. We must understand history to be complete human beings. And, we must not be revisionists.

For anyone looking for additional information on this case, there was also a Webcomic produced based on this story. The Webcomic has activities that can be completed online and at the end there is link to a more in-depth article on the case. The Webcomic is called "The Secret in the Cellar" - see http://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/comic/

Great work! My thought is, "Those who ignore history are destined to repeat it". While we have made much progress in the past 350 years, we still have a long way to go in overcoming our baser inclinations but we much keep trying.

To add a post script to my earlier entry, I do not believe the coin and the other artifacts were deliberately left in the grave. Those were accidental, but at the same time they did give clues to time and circumstances to us here in this more enlightened century. No one at that time in history gave a thought to leaving clues at the scene of a crime. Sadly, this boy was buried, and was never thought of again. His family in Europe probably had no real hope of hearing from him once he left. Think about it - letters were sent by sea, and he may as well have been on another planet. His family probably prayed for him as long as they lived, but never had any real hopes of seeing or hearing from him again in this life. C. Hays

I, too, found this article fascinating. Too few people have a love of learning about the past. What happened 350 years ago, to a young man who was most likely a servant, gives us a glimpse into how our country came in to existence. All the stories that we discover from diaries, or long-forgotten letters in attics, add to our knowledge bank, and offer hints of long-ago daily life. Look how our lives have changed in the past 50 years. Just think how our current customs and activities will interest those 100 years from now. The comments about how worthless this kind of research is trouble me on more than one level. The fact that we are "dumbing" down is so apparent from the horrendous typos and misspelled words in this comment thread alone. Reading and educating ourselves are our tickets to many places that are unattainable by physical means. Reading "Smithsonian" can take one to faraway lands, corners of our own country that we will never travel to, and yes, can even give us the opportunity to "time travel"! Keep up the good work, and keep those articles coming! C. Hays Southern Illinois

To the people that think this excavation was a waste of time and resources, the is a famous quote - "He who does not learn from history is bound to repeat it". I think taking the time to learn where we came from good or bad is a lesson (also money and resources) well spent.

History Detectives on PBS had a case similar to this 2 years ago. I think they said there were laws passed that one could not leave bodies of indenture servants in the streets. They had to be disposed of by people who they were working for. It is interesting that were enough bodies lay unclaimed that they had to pass a law. A sad part of history.

For ppl that think this is just a waste of time and money... if you, yourself, came across a skull in a sellar i believe you would feel a little differently about whether to "waste" the money looking into it or not... if a little media coverage came w. the deal, u got your name in the news paper, you surely would careless how old the case was. If you found a dead body, no matter how old, could you honestly say you would just turn around and walk away like you hadnt even seen it? I dont think so! everyone is curious! and it is far from a waste for the simple fact that you wouldnt know what you do today if it wasnt for scientist "wasting" government funds to find out information just like this. The Titanic was a very good example of how cases like this are not "wasting" money. I'm sure every bit of money spent by the scientists to uncover the remains of the Titanic were returned ten-fold to the economy in the first week that the movie Titanic was released. Some people should really have bigger hearts, a more open mind and think before they speak :)

Narrow minds and lack of knowledge...that's sad. WHY WASTE $ ON THIS??? To gain knowledge. How could anyone be so narrow minded as to ASK such a thing or make such comments. You are probably unaware,and may not care,these same forensic scientists were on site after 9-11 at the Pentagon and helped identify the remains of my uncle as well as friends of our family. ALSO they "WASTED TIME AND RESOURCES" in Oklahoma City AND Waco.(do you remember?) They aquire knowledge on a daily basis that DOES go to help our world today. If not for their study of history,alot of our present and future would remain a mistery.Also, who said the master WAS responsible? We're talking about a time of new settlements in an unknown country. He may have been beaten by another indentured,killed by natives trying to reclaim what was taken from them or,heck,kicked by a horse that didn't want shoed. Point is,there are many so many possibilities of WHY he was buried in what WAS a custom for the time. Open your minds to others and gain knowledge...really,it doesn't hurt...much. ;}

Sad, but true many whom crossed the Atlantic suffered in many ways for a new chance in a new world. Debts that were not paid by ??? were sent to prison till ??? or were bought and still owed to the new owner. Africa did replace or supplemented the need of more than were allowing themselves to this arrangement which disgusting in thought was a necessary way to migrate to .America.It's just someone forgot to ask them & whom new the language of that particuliar tribe. Today African tribes still practice slavery as fueding tribes keep the spoils as did past cultures. Why ?? good question! Tibetians/ Chinese often in rurals moreso than urban sell their women as the man has more strength to allow the family to endure the hardships of their survival. The natives of this America were treated in the same manner! anyone read about " The trail of tears" We are civilised !! well, this story of this young teen is a disgrace to what was and really in manys ways still prevails. Good police work & follow that trail & maybe you can mark on the killers Grave also what he/she did to a child that did not get to finish his life naturally.

Why would they use a milk pan to dig the hole and then bury it with the body? If they didn't have a shovel why not use it to fill the hole?

Each to their own;(waste of money,time,and concern). But wouldn't it a better world if everyone cared a little more about life where we came from and where we are going to be in another hundred years? Sure it would be nice to find a cure to cancer, or stop hunger. BUT HELL that might have been your grand father's grand father who brutily KILLED that young man, and you don't want to know? And maybe that boy's siblings decendents still wonder what happened to him.

First, outstanding story and great historical evidence of life in early America. Second, I am amazed at the lack of knowledge in general by people today. The 17th century date definitely puts the protagonists over the 100 year period mentioned by Chris, and I seriously doubt the artifacts were buried with future crime scene detection in mind. Think about it; Do murderers plant evidence in burials today with a thought to the future, or could coins and such just be what the victim had in their possession? Archaeology (forensic and general) are great fields and are separate fields of study than Engineering, Economics or Agriculture Chris. Perhaps you should let the "smart people" work in their chosen profession while you return to school for a course in analytical reasoning.

I'm a student of history, but am baffled at the point of this story. There are cold cases out there now that remain unsolved. However, it does comfort me to know that if I'm murdered tomorrow, by the year 2359, they'll have figured out what happened to me. Note to self: carry a current quarter in pocket....

It's amazing what science has been able to achieve in the past few decades. As a forensic scientist myself, I find this to be a great story that binds science and history rogether. I'm just sorry for the victim. Love to see how this case developes!

To Angela K: Not all "indentured servants" willingly went into service. When the crown took the Highlanders into captivity - they did so by hanging the fathers and sending the women and children to the colonies into slavery. Since they were free, they were worked to death at no cost. The events were known as "the highland clearances". There are very few, if any descendants of the original highlanders left in the Scottish highlands. They became slaves in the 13 colonies. Yes, white slaves in the colonies in America. The fact has not been widely discussed in modern times because it doesn't sell as well as the common lore of all whites enslaving all blacks. But, it is the family history of those who descend from the highlanders. This is recorded for us in the story: Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson. It's high time that we accept that we have one nation here to build together. Slavery was a part of the history of the world in that time - not only against one group or one "race". However, it is not the exclusive domain of one group either. Time for us all to move on and be citizens of a free nation - and let the past be past.

I also found this article to be interesting. I'm not a big history buff, but I think that it is amazing how far we have come in being able to even have the opportunity to attempt to solve cases such as these. Many people on here ask why waste the money.. I can understand the thought process of the economy, as well as solving today's cases, and keeping other criminals off the streets now, however, I believe that solving this case is also important. Yes it may have been hundreds of years ago, but this innocent child should have some kind of ceremony in honor of him. He lived a tough life in harsh conditions starting at such a young age. He didn't rest then, doesn't he deserve a proper burial so that he can rest in peace now ? I also think it would be nice for someone, in which he was an ancestor to, should be informed. I would certainly want to know if it were me. Thank you for everyone who is involved in solving this case, including the person who wrote this article.

indentured servants or the same as slaves they were owed by another human being and if they were lucky they were freed at the end of there contract however they would disappear when their contract was due to expire like this boy yes indentured servants signed into a contract just like the tribal cheifs in africa sold their people into slavery to the brits first then americans (read your history)blacks were sold by blacks there were many slaves in this world blacks, white and asian and we should feel shame for all not just one race

This is a very interesting article. Some of the respondents, however, were compairing being indentured to being a slave, this is not the case. An indentured servant is simply a laborer contracted to another for a specific time period, for a specific fee. That fee could have been transportation to a new country, instruction toward becoming skilled in a craft, or something else of value. After the agreed upon time, the servant was released, and free to pursue his own interests. Sometimes,though,as still happens, people do not want to live up to their side of the bargain, and abuses occur. As for those who discourage this kind of analysis, just remember that if we do not learn from our past we face the danger of continuing to make the same mistakes over and over. Conversely, we might miss the good things, too.

Someone made the comment that we have come a long way since this young man died. Yes, we have, but what about the terrible war that seems to be waged against children; referencing the two small girls in Florida, Jessica, Baby Doe, Baby Grace, and hundreds of other children, boys and girls---disappear, and turn up dead. As for slavery, I think one of my ancestors came from England as a slave. I remember the aunts practically taking to their beds over it, and one of my husband's ancestors was also a slave---with a black owner. That was a twist.

Just a thought ,it would be quite something to trace the landowners and the boys owners at the time.To race his murder back to a certain family and follow there family roots and see if they are still a prominent part of Maryland.

Find this quite interesting in the fact my ancestor came over from England in 1650s as an indentured servant as an 8 year old! No other relatives! He did survive and was released from being a servant at age 21.

Interesting! A review of on-line immigration records for that time show only one boy of the right age range immigrating by ship into Maryland as an indentured servant during the applicable time period. Francis Oxnian, b.abt 1649, enters Maryland in 1664. No further records for him after that. Wonder if courthouse research would turn up his indenture records and if his sponsor/master was associated with the house/land of the burial? Records may be incomplete or he may have come into another colony and moved to Maryland, but would be interesting to know.

It's amazing what we can find out with forensics these days. However, I highly doubt that whoever buried this boy 350 years ago was in the least concerned about the artifacts having dates on them. How could they figure that folks in our day would put so much effort into investigating this poor boys death?

So, Caucasians were also slaves in the colonies, and were mistreated as well as the others. High time we stop focusing on slavery as a racial issue. Fact is that Scottish and Irish peasants were "taken into service" and often did not live long enough to gain freedom. This is a fact that family history has retained, but was not recorded well. Reality is that the highland clearances resulted in women and children being held as slaves, after the fathers were hung for "sedition against the crown". This is why they fought for the novel concept of "liberty" and "citizenship" rather than being "subjects" of the monarchy. This is also why we MUST continue to resist STATISM.

The fact that the boy died around 350 years ago, but they still haven't figured out exactly why is just so sad. I would love to learn more about what happened.

wow!!!!! this very shocking!!!!!!!!!!! i wish i was there. poor poor boy

Adria - of course no one is suggesting that Caucasians could not be slaves - not if they know anything about history! The ancient Europeans had slaves...Oliver Cromwell sent Irish men, women and children to the Carribean to be enslaved.

THIS IS A STIMULATING STORY AND NEEDS TO BE TOLD IN DEPTH, SO THST THE YOUNG MAN CAN REST IN PEACE. IT JUST GOES TO SHOW THAT SLAVES OF EVERY COLOUR WERE MISTREATED DURING THAT TIME.

What kind of person wants to own a human being?

This is interesting. I am cerious if they will be able to discover the cause of death. Was there anything on the bones that could give a clue beseides the wrist? Like a fracture in the skull or anything. This is interesting on the historical side because it might give some idea as to who the "master" was if he was an indentured servent. There have always been good people and not so good ones. There also could have be extenuating cercamstances to his death. I don't know if you can ever know that.

So how many women, older and younger, escaping the extreme poverty and disenfranchisement of their mother country, fell prey to abusive masters in the New World of the 1600s? How many were repeatedly raped, abused, beaten, and killed? We don't read about this in our history books but the abuses heaped on nigro slaves was neither the beginning or end of white men's monstrosities against humans. According to my reading, any indentured woman who gave birth to a child by her master was herself a slave forever as was the child. Those who killed their masters rather than suffer rape, abuse, and the birth of a child who would forever be a slave -- they had nowhere to run or hide. White men ruled. When the constitution of the U.S. was written, it was by rich white men for rich white men and the the exclusion of women and colored people. It still is.

That poor poor kid I would hate if that had happended to me . That must have hurt him a lot!

Whats next ?

Please feature more on that interesting less fortunate kid so we could know the real cause... So sad to know how brutal those century before but thanks to the new technology and scientist who eager to find and share it to us... Kudos to them! I hope they will give a boy a decent burial... May his soul be rest in peace in GOD's mercy...

Why do they have to solve a very very old crime? Aren't there modern crimes that need to be solved? "May this boy rest in peace"

It bothers me that people say "why waste money on this." Hello? It's EDUCATIONAL. In addition to technical learning, it can help teach us about morals (abuse is wrong) and about history (buried in a cellar, "skeletons in the closet" of the wealthy). If one cannot see the value in this, then perhaps we need to send you back to school again.

R.I.P.

Interesting! oh the beauty of investigation of science in the world of today. Ryan - Paranormal investigator http://www.freewebs.com/teamhuntingevidenceofparanormal

it's quite really interesting...I hope the scientists will be able to solve the history.I wanted to know more about this.;)

A very interesting bit of Archeology. It would be interesting to research any written material from that time period. Possibly documentation of local magistrates as missing servents were often listed as run aways. You might just find a possible name to place on those remains. This was done after they found an intact remains in a river bank at the Little Big Horn. Matching the remaines to a list of names and photographs they actually narrowed it down to two Horse Soldiers. As there are now there were evil people then who cared little for life. All you have to do is visit the grave yards in the gettos of LA and Compton to see the evil that men do.

As interesting and fascinating as this store is, we have boys about his being beaten and treated like slaves right at this very moment. So why not take the millions of dollars that their spending on a dead boy from 350 years ago and save the ones that are still alive? Before it’s too late and someone’s digging up their bones. We should not focus on something that happened 350 years ago but what’s happening now!

Just because the economy is hurting doesnt mean pieces to history ends. What do you think they lay off biologists or scientists? Hellooo. Thanks for clairifying the indentured servent and slavery for those who did not know the difference. This story is very interesting. OK and the family he may be related in these days probably didnt even know the kid exisited, so what diference does it make other than to know where in Europe he came from and about his parents. What are you gonna do call his familly and say we found your missing 350 year old uncle? LOL

Indentured servants were often not as well treated as slaves as slaves had more value. Think of it this way: You own a valuable horse and you rent a mediocre horse which you will return in a few years. The offspring of the valuable animal belongs to you; the offspring, if any, of the dink does not. Which one gets the better care? The young man may not have been indentured, though he proably was. He may have been a ward of the county, farmed out to work. Either way he was "bound" and would have been pursued had he run. I am amused people refer to him as a boy. Another indication that he was "bound" - were he free at that age and that class, he likely would have been married.

I agree, find out who owned the property at that time. I would definately be interested in hearing more about this story. Please give him a proper burial. Thank you for all your hard work in uncovering the untold stories of our countries early history.

wat if the artifacts were the weapons? well im not, unless he had some blunt trauma mmmmmmm

This is the stupidest thing I've ever seen. Who cares about a 350 year old case. I had two family members murdered a year ago and no one seems to be trying to solve that case. CSI should be trying to solve current murders instead of ones that happened so many years ago. It's a complete waste of time and money.

My first American grandfather immigrant came to Annapolis in 1664 as a boy about that age. They may have known each other. How interesting, and sad.

I disagree with cody and drew. I find that it is improtant to findout what really happened to the young boy. It's not right to let something like this just disapper in time. It's just like not finding out the truth about what really happened to the titanic after she sank.

How very sad and I don't mind at all the grants spent on archeology, we need to know the past in order to sustain the future and make it better. I would love to know what is found in this case, it's very interesting, as I'm a History buff.

This is very sad. I also would like to hear more about this story. It is very interesting to know how far science has come. Thank God it is almost impossible to get away with murder.

Let his soul rest, will solving this have a purpose? Pray for him.

scince the article said he had a hurt writs and bad teeth i belive he was a sevant boy but also i belive he was beaten to death or torchured ( which might include the fractured wrist) The coin i belive means somthing and they problably used the broken glass to abuse him with also. I dont know much but i belive this is a case of coloniol child abuse.

I found this article very interesting and well worth the time taken to read it. I am always amazed at what our forensic folks can do to explain what may have happened. Good job and keep up the good work.

Great to know that investigative skills and resources are used for this kind of thing! I know that remains of very ancient humans have been found with skulls bashed in, etc., and can hardly wait for these wonderful detectives to uncover the perps. Bringing them to trial may be a problem, but at least we know who the victims are, and the search for the long-dead perps can continue, and justice can be served. Luckily there are no more important needs for these resources, and we can res assured that all past crimes can be solved, even if he perps are dust. Makes me feel secure!!

I think what what the past is the past. We should focus on what is now and not spent too much money for what purpose? We can not help anything for the past but spending too much money and wasted time where I believed that those money could really help the poor children like that boy that died 350 years ago, that these children are alive and yet reseacher like you rather spend time and money elsewhere that is not necessary need when those are living that need for help.Overall, it's a waste.

very interesting and yet sad @ the same time

I really like mysteries like this it would be very interesting to find out more. The Dates were very interesting. it would be cool if a movie was made about this boy's life.

The original slaves in the USA were indeed European whites. Blacks were brought in when the supply of needed Europeans could no longer be filled. I learned this in History Class back in 1955. Indentured/slave. All the same. And Africans are still selling their own into slavery. How sad. Has history taught us nothing?? Maybe this childs death will open a few eyes to what real slavery is all about. Evil.

I think the article is interesting. I am a bit amazed at how poor the spelling and grammar are of many who responded. I can only assume that is because it was done from a phone rather than a computer. Perhaps it was too much effort to be attentive to what was being written despite the fact it significantly reduced the credibility of your opinion. Regardless, we are over a trillion dollars PER YEAR in increasing debt. Figuring out how a boy died centuries ago is not helping that issue no matter how interesting the resulting information may be.

This case illustrates perfectly what I learned in college last semester. In my U.S. History course,I learned all about the indenturing of people in the early colonies, and about the horrid conditions many faced, dying in servitude just like this poor youth.

You know i have heard over the years about the people who had been enslaved where suing the United States , does that include all enslaved people or only Black enslaved people ? I always wondered about the history of other slaves . very intersting , good article .

poor little boy...but y r people spending money to solve a case that isnt really gonna make a differnce in the world because no one is going to get prosecuted because they r already dead..y dont u just spend money on solving modern mysteries and get live criminals off of the street???

It seems the majority of people find this story interesting. I also found the story interesting and feel sorrow for that poor young boy and the hard, short, life he had. Mal-treatment to ANY human being should not have ever happened but it did and still does today. As far as the coins, etc being included in the burial site - it could be that those items were placed by other "indentured servants" who would probably been "ordered" to dig the child's grave as it is unlikely the "master" would have done such menial labor. Maybe whomever dug the child's grave included those coins because they belonged to him or maybe the child had those coins in his pockets at the time of his death and whomever buried him did not think to look through his garments for belongings. It is a very sad end for anyone, let alone a poor child.

This is very interesting. I would love to know more. I love history like this. Thanks for printing this so we could see.

To make sure we do not return to this time and barbaric way of thinking, it must be studied and then prevented.

Is this the same case that was featured on an episode of History Detectives on PBS? It was interesting, and sad, to see it then and the article is also.

im really big on this kinda stuff so i think its cool!

Mr Murray, I hate to point out the time difference, the boys body is saying that he was enslaved 200 years earlier then your antcestors. I mean, look at how far we have come in the last 200 years in the treatment of ALL people!

They know about when, They know where, now find out who owned that property during that time period. If you can find out who owned it then you might be able to look up if he rented it out or if he lived there. Records like these do exist but it will take some serious digging! If you can find the name of the property owner, then you might be able to find records of an indenture contract. It's a long shot but it is possible.

Wow. Thats awesome, someone finnaly found something intresting! I would die to know more!

awwww the boy died 350 years ago thats so sad

Is always painful to hear about these kind of stories about a child. But thank god we live in america, we are bless to have so much here.We use science to solve unsolve crimes.Plesae keep up w/ the informations.I would like to haer more.TO: THIS THIS BOY,YOU WERE NEVER GOTTEN. MAY YOU NOW REST IN PEACE.

One must understand that just like some slave masters were kind n good some were not, its all about a person's character and morals. Yes the north had indenture servants trying to make it look better then actual slaves even later but depending on who held your contract and what their family was like meant how you were treated or if you finished your servitude with them or were passed on cause someone bought the remaining time of your contract or they lost your so called orginal agreement. I am sure the people that are working on said case haven't stopped but only tipped the crack in an iceberg so to speak, they are probably looking up locations and town maps and drafts trying to date back to the time of the area where the body was found to who owned a house but that is still looking at centuries old things, not all houses were deeded properly in records etc.. or their exact occupants but if anyone can find it I have no doubt these people will. Plus I think now the young boy's body is finding kindness in American now more so then he did as he lived then.

It is really sad...

It doesn't matter whether we solve the crimes in the past or in the future. We always be too curious to let it go.

In response to Brent's posting...LOL!!!

The article was very interesting, would like to know more. It seems to me that there is still a lot of questions to be answered, please continue.

Ellen, think about it...if you were burying a body in the 17th century (that you didn't want found), would you really care if there might be a coin or a piece of glass laying in the dirt nearby with a date on it? How would that be incriminating? Anyone finding the body, then, would assume it was at least fairly recent (within at least the last few years) and wouldn't need a date on a piece of glass or a coin to make that assumption.

I think it is real interesting. Would love to hear more about this situation and what else they find out about this.

That's so awesome. I'd love to hear to full report! Thanks for sharing.

Any names of indentured servants (slaves) at about this time? Also any names of those who had these servants may be in any ship manifest or town record covering these years. Try harder to find family and descendants, please.

Indentured servitude is totally different from slavery in theory, and mostly in practice. It's wonderfully interesting to see how a little deduction goes so far!

wow...^^....nice article....

in response to Adria Sowell: indentured servants are called indentured servants and not slaves because they WILLINGLY (or i suppose in your ancestor's case was tricked) agreed to sign a contract and take on the job in return for passage over to America or maybe for a certain amount of money, also unlike slaves indentured servants usually did not serve for life; generally the contract bound them to their master for a number of years ranging most likely from about 5-7. this is general example of an indentured servant and there are many cases in which the above statements may not have held true but I just wanted to clarify what an indentured servant was since I felt that your comment was directed in a more biased view, or was more focused on an exception to the general.

I agree 100% with Angela Keesee his family should tracked. It would be a more positive end to such a tragic story

This is such a sad story. Poor guy. I do like reading stories of burial especially old century but this is really disturbing how this child died :o(

I hope they catch the scumbags who did this....

I wish there was more info on it. I was very interested

This is really sad. To me it made me think maybe his wrist was fractured blocking the blow of the bowl from the/an attacker. It makes me sad to think a boy would be treated in that way to where he had poor health, and live in harsh & neglectful conditions and for the reasons of bettering the "more elite"s lives...and to be thrown away like that...with no honor or ceremony. of course, there were many more like him according to the histories...

Think about it this way. If you knew something was wrong when it were done, and you had a heart about you, would you not want someone to know when you died if they found you. The fact that the coin and the glass with the date were found tells you that someone back at the time of the burrial was trying to make sure that this person when found could speak again. If the child was dug up back then and those items were found, someone would have been able to put 2 and 2 together and figured out that the "Master" had done it. Most likely to keep from paying off in the end whatever the price was to the servant boy.

so interestingk, loved this story. My son just moved to annapolis Junction, looling forward to visiting the museum. Would love to spend weeks visiting the museum.

I wonder if the coin had anything to do with his death.

I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS STORY... IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHAT REALLY HAPPEN TO THE BOY AND WHERE HE CAME FROM...I WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING YOU CAN TELL US...

that's awesome! but whats the point of trying to solve a case 350 years ago?

I agree with drew, there is absolutely no point to this. Sure, it'd be interesting to do all this, but is it worth the time, effort, and money? Our economy is going down the drain, and we're spending money on learning how some kid from the 17th century died? It makes no sense..

in response to the comment made by ellen kamps: its not that the boy was purposely burried w/ artifacts that contained the dates of the time period but rather that those items originally had those time periods on them. such as the coin, even today we date our currency like if you take a quarter it will say 2007 or 1998 or 1953; its just a process that manufacturers go through so that we know how long the coin has been in currency.

the explaination makes sens .

am i the only one who sees a waste of money finding out about a 350 year old dead person?? arent there better things that we can be spending grant money on???!!

we spend so much money on trying to figure out someones past, when there are people in the present that go without. we all should be ashamed of ourselves

This is a very interesting story and it proves that the slave servitude came in many forms of race and economical poverty, for many people, throughout the History of the world.

Poor kid. I'm glad they're finally figuring out what happened. It's a fascinating science.

This is very interesting.

Wow, that is just fascinating.

wow! today's studies are just amazing. it's sad to know about abuses long time ago though, which is very evident even nowadays, especially to countries like ours. :( i'd like to hear more stories with same genre like this.

Oh my gosh! I thought that the abuce these days are bad, just think of abuce these days compared to abuce those days. If you abused someone these days you would be punished for it, but if you abused someone those days you would get away with it! Age: 11 grade: 6 fav class: History

i LOVE THIS ARTICLE

That's so cool that you can find that out stuff like that from so long ago. Too bad you can't prosecute the killers because well they are long dead. Do you know yet who killed or could've killed him?

COOL!!!

Wow, such fascinating history. Hope to hear more about this.

omg i loved this article, more like this please. too much technology nowadays alittle bit of the past sounds lovely and creative

this is a facinating case that id love to see the rest of the evidence to.i like murder cases and solving them.

I would love to learn more about this.

wow, i am shocked and suprised

I just want to know why people want to say servant or indentured servant instead of saying slave? Just because they were Caucasian? Please don't try to explain it away because I have an ancestor who was a slave. He was tricked like many non-English speaking immigrants into coming over and paying his way by being a so called indentured servant. But he was no servant at all , he was enslaved and would never have had his freedom if he had not run away. This is just a prime example and I hope people realize that not all slaves were from Africa.

wow this is facinasting!

In researching family history, I found that my great grandparents came to the town of Cambridge, New York in the early 1850s from Ireland to work on a dairy farm. They were undoubtedly indentured servants paying off their passage. Two children were born to them at the farm. In 1857 they traveled west with money to buy a farm outside Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. There is no reason to think they were mistreated like the boy unearthed in Maryland. Indenture wasn't always a bad thing.

wow

Nearly worthless information and use of valuable resources. What if smart people devoted themselves to alternative energy resources, combating poverty, restoring America's economy or exploring ways to feed the world without the use of dangerous products like high fructose corn syrup? I'm relatively sure the statute of limitations expires when everyone that may have been remotely involved in this case has been dead for over 100 years! While I personally love history and studying the past, its useless information beyond, "Wow, that's neat." Please work on something that helps living people, or future living people, live better.

thank you this article was really interesting

can't wait to read the article

I think we have more important things to worry about right now than how some little kid died 350 years ago. last time I checked finding out how people died doesn't bring them back to life so why bother?

Grissom and his team of CSIs from Las Vegas would have solved this mystery in one hour.

only the good die young

I would like to know more about this. I find this very intersting and i think we ought to know more about these kind of discovoires! The servant might have also been abused in LABOR. he couldve died from starvation

This was a fasinating story. Please post more like it.

This is real interesting and same time very very touching and kinda double people like myself. Thinking what happened to this boy, many questions, how did he die, was it in pain, was he may be alive the time of his burial. This is scaring to know the truth. BUT I will be happy to see justice at the end. thank you guys for your good job.

Honor the dead of any time period or age. This is sad. Give this child a kind burial.

wow,, read every word,, very interesting,, would like to know more of this too. Robin

poor kid

really interesting would like to know more about it

poor boy

This poor child. His family probably had no idea what happened to him. Now all this time...would be intresting to be able to find out the family and track it to today and maybe get to see what kind of family he may have come from.

wow this is a good link to history. i would like to heard more of this kind of things.

Archeaology Find- 1665 Boy servant in Anne Arundel Co.

Amazing!! what great achievement of 21st century's scientiest. find more and more answer to our wondering questions about real life in previous centuries.

creepy, and mysterious but cool in a way

if he was buried to be hidden, why was he burried with artifacts that had dates on them??

how did you find the tomb and the bones? I wanna know. my name is sonny menrow and i and i will like to know? just type back and tell me please. P.S. i will like to know

You can find the jukebox here. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Jukebox-Sing-Like-A-Pirate.html or go to www.smithsonianmag.com/jukebox.

As a postscript to 'BONE COPS', you say that 'IRISH PIRATE BALLADS' is available at Smithsonian.com/jukebox. But I can not find it there. Why?

Would love to hear more about this. Margaret