Researchers and Quinnipiac University use x-ray to study the skeleton of an African-American man who died in bondage in the late 18th Century.

1. Photo: Mark Stanczak, manager of photographic services, Quinnipiac University
On March 11, Professor Gerald Conlogue, co-director of the Bioanthropology Research Institute at Quinnipiac, and
students x-rayed the remains of Fortune, an African-American man who died in bondage in 1798 near the Naugatuck
River.

2. Photo: Mark Stanczak, manager of photographic
services, Quinnipiac University
Fortune and his family were the legal property of Dr. Preserved Porter, a Waterbury physician, and lived on Porter’s farm.
It’s believed that Fortune worked the farm, while his wife, Dinah, worked in the home. Fortune was in his mid to late 40s
when he died. “If you look his bones, you can tell he did not have an easy life," Conlogue said.

3. Photo: Mark Stanczak, manager of photographic services, Quinnipiac University
After Fortune’s death, Porter prepared his skeleton to serve the study of anatomy, according to the Mattatuck Museum.
His rugged bone structure suggests that he was powerful man accustomed to rigorous farm work.

4. Photo: Mark Stanczak, manager of photographic
services, Quinnipiac University
Fortune’s skeleton underwent a bioanthropological analysis, and a 3D scanning camera was used to produced data that
can be used for a facial reconstruction. The researchers also used a 3D printer that makes replicas of the
bones, demonstrating pathology.

5. Photo: Mark Stanczak, manager of photographic services, Quinnipiac University
The students are using the unique experience to prepare for x-ray certification exams in May. "They will produce a
record that will last forever," Conlogue said. "This is an interdisciplinary educational project that will prove to be very
beneficial."