If you can make the argument that he was an indentured servant, you can tell that he had a hard life, what kind of diet he had, and that he may be representative of certain people of that time," Luckenbach said.
If, but that might not fit the reality of the event.
Convienient but not proven.
It's more than likely that the kid died at a time of year when grave digging was impossible. And quite possible the remaining household died or moved before a proper burial could be performed. Its also possible that the family COULD have taken the kid in out of pity (maybe an orphan). And that he was already in poor health and not a victim of domestic torture.
I agree with your "not proven" statement and of course, people love a good story. It reminds me of a similar discovery showcased in a national magazine where the archeologists automatically assumed the skeleton of a female with a wide hip span was "probably a prostitute"!(just some BS tossed out for drama)