"A rich, synthetic view of East Asian (pre)history--the migration patterns, the cultural interactions, and the health profiles of these large and diverse populations. This daunting task is well achieved through thoughtful bioarchaeological studies that incorporate varied methodological and theoretical perspectives." --Tiffiny A. Tung, Vanderbilt University

"Successful in meeting its rather ambitious goal of drawing together bioarchaeological research over a very large and complex region of the globe. A significant contribution to many central archaeological questions in an area of the world that is often overlooked." --Sian Halcrow, University of Otago


Bioarchaeology of East Asia integrates studies on migration, diet, and diverse aspects of health through the study of human skeletal collections in a region that developed varying forms of agriculture. East Asia’s complex population movements and cultural practices provide biological markers that allow for the testing of multiple hypotheses about interactions in past communities.

Exploring the interplay between humans and their environments, this volume considers millet agriculture, mobile pastoralism with limited cereal farming, and rice farming in combination with reliance on marine resources. Many of these rare subsistence strategies are more or less exclusive to East Asia. These advanced contributions will significantly boost collaborative work among bioarchaeologists and other scientists working in the region.

Kate Pechenkina chairs the Department of Anthropology at Queens College of the City University of New York. Marc Oxenham, reader in archaeology and bioanthropology at Australian National University, is the editor of Forensic Approaches to Death, Disaster and Abuse.

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If you are looking for a current assessment of advances in the bioarchaeology of China and Japan, this book is for you--informative and rewarding.
--American Journal of Physical Anthropology

Make[s] new information available to the global audience illustrate[s] the scope of current work.
--Journal of Anthropological Research

This is a data-rich book… making a big contribution to the “biological costs of agriculture” literature for a region and economic systems (i.e., millet, wheat, barley) previously underrepresented.
--Journal of Island & Coastal Archaeology

Attempts to tackle important topics related to the dynamics of population spread, cultural contact, subsistence shifts, and how each is connected to regional diachronic health trends across a region that has recently advanced to the forefront within the global scientific community.
--Rezensionen