Bioarchaeological Interpretations of the Human Past: Local, Regional, and Global Perspectives

A monumental synthesis of a half century of research, this book investigates three communities from the ancient Nubian civilization of the Nile River Valley. Excavations in this region first inspired the “biocultural approach” to human biology now used by anthropologists worldwide, and Life and Death on the Nile exemplifies the very best of this perspective. It is the life’s work of two highly accomplished anthropologists.

Drawing upon wide-ranging studies of prehistoric human remains from Europe, northern Africa, Asia, and the Americas, this groundbreaking volume unites physical anthropologists, archaeologists, and economists to explore how social structure can be reflected in the human skeleton.

Colonized Bodies, Worlds Transformed represents a new generation of contact and colonialism studies, expanding upon a traditional focus on the health of conquered peoples toward how extraordinary biological and political transformations are incorporated into the human body, reflecting behavior, identity, and adaptation. These globally diverse case studies demonstrate that the effects of conquest reach farther than was ever thought before--to both the colonized and the colonizers.

By examining the physical conditions of inmates that might have contributed to their institutionalization, as well as to the resulting health consequences, Geber sheds new and unprecedented light on Ireland’s Great Hunger.

Using evidence from 258 recovered graves from the Passo Marinaro necropolis, Sulosky Weaver suggests that Kamarineans--whose cultural practices were an amalgamation of both Greek and indigenous customs--were closely linked to their counterparts in neighboring Greek cities

Bioarchaeological studies of children have, until recently, centered on population data- driven topics like mortality rates and growth and morbidity patterns. This volume examines emerging issues in childhood studies, looking at historic and prehistoric contexts and framing questions about the nature and quality of children’s lives. 

Mission Cemeteries, Mission Peoplesoffers clear, accessible explanations of complex methods for observing evolutionary effects in populations. Christopher Stojanowski's intimate knowledge of the historical, archaeological, and skeletal data illuminates the existing narrative of diet, disease, and demography in Spanish Florida and demonstrates how the intracemetery analyses he employs can provide likely explanations for issues where the historical information is either silent or ambiguous.

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.

Now back in print and for the first time in paperback,Paleopathology at the Origins of Agriculture is a foundational piece in bioarchaeological literature and a central source of information regarding the impact of early farming on socioeconomic evolution. It remains a highly cited reference for archaeologists and physical anthropologists.

While mortuary ruins have long fascinated archaeologists and art historians interested in the cultures of the Near East and eastern Mediterranean, the human skeletal remains contained in the tombs of this region have garnered less attention. In Bioarchaeology and Behavior, Megan Perry presents a collection of essays that aim a spotlight on the investigation of the ancient inhabitants of the circum-Mediterranean area.