ABSTRACT

Bioarchaeology covers the history and general theory of the field plus the recovery and laboratory treatment of human remains.

Bioarchaeology is the study of human remains in context from an archaeological and anthropological perspective. The book explores, through numerous case studies, how the ways a society deals with their dead can reveal a great deal about that society, including its religious, political, economic, and social organizations. It details recovery methods and how, once recovered, human remains can be analyzed to reveal details about the funerary system of the subject society and inform on a variety of other issues, such as health, demography, disease, workloads, mobility, sex and gender, and migration. Finally, the book highlights how bioarchaeological techniques can be used in contemporary forensic settings and in investigations of genocide and war crimes.

In Bioarchaeology, theories, principles, and scientific techniques are laid out in a clear, understandable way, and students of archaeology at undergraduate and graduate levels will find this an excellent guide to the field.

chapter Chapter 1|16 pages

The discipline of bioarchaeology

chapter Chapter 2|9 pages

In the field

Discovery and recovery

chapter Chapter 3|26 pages

In the laboratory

Description and basic analysis of human remains

chapter Chapter 4|31 pages

Treating the dead

The funerary system

chapter Chapter 5|18 pages

Paleopathology I

Metabolic, nutritional, and occupational stress

chapter Chapter 6|22 pages

Paleopathology II

Disease and abnormalities

chapter Chapter 7|23 pages

Trauma

chapter Chapter 8|15 pages

Specialized studies

chapter Chapter 9|15 pages

Interpretive theory and data integration

chapter Chapter 10|25 pages

Lives once lived

The anthropology of the dead

chapter Chapter 11|9 pages

Contemporary application

Forensic anthropology