ABSTRACT
Bioarchaeologists study human remains and their contexts to address anthropological questions. Research begins with an understanding of the individual and the funerary system within which that individual was treated. Following this, a number of other topics can be approached. Among these are social organization, the manner in which a society is organized, specifically kinship, stratification, marriage patterns, and post-marital residence. One can also deduce aspects of politics, systems that control the social aspects of a society. Religion, the belief in the supernatural, is a standard component in all facets of a funerary system and can provide considerable insight into a society. Investigations into sex and gender can reveal the social and sexual diversity that existed in most past societies. The study of inequality is also an important part of understanding social and political organizations. Finally, one can look at the bioarchaeology record of the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture, a process that resulted in a series of changes to diet, sedentism, settlement patterns, social and political organizations, use of resources, changes to the environment, and importantly, changes to human morphology, health, morbidity, mortality, paleodemography, and health care.
