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A synthetic treatment of the study of human remains from archaeological contexts for current and future generations of bioarchaeologists.
List of contents
Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Stress and deprivation during growth and development and adulthood; 3. Exposure to infectious pathogens; 4. Injury and violence; 5. Activity patterns 1: articular degenerative conditions and musculo-skeletal modifications; 6. Activity patterns 2: structural adaptation; 7. Masticatory and nonmasticatory functions: craniofacial adaptation to mechanical loading; 8. Isotopic and elemental signatures of diet, nutrition, and life history; 9. Biological distance and historical dimensions of skeletal variation; 10. Bioarchaeological paleodemography: interpreting age-at-death structures; 11. Bioarchaeology: skeletons in context; 12. References; Index.
About the author
Clark Spencer Larsen is the Distinguished Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. His research is primarily focussed on biocultural adaptation in the last 10,000 years of human evolution, with particular emphasis on the history of health, well-being, and lifestyle. He collaborates internationally in the study of ancient skeletons in order to track health changes since the late Paleolithic. He is the author of 200 scientific articles and has authored or edited 30 books and monographs.
Summary
Reflecting the enormous advances made in the field over the past twenty years, Larsen discusses newly emerging areas in bioarchaeology. Jargon free, richly illustrated, and with numerous case studies and references, this textbook will be a valuable source to undergraduates, graduates, and instructors interested in the fundamentals of bioarchaeology.
