Gwen Robbins Schug
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813036670
- eISBN:
- 9780813041803
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813036670.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
During the second millennium B.C. hundreds of villages were founded in peninsular India. The people of the Deccan Chalcolithic period relied on farming drought-resistant barley and wheat. They raised ...
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During the second millennium B.C. hundreds of villages were founded in peninsular India. The people of the Deccan Chalcolithic period relied on farming drought-resistant barley and wheat. They raised cattle, sheep, and goats; maintained hunting and foraging traditions; and utilized the resources gathered from local lakes and forest habitats for subsistence, construction, and fuel. Throughout this time, Chalcolithic people successfully colonized the peninsula despite the challenges of living in a semi-arid climate and unpredictable monsoon rainfall. By 1400 B.C. their settlements were thriving, populations were growing, and large regional centers were established. Yet, around 1000 B.C., the majority of these settlements were deserted. This book uses evidence from paleoclimate research, archaeology, and human skeletal material to examine life and death at three villages occupied during this time. Innovative methods of bioarchaeological analysis reveal complexity in the interactions between humans and their environment and suggest a new model for understanding this period of India's prehistory. Questions about human interactions with the environment thousands of years ago in India are interesting from an academic standpoint, but the insights we gain into the past are relevant in a contemporary context as we face the consequences of continued population growth, unsustainable lifestyles, degradation of local environments, and large-scale climate change. Having a longer view of the challenges, strategies, and consequences of human–environment interactions may prove helpful as we all develop strategies for dealing with contemporary environmental change.Less
During the second millennium B.C. hundreds of villages were founded in peninsular India. The people of the Deccan Chalcolithic period relied on farming drought-resistant barley and wheat. They raised cattle, sheep, and goats; maintained hunting and foraging traditions; and utilized the resources gathered from local lakes and forest habitats for subsistence, construction, and fuel. Throughout this time, Chalcolithic people successfully colonized the peninsula despite the challenges of living in a semi-arid climate and unpredictable monsoon rainfall. By 1400 B.C. their settlements were thriving, populations were growing, and large regional centers were established. Yet, around 1000 B.C., the majority of these settlements were deserted. This book uses evidence from paleoclimate research, archaeology, and human skeletal material to examine life and death at three villages occupied during this time. Innovative methods of bioarchaeological analysis reveal complexity in the interactions between humans and their environment and suggest a new model for understanding this period of India's prehistory. Questions about human interactions with the environment thousands of years ago in India are interesting from an academic standpoint, but the insights we gain into the past are relevant in a contemporary context as we face the consequences of continued population growth, unsustainable lifestyles, degradation of local environments, and large-scale climate change. Having a longer view of the challenges, strategies, and consequences of human–environment interactions may prove helpful as we all develop strategies for dealing with contemporary environmental change.
Andrew Reynolds
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199544554
- eISBN:
- 9780191720390
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199544554.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
A major problem in the archaeological study of human remains is how to classify and interpret burials either interred in an unusual fashion (face‐down, hands tied, etc.) or found in non‐normative ...
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A major problem in the archaeological study of human remains is how to classify and interpret burials either interred in an unusual fashion (face‐down, hands tied, etc.) or found in non‐normative contexts (i.e. without churchyards in the Christian period). There are many possible explanations for such ‘deviant’ burials, and this chapter seeks to provide a careful archaeological consideration of how, for example, murder victims might be distinguished from battle‐ or massacre victims, and in particular, how execution victims and cemeteries might be identified. The chapter examines in detail the nature of previous interpretations and advances a set of archaeologically attested criteria as an aid to future study of ‘deviant’ human remains.Less
A major problem in the archaeological study of human remains is how to classify and interpret burials either interred in an unusual fashion (face‐down, hands tied, etc.) or found in non‐normative contexts (i.e. without churchyards in the Christian period). There are many possible explanations for such ‘deviant’ burials, and this chapter seeks to provide a careful archaeological consideration of how, for example, murder victims might be distinguished from battle‐ or massacre victims, and in particular, how execution victims and cemeteries might be identified. The chapter examines in detail the nature of previous interpretations and advances a set of archaeologically attested criteria as an aid to future study of ‘deviant’ human remains.
Samuel J.M.M. Alberti
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199584581
- eISBN:
- 9780191725159
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199584581.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Recent medical and artistic scandals have drawn attention to the problems of storing and displaying human remains. This book places contemporary discussions into a much‐needed historical context by ...
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Recent medical and artistic scandals have drawn attention to the problems of storing and displaying human remains. This book places contemporary discussions into a much‐needed historical context by tracing the history of dead bodies in museums. It is concerned with the afterlives of diseased parts (in particular) in the medical marketplace, asking how they got to collections, what happened to them there, and who used them. Pathologists dismembered the dead body and preserved the fragments, whether by injection or by storage in fluid, fashioning them into material culture. Such body parts followed complex paths—harvested from hospital wards, given to prestigious institutions, or once again fragmented at auction. Human remains acquired new meanings as they were exchanged, the identities of anatomists and collectors obliterating that of the patient. Once in the museum, diseased specimens formed the major proportion of medical collections, re‐integrated to form physical maps of disease. Curators juxtaposed organic specimens with paintings, photographs, and models, and rendered them legible with extensive catalogues. Paper, wax, and text formed a series of overlapping systems that buttressed the morbid body. They were intended to standardize the educational experience that was the ostensible purpose of most of the museums, and yet visitors refused to be policed, responding powerfully, whether with wonder or disgust. This book is the story of these post‐mortem journeys in Britain in the long nineteenth century; an era of intense interest in pathological displays, from hospitals to fairgrounds, in which the museum emerged as the most important place for science and medicine, and the interior of the dead body was mapped out in unprecedented detail.Less
Recent medical and artistic scandals have drawn attention to the problems of storing and displaying human remains. This book places contemporary discussions into a much‐needed historical context by tracing the history of dead bodies in museums. It is concerned with the afterlives of diseased parts (in particular) in the medical marketplace, asking how they got to collections, what happened to them there, and who used them. Pathologists dismembered the dead body and preserved the fragments, whether by injection or by storage in fluid, fashioning them into material culture. Such body parts followed complex paths—harvested from hospital wards, given to prestigious institutions, or once again fragmented at auction. Human remains acquired new meanings as they were exchanged, the identities of anatomists and collectors obliterating that of the patient. Once in the museum, diseased specimens formed the major proportion of medical collections, re‐integrated to form physical maps of disease. Curators juxtaposed organic specimens with paintings, photographs, and models, and rendered them legible with extensive catalogues. Paper, wax, and text formed a series of overlapping systems that buttressed the morbid body. They were intended to standardize the educational experience that was the ostensible purpose of most of the museums, and yet visitors refused to be policed, responding powerfully, whether with wonder or disgust. This book is the story of these post‐mortem journeys in Britain in the long nineteenth century; an era of intense interest in pathological displays, from hospitals to fairgrounds, in which the museum emerged as the most important place for science and medicine, and the interior of the dead body was mapped out in unprecedented detail.
Clark Spencer Larsen
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780197265758
- eISBN:
- 9780191771965
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265758.003.0012
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
Human remains provide a fund of data for documenting and interpreting the quality of life, living conditions, and the costs and benefits of the foraging-to-farming transition and the dependence on ...
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Human remains provide a fund of data for documenting and interpreting the quality of life, living conditions, and the costs and benefits of the foraging-to-farming transition and the dependence on domesticated food sources, especially those related to the adoption and spread of plant staples that today feed much of the world’s population, including the superfoods—wheat, rice and maize. This chapter presents comparative results of human bioarchaeological research programmes where human skeletal samples are large and well documented and where archaeological context (settlement systems, dietary reconstruction) is comprehensive: west and east Asia, Europe, and North America. These investigations reveal largely similar but variable health outcomes relating to the foraging-to-farming transition. The record shows a general picture of compromised health either with the shift from foraging to farming or with intensified farming.Less
Human remains provide a fund of data for documenting and interpreting the quality of life, living conditions, and the costs and benefits of the foraging-to-farming transition and the dependence on domesticated food sources, especially those related to the adoption and spread of plant staples that today feed much of the world’s population, including the superfoods—wheat, rice and maize. This chapter presents comparative results of human bioarchaeological research programmes where human skeletal samples are large and well documented and where archaeological context (settlement systems, dietary reconstruction) is comprehensive: west and east Asia, Europe, and North America. These investigations reveal largely similar but variable health outcomes relating to the foraging-to-farming transition. The record shows a general picture of compromised health either with the shift from foraging to farming or with intensified farming.
Lynne G. Goldstein
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813034263
- eISBN:
- 9780813039619
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813034263.003.0006
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
The Aztalan site sits on the banks of the Crawfish River in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, and has been protected as a state park for more than fifty years. Prominent architectural features such as a ...
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The Aztalan site sits on the banks of the Crawfish River in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, and has been protected as a state park for more than fifty years. Prominent architectural features such as a substantial stockade and platform mounds are believed to date to the Mississippian Period. The first excavations at Aztalan took place in 1838 and were carried out by W. T. Sterling in an attempt to ascertain the nature of the “ruins” of the stockade. Although no cemetery has been documented at Aztalan, human remains have been found in one of three sets of contexts on the site proper indicative of Aztalan mortuary practices: eleven adult individuals were recovered from what was originally described as a “crematorium” on the second stage of the northwest pyramidal mound; primary inhumations are limited in number and usually consist of a flexed or partially flexed individual placed in a burial pit with few or no grave goods; scattered pieces of human bone recovered from refuse pits, storage pits, so-called firepits, or general habitation debris.Less
The Aztalan site sits on the banks of the Crawfish River in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, and has been protected as a state park for more than fifty years. Prominent architectural features such as a substantial stockade and platform mounds are believed to date to the Mississippian Period. The first excavations at Aztalan took place in 1838 and were carried out by W. T. Sterling in an attempt to ascertain the nature of the “ruins” of the stockade. Although no cemetery has been documented at Aztalan, human remains have been found in one of three sets of contexts on the site proper indicative of Aztalan mortuary practices: eleven adult individuals were recovered from what was originally described as a “crematorium” on the second stage of the northwest pyramidal mound; primary inhumations are limited in number and usually consist of a flexed or partially flexed individual placed in a burial pit with few or no grave goods; scattered pieces of human bone recovered from refuse pits, storage pits, so-called firepits, or general habitation debris.
T. Douglas Price and James H. Burton
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813034928
- eISBN:
- 9780813039626
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813034928.003.0009
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This chapter deals with the question of the place of origin of the inhabitants in the Campeche cemetery by undertaking isotopic examination of the human remains. It focuses specifically on the ...
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This chapter deals with the question of the place of origin of the inhabitants in the Campeche cemetery by undertaking isotopic examination of the human remains. It focuses specifically on the African inhabitants of the cemetery and includes data on new burials as well as information on their diet. This study uses its own methods and procedures along with the results of several analyses. To this end, the isotopic methods used in these investigations are described. Strontium isotopes are employed to examine the place of origin of these individuals. Relevant information on the geology of the Yucatan and surrounding regions is provided to enhance the context of the strontium isotope investigations. Carbon and nitrogen isotopes in bone and teeth are measured to obtain information on diet and ethnicity. In conclusion, the findings are discussed in terms of broader issues of place of birth, diet, local ethnic integration, and social interaction.Less
This chapter deals with the question of the place of origin of the inhabitants in the Campeche cemetery by undertaking isotopic examination of the human remains. It focuses specifically on the African inhabitants of the cemetery and includes data on new burials as well as information on their diet. This study uses its own methods and procedures along with the results of several analyses. To this end, the isotopic methods used in these investigations are described. Strontium isotopes are employed to examine the place of origin of these individuals. Relevant information on the geology of the Yucatan and surrounding regions is provided to enhance the context of the strontium isotope investigations. Carbon and nitrogen isotopes in bone and teeth are measured to obtain information on diet and ethnicity. In conclusion, the findings are discussed in terms of broader issues of place of birth, diet, local ethnic integration, and social interaction.
Anstett Élisabeth and Dreyfus Jean-Marc (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780719096020
- eISBN:
- 9781781707876
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719096020.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
Destruction and human remains investigates a crucial question frequently neglected from academic debate in the fields of mass violence and Genocide Studies: what is done to the bodies of the victims ...
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Destruction and human remains investigates a crucial question frequently neglected from academic debate in the fields of mass violence and Genocide Studies: what is done to the bodies of the victims after they are killed? Indeed, in the context of mass violence and genocide, death does not constitute the end of the executors' work. Following the abuses carried out by the latter, their victims' remains are treated and manipulated in very particular ways, amounting in some cases to social engineering. The book explores this phase of destruction, whether by disposal, concealment or complete annihilation of the body, across a range of extreme situations to display the intentions and socio-political framework of governments, perpetrators and bystanders. The book will be split into three sections; 1) Who were the perpetrators and why were they chosen? It will be explored whether a division of labour created social hierarchies or criminal careers, or whether in some cases this division existed at all. 2) How did the perpetrators kill and dispose of the bodies? What techniques and technologies were employed, and how does this differ between contrasting and evolving circumstances? 3) Why did the perpetrators implement such methods and what does this say about their motivations and ideologies? The book will focus in particular on the twentieth century, displaying innovative and interdisciplinary approaches and dealing with case studies from different geographical areas across the globe. The focus will be placed on a re-evaluation of the motivations, the ideological frameworks and the technical processes displayed in the destruction of bodies.Less
Destruction and human remains investigates a crucial question frequently neglected from academic debate in the fields of mass violence and Genocide Studies: what is done to the bodies of the victims after they are killed? Indeed, in the context of mass violence and genocide, death does not constitute the end of the executors' work. Following the abuses carried out by the latter, their victims' remains are treated and manipulated in very particular ways, amounting in some cases to social engineering. The book explores this phase of destruction, whether by disposal, concealment or complete annihilation of the body, across a range of extreme situations to display the intentions and socio-political framework of governments, perpetrators and bystanders. The book will be split into three sections; 1) Who were the perpetrators and why were they chosen? It will be explored whether a division of labour created social hierarchies or criminal careers, or whether in some cases this division existed at all. 2) How did the perpetrators kill and dispose of the bodies? What techniques and technologies were employed, and how does this differ between contrasting and evolving circumstances? 3) Why did the perpetrators implement such methods and what does this say about their motivations and ideologies? The book will focus in particular on the twentieth century, displaying innovative and interdisciplinary approaches and dealing with case studies from different geographical areas across the globe. The focus will be placed on a re-evaluation of the motivations, the ideological frameworks and the technical processes displayed in the destruction of bodies.
Barbara R. Stein
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520227262
- eISBN:
- 9780520926387
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520227262.003.0019
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter looks at another of Alexander and Kellogg's major trips, where they visited several countries in Europe. It begins by noting Alexander's restlessness upon returning to the ranch after ...
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This chapter looks at another of Alexander and Kellogg's major trips, where they visited several countries in Europe. It begins by noting Alexander's restlessness upon returning to the ranch after their Mojave Desert excursion, along with her increasing interest in human evolution. Alexander planned a trip to Europe after several early human remains were unearthed there. Their first stop was England, where they visited the British Museum, Westminster Abbey, and even the local Citroën dealership. It was here that Alexander went in search of the Kégresse, which was an automobile that had caterpillar treads instead of rear wheels. After their trip to England, the two women traveled to France, where they were given a demonstration of the Kégresse, and finally to Spain.Less
This chapter looks at another of Alexander and Kellogg's major trips, where they visited several countries in Europe. It begins by noting Alexander's restlessness upon returning to the ranch after their Mojave Desert excursion, along with her increasing interest in human evolution. Alexander planned a trip to Europe after several early human remains were unearthed there. Their first stop was England, where they visited the British Museum, Westminster Abbey, and even the local Citroën dealership. It was here that Alexander went in search of the Kégresse, which was an automobile that had caterpillar treads instead of rear wheels. After their trip to England, the two women traveled to France, where they were given a demonstration of the Kégresse, and finally to Spain.
Chris Fowler
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199656370
- eISBN:
- 9780191804724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199656370.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter examines the patterns and diversity in Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age mortuary practices from North-East England. In particular, it looks at the deposition of human remains along with ...
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This chapter examines the patterns and diversity in Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age mortuary practices from North-East England. In particular, it looks at the deposition of human remains along with various artefacts and materials. By identifying artefacts and burials as belonging to certain types, the chapter reproduces inversions or packs objects into black boxes so they can circulate productively in the rest of the study. It also considers the shift from the deposition of corpses to cremation prior to deposition, along with changes in the attendant furniture and architecture of mortuary deposits resulting in different effects, experiences, and identities. In addition, it traces the chronological patterns in mortuary practices such as the continuing and changing uses of pottery, cists, graves, and pits. Finally, the chapter analyses the inclusion of flint and bronze knives and daggers with the dead from c.2200 BC and the use of burnt or burning wood at the site of deposition.Less
This chapter examines the patterns and diversity in Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age mortuary practices from North-East England. In particular, it looks at the deposition of human remains along with various artefacts and materials. By identifying artefacts and burials as belonging to certain types, the chapter reproduces inversions or packs objects into black boxes so they can circulate productively in the rest of the study. It also considers the shift from the deposition of corpses to cremation prior to deposition, along with changes in the attendant furniture and architecture of mortuary deposits resulting in different effects, experiences, and identities. In addition, it traces the chronological patterns in mortuary practices such as the continuing and changing uses of pottery, cists, graves, and pits. Finally, the chapter analyses the inclusion of flint and bronze knives and daggers with the dead from c.2200 BC and the use of burnt or burning wood at the site of deposition.
Stuart Kirsch
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780520297944
- eISBN:
- 9780520970090
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520297944.003.0007
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Anthropology, Theory and Practice
A striking feature of debates concerning the disposition of Native American human remains is their invocation of the conventional domains of science, property, and kinship. Strong political claims ...
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A striking feature of debates concerning the disposition of Native American human remains is their invocation of the conventional domains of science, property, and kinship. Strong political claims about repatriation tend to assert the primacy of one domain over the others. Yet in contemporary North American social contexts, these domains have heterarchical relations, in which no single perspective dominates, rather than hierarchical relations organized by a fixed ranking system. Resolving disputes in heterarchical systems requires negotiation across domains rather than privileging a single domain. This requires the participants in these debates to understand how and why competing claims are fashioned. Yet deconstructing the terms of reference in heated debates may result in political backlash even when the goal of the analysis is to identify common ground.Less
A striking feature of debates concerning the disposition of Native American human remains is their invocation of the conventional domains of science, property, and kinship. Strong political claims about repatriation tend to assert the primacy of one domain over the others. Yet in contemporary North American social contexts, these domains have heterarchical relations, in which no single perspective dominates, rather than hierarchical relations organized by a fixed ranking system. Resolving disputes in heterarchical systems requires negotiation across domains rather than privileging a single domain. This requires the participants in these debates to understand how and why competing claims are fashioned. Yet deconstructing the terms of reference in heated debates may result in political backlash even when the goal of the analysis is to identify common ground.
Clark Spencer Larsen
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813036670
- eISBN:
- 9780813041803
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813036670.003.0007
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
This chapter presents conclusions about the physical, social, demographic and health circumstances surrounding the end of a period of Indian prehsitory known as the Deccan Chalcolithic (2200–700 ...
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This chapter presents conclusions about the physical, social, demographic and health circumstances surrounding the end of a period of Indian prehsitory known as the Deccan Chalcolithic (2200–700 B.C.). Paleoclimate research demonstrates that there was no large-scale climate shift at the end of this period in Indian prehistory and that, in fact, civilization has flourished in India within the context of a semiarid environment for at least 5,000 years. Local environmental degredation is supported by the archaeological record. Soil salinization due to unsustainable agricultural practices to feed growing settlements provides an adequate explanation for the abandonment of the majority of Chalcolithic settlements around 1000 B.C. The biodemographic profiles of the human population at Inamgaon suggest that socio-sanitation problems and starvation were an increasing problem. The chapter challenges previously accepted models for understanding the Deccan Chalcolithic period and presents a new synthetic model for understanding human–environment interactions in Indian prehistory.Less
This chapter presents conclusions about the physical, social, demographic and health circumstances surrounding the end of a period of Indian prehsitory known as the Deccan Chalcolithic (2200–700 B.C.). Paleoclimate research demonstrates that there was no large-scale climate shift at the end of this period in Indian prehistory and that, in fact, civilization has flourished in India within the context of a semiarid environment for at least 5,000 years. Local environmental degredation is supported by the archaeological record. Soil salinization due to unsustainable agricultural practices to feed growing settlements provides an adequate explanation for the abandonment of the majority of Chalcolithic settlements around 1000 B.C. The biodemographic profiles of the human population at Inamgaon suggest that socio-sanitation problems and starvation were an increasing problem. The chapter challenges previously accepted models for understanding the Deccan Chalcolithic period and presents a new synthetic model for understanding human–environment interactions in Indian prehistory.
Charlotte A. Roberts
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780195389807
- eISBN:
- 9780190254308
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780195389807.003.0061
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter discusses the history of paleopathology in the UK (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland). Paleopathology is considered a field within bioarchaeology, which is the study of ...
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This chapter discusses the history of paleopathology in the UK (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland). Paleopathology is considered a field within bioarchaeology, which is the study of human remains from archaeological sites with emphasis upon archaeological and historical contextualization. The chapter focuses on the study of skeletal and cremated human remains with few references to the more complete bog bodies. It covers the following periods: the early years (late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries), milestones of the 1950s–1980s, and from the 1980s onward. It also considers developments in paleopathology training, data recording standards, databases, skeletal collections, and research funding.Less
This chapter discusses the history of paleopathology in the UK (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland). Paleopathology is considered a field within bioarchaeology, which is the study of human remains from archaeological sites with emphasis upon archaeological and historical contextualization. The chapter focuses on the study of skeletal and cremated human remains with few references to the more complete bog bodies. It covers the following periods: the early years (late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries), milestones of the 1950s–1980s, and from the 1980s onward. It also considers developments in paleopathology training, data recording standards, databases, skeletal collections, and research funding.
Vera Tiesler, Pilar Zabala, and Andrea Cucina (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813034928
- eISBN:
- 9780813039626
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813034928.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
The town of San Francisco de Campeche was founded in 1540 and, during the first two centuries of the colonies, served as one of the key Mexican ports of the Spanish Empire. The chapters in this ...
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The town of San Francisco de Campeche was founded in 1540 and, during the first two centuries of the colonies, served as one of the key Mexican ports of the Spanish Empire. The chapters in this volume are based on research on archival written documents, architectural plans, maps, ceramic artifacts, and bioarchaeological data from human remains recovered at the original Catholic cemetery and they aim to reconstruct a dramatic story of colonial life and death. The documents reveal the religious and political strategies used by the Spanish Crown to implant European society; the skeletal evidence traces the human side of the story: physical hardship, the ravages of disease, body modifications (especially of teeth) to denote status, and forced assimilation of both natives and Africans. These nuanced discussions and insights reveal much about the complex, multiracial tapestry of the early Colonial period in Mexico.Less
The town of San Francisco de Campeche was founded in 1540 and, during the first two centuries of the colonies, served as one of the key Mexican ports of the Spanish Empire. The chapters in this volume are based on research on archival written documents, architectural plans, maps, ceramic artifacts, and bioarchaeological data from human remains recovered at the original Catholic cemetery and they aim to reconstruct a dramatic story of colonial life and death. The documents reveal the religious and political strategies used by the Spanish Crown to implant European society; the skeletal evidence traces the human side of the story: physical hardship, the ravages of disease, body modifications (especially of teeth) to denote status, and forced assimilation of both natives and Africans. These nuanced discussions and insights reveal much about the complex, multiracial tapestry of the early Colonial period in Mexico.
Nancy Tayles, Siân Halcrow, and Natthamon Pureepatpong
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780195389807
- eISBN:
- 9780190254308
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780195389807.003.0057
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter discusses the history of paleopathology in Southeast Asia. The discipline of paleopathology in the region has a short history, which is reflected in the limited availability of human ...
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This chapter discusses the history of paleopathology in Southeast Asia. The discipline of paleopathology in the region has a short history, which is reflected in the limited availability of human skeletal remains for analysis due to the relatively late development and sporadic history of archaeology. Despite early archaeological activity by nineteenth-century European colonists in countries such as French Indochine, Malaysia, Burma, Indonesia, Philippines, and Taiwan, a perception persisted until the 1970s among Western scholars that Southeast Asia was rather a late developer, with its position at a crossroads between the major civilizations of India and China resulting in the development of an “Indo-Chinese amalgam” rather than deserving of rigorous research in its own right. Until the mid-twentieth century, research on available human skeletal remains focused on the interminable exercise of morphological description with the aim of creating a human taxonomy.Less
This chapter discusses the history of paleopathology in Southeast Asia. The discipline of paleopathology in the region has a short history, which is reflected in the limited availability of human skeletal remains for analysis due to the relatively late development and sporadic history of archaeology. Despite early archaeological activity by nineteenth-century European colonists in countries such as French Indochine, Malaysia, Burma, Indonesia, Philippines, and Taiwan, a perception persisted until the 1970s among Western scholars that Southeast Asia was rather a late developer, with its position at a crossroads between the major civilizations of India and China resulting in the development of an “Indo-Chinese amalgam” rather than deserving of rigorous research in its own right. Until the mid-twentieth century, research on available human skeletal remains focused on the interminable exercise of morphological description with the aim of creating a human taxonomy.
Chris Scarre
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199281626
- eISBN:
- 9780191804311
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199281626.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter examines the funerary practices in Brittany. It highlights the scarcity of preserved human remains and discusses evidence for multiple burials and collective tombs and the model for the ...
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This chapter examines the funerary practices in Brittany. It highlights the scarcity of preserved human remains and discusses evidence for multiple burials and collective tombs and the model for the development of Neolithic funerary practices proposed by Christine Boujot. It also describes the collected human remains from the Neolithic burial south of the Loire and the Normandy passage graves.Less
This chapter examines the funerary practices in Brittany. It highlights the scarcity of preserved human remains and discusses evidence for multiple burials and collective tombs and the model for the development of Neolithic funerary practices proposed by Christine Boujot. It also describes the collected human remains from the Neolithic burial south of the Loire and the Normandy passage graves.
Chris Fowler
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199656370
- eISBN:
- 9780191804724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199656370.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This book investigates the archaeology of Early Bronze Age mortuary practices in North-East England from a ‘relational realist’ perspective. It shows how archaeologists undertaking regional synthesis ...
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This book investigates the archaeology of Early Bronze Age mortuary practices in North-East England from a ‘relational realist’ perspective. It shows how archaeologists undertaking regional synthesis study an assemblage or entanglement along with prehistoric bones, objects, materials, and structures, as well as practices, materials, technologies, people, and ideas generated in subsequent periods. It also explores the mortuary deposits of human remains, materials and artefacts, together with the associated features and architecture, with emphasis on how each changed over time. In this introductory chapter, the value of relational realism in studying mortuary deposits from the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age North-East England (2500–1500 BC) is explained.Less
This book investigates the archaeology of Early Bronze Age mortuary practices in North-East England from a ‘relational realist’ perspective. It shows how archaeologists undertaking regional synthesis study an assemblage or entanglement along with prehistoric bones, objects, materials, and structures, as well as practices, materials, technologies, people, and ideas generated in subsequent periods. It also explores the mortuary deposits of human remains, materials and artefacts, together with the associated features and architecture, with emphasis on how each changed over time. In this introductory chapter, the value of relational realism in studying mortuary deposits from the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age North-East England (2500–1500 BC) is explained.
Zoë Crossland
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- February 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190457204
- eISBN:
- 9780190457235
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190457204.003.0019
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
Human remains are often thematized as agentive within the mass-market literature on forensic anthropology. Corpses are said to speak or testify and to tell the truth about what took place in the ...
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Human remains are often thematized as agentive within the mass-market literature on forensic anthropology. Corpses are said to speak or testify and to tell the truth about what took place in the past. This chapter considers how the corpse’s agency is imagined in these texts and explores how a semiotic analysis might contribute to understanding the power of this image. As an ontologically ambiguous entity that appears simultaneously as a thing and as a person, the dead body provides a productive site for thinking about how agency operates in relation to people and things. Particularly in moments when the corpse is found outside of its proper place in the tomb, it seems to harbor some kind of problematic animacy that may be expressed through hauntings, dreams, or, as this chapter shows, through a language of science and evidence.Less
Human remains are often thematized as agentive within the mass-market literature on forensic anthropology. Corpses are said to speak or testify and to tell the truth about what took place in the past. This chapter considers how the corpse’s agency is imagined in these texts and explores how a semiotic analysis might contribute to understanding the power of this image. As an ontologically ambiguous entity that appears simultaneously as a thing and as a person, the dead body provides a productive site for thinking about how agency operates in relation to people and things. Particularly in moments when the corpse is found outside of its proper place in the tomb, it seems to harbor some kind of problematic animacy that may be expressed through hauntings, dreams, or, as this chapter shows, through a language of science and evidence.
Andrew T. Sandison
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780195389807
- eISBN:
- 9780190254308
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780195389807.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter presents a biographical sketch of Sir Marc Armand Ruffer. This is followed by a discussion of his contributions to paleopathology. Marc was clearly fascinated by the wealth of human ...
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This chapter presents a biographical sketch of Sir Marc Armand Ruffer. This is followed by a discussion of his contributions to paleopathology. Marc was clearly fascinated by the wealth of human remains being discovered in Egypt during his lifetime and published a remarkable series of papers commencing in 1909. These appeared fairly regularly until his death, and thereafter Lady Ruffer issued five more posthumous articles up to the year 1920. All of these articles were gathered together and published in a book entitled Studies in the Palaeopathology of Egypt (1921). Probably no other book has had a comparable effect on paleopathology, and these papers have been widely studied and repeatedly quoted by all workers in this discipline.Less
This chapter presents a biographical sketch of Sir Marc Armand Ruffer. This is followed by a discussion of his contributions to paleopathology. Marc was clearly fascinated by the wealth of human remains being discovered in Egypt during his lifetime and published a remarkable series of papers commencing in 1909. These appeared fairly regularly until his death, and thereafter Lady Ruffer issued five more posthumous articles up to the year 1920. All of these articles were gathered together and published in a book entitled Studies in the Palaeopathology of Egypt (1921). Probably no other book has had a comparable effect on paleopathology, and these papers have been widely studied and repeatedly quoted by all workers in this discipline.
