New Directions in Biocultural Anthropology

Molly K. Zuckerman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures at Mississippi State University. The author of numerous peer-reviewed publications employing the biocultural approach, Dr Zuckerman also teaches graduate and undergraduate introductory courses in anthropology and biological anthropology, osteology, diet and nutrition, and human behavior and disease. Debra L. Martin is the UNLV Barrick Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her expertise is in the biocultural approach as it can be applied to understanding poor health, inequality and violence. She has published four co-edited volumes, three co-authored volumes, and over 100 chapters and peer-reviewed articles on biocultural approaches in anthropology.

Contributors, xv Acknowledgements, xix A biocultural tribute to a biocultural scholar: Professor George J. Armelagos, May 22, 1936-May 15, 2014, 1 Debra L. Martin & Molly K. Zuckerman References, 6 1 Introduction: the development of biocultural perspectives in anthropology, 7 Molly K. Zuckerman & Debra L. Martin Introduction, 7 The origins and development of the biocultural approach, 8 Using a biocultural model, 12 Difficulties in using the biocultural approach, 15 The case studies in this volume, 15 Conclusion, 24 References, 24 Notes, 26 Part I: Critical and synthetic approaches to biocultural anthropology 2 Exploring biocultural concepts: anthropology for the next generation, 29 R. Brooke Thomas Introduction, 29 Background, 29 Case study: the Quechua of southern Peru, 1964 to the present, 31 Discussion, 41 Conclusion, 42 References, 44 Notes, 47 Endnotes, 47 3 Local nutrition in global contexts: critical biocultural perspectives on the nutrition transition in Mexico, 49 Thomas L. Leatherman, Morgan K. Hoke & Alan H. Goodman Introduction, 49 Background, 49 Case study: the "coca-colonization" of diet in the Yucatan, 54 Conclusion, 61 References, 62 Notes, 65 Part II: Biocultural approaches to identity 4 Disease and dying while black: how racism, not race, gets under the skin, 69 Alan H. Goodman Introduction, 69 Background, 72 Case study: race versus racism, 81 Discussion and conclusion, 85 References, 86 5 Beyond genetic race: biocultural insights into the causes of racial health disparities, 89 Christopher W. Kuzawa & Clarence C. Gravlee Introduction, 89 Background, 90 Case study #1: hypertension in the African Diaspora, 99 Case study #2: does the experience of racial discrimination in the United States have intergenerational health consequences?, 101 Discussion and conclusion, 101 References, 102 6 Political economy of African forced migration and enslavement in colonial New York: an historical biology perspective, 107 Michael L. Blakey & Lesley M. Rankin-Hill Introduction, 107 Background, 108 Case study, 109 Discussion, 125 Conclusion, 127 References, 129 Notes, 131 7 Identifying the First African Baptist Church: searching for historically invisible people, 133 Lesley M. Rankin-Hill Introduction, 133 Case study: Afro-American biohistory, 134 Conclusion, 152 References, 153 Notes, 155 Part III: Biocultural approaches to health and diet 8 "Canaries in the mineshaft": the children of Kulubnarti, 159 Paul A. Sandberg & Dennis P. van Gerven Introduction, 159 Case study: Nubia and Kulubnarti, 160 Conclusion, 176 Acknowledgments, 176 References, 176 9 Biocultural investigations of ancient Nubia, 181 Brenda J. Baker Introduction, 181 Background, 183 Case study: operationalizing a biocultural investigation: the Bioarchaeology of Nubia Expedition, 191 Conclusion, 194 Acknowledgments, 194 References, 194 10 Life and death in nineteenth-century Peoria, Illinois: taking a biocultural approach towards understanding the past, 201 Anne L. Grauer, Laura A. Williams & M. Catherine Bird Introduction, 201 Case study: life and death in nineteenth-century Peoria, 203 Discussion, 210 Conclusion, 212 Acknowledgments, 213 References, 213 11 Does industrialization always result in reduced skeletal robusticity?, 219 Ann L. Magennis & Joshua G.S. Clementz Introduction, 219 Background, 220 Case study: testing ideas about robusticity and industrialization, 225 Discussion, 232 Conclusion, 235 Acknowledgments, 236 References, 237 12 Stable isotopes and selective forces: examples in biocultural and environmental anthropology, 241 Christine D. White & Fred J. Longstaffe Introduction, 241 Background, 244 Case study: isotopes and epidemiological risk factors/synergies at Wadi Halfa and surrounding regions, 247 Discussion and