Sabrina C. Agarwal - Böcker

With the growing incidence of fragility fractures in Europe and North America over the last three decades, bone loss and osteoporosis have become active areas of research in skeletal biology. Bone loss is associated with aging in both sexes and is accelerated in women with the onset of menopause. However, bone loss is related to a suite of complex and often synergistically related factors including genetics, pathology, nutrition, mechanical usage, and lifestyle. It is not surprising that its incidence and severity vary among populations. Each chapter highlights the multifaceted nature of bone loss and fragility. Several underlying themes are common between the chapters, particularly the value of biocultural an evolutionary perspectives in the study of bone loss and fragility. The contributors come from a variety of fields, and this volume is intended for diverse audience including physical anthropologists, osteologists, bioengineers, and clinicians in sub-disciplines such as rheumatology, orthopedics, and general medicine.

As researchers become increasingly interested in studying the lives of children in antiquity, this volume argues for the importance of a collaborative biocultural approach. Contributors draw on fields including skeletal biology and physiology, archaeology, sociocultural anthropology, pediatrics, and psychology to show that a diversity of research methods is the best way to illuminate the complexities of childhood.Contributors and case studies span the globe with locations including Egypt, Turkey, Italy, England, Japan, Peru, Bolivia, Canada, and the United States. Time periods range from the Neolithic to the Industrial Revolution. Leading experts in the bioarchaeology of childhood investigate breastfeeding and weaning trends of the past 10,000 years; mortuary data from child burials; skeletal trauma and stress events; bone size, shape, and growth; plasticity; and dietary histories.Emphasizing a life course approach and developmental perspective, this volume's interdisciplinary nature marks a paradigm shift in the way children of the past are studied. It points the way forward to a better understanding of childhood as a dynamic lived experience both physically and socially.

This volume brings together the latest approaches in bioarchaeology in the study of sex and gender. Archaeologists have long used skeletal remains to identify gender. Contemporary bioarchaeologists, however, have begun to challenge the theoretical and methodological basis for sex assignment from the skeleton. Simultaneously, they have started to consider the cultural construction of the gendered body and gender roles, recognizing the body as uniquely fashioned from the interaction of biological, social, and environmental factors. As the contributors to this volume reveal, combining skeletal data with contextual information can provide a richer understanding of life in the past.

Illustrates new methodological directions in analyzing human social and biological variationOffers a wide array of research on past populations around the globeExplains the central features of bioarchaeological research by key researchers and established experts around the world

Illustrates new methodological directions in analyzing human social and biological variationOffers a wide array of research on past populations around the globeExplains the central features of bioarchaeological research by key researchers and established experts around the world

With the growing incidence of fragility fractures in Europe and North America over the last three decades, bone loss and osteoporosis have become active areas of research in skeletal biology. There has been increasing interest to investigate bone loss and osteoporosis from an anthropological perspective that utilizes a biocultural approach.