This book is entirely devoted to the study of children's skeletons from archaeological and forensic contexts. It provides an extensive review of the osteological methods and theoretical concepts of their analysis. Non-adult skeletons provide a wealth of information on the physical and social life of the child from their growth, diet and age at death, to factors that expose them to trauma and disease at different stages of their lives. This book covers the factors that affect non-adult skeletal preservation; the assessment of their age, sex and ancestry; growth and development; infant and child mortality including infanticide; weaning ages and disease of dietary deficiency; skeletal pathology; personal identification and exposure to trauma from birth injuries, accidents and child abuse; providing insights for graduates and postgraduates in osteology, palaeopathology and forensic anthropology.
• Provides an extensive review of analytical methods used in the analysis of child skeletal remains • Numerous tables including available skeletal collections, modern dental development and modern growth data • Contains many diagrams and diagnostic criteria for diagnosing diseases on non-adult skeletons
Contents
1. The bioarchaeology of children; 2. Fragile bones and shallow graves; 3. Age, sex and ancestry; 4. Growth and development; 5. Difficult births, precarious lives; 6. Little waifs: weaning and dietary stress; 7. Non-adult skeletal pathology; 8. Trauma in the child; 9. Future directions; References.
Reviews
Review of the hardback: '… focused, readable, and informative. … well-written and clearly presented … it has certainly earned its place in the well stocked library.' American Journal of Human Biology
Review of the hardback: 'The careful organisation is matched by the clarity of the writing and the author's skill in weaving together the multiple threads of evidence used in the contextualised study of children's remains from archaeological and forensic contexts. Discussion of the importance of the bioarchaeology of children to advances in forensic anthropology is a notable and distinctive aspect of the volume.' International Journal of Osteoarchaeology
Review of the hardback: '… well-written, clearly presented … a very good resource and starting point for anyone working on non-adult skeletal remains or interested in what bioarchaeology has to offer to the study of childhood in the past.' Childhood in the Past
Review of the hardback: 'Anybody working in the field or studying biological and forensic anthropology and also archaeologists, will find this book a very welcome addition to their basic library.' Journal of Biosocial Science
Printer friendly version