Many physical anthropologists study populations using data that come primarily from the historical record. For this volume's authors, the classic anthropological 'field' is not the glamour of an exotic locale, but the sometimes tedium of the dusty back rooms of libraries, archives and museum collections. This book tells of the way in which archival data inform anthropological questions about human biology and health. The authors present a diverse array of human biological evidence from a variety of sources including the archaeological record, medical collections, church records, contemporary health and growth data and genetic information from the descendants of historical populations. The papers demonstrate how the analysis of historical documents expands the horizons of research in human biology, extends the longitudinal analysis of microevolutionary and social processes into the present and enhances our understanding of the human condition.

‘I liked this book very much. In each chapter, I not only learned something new about a specific people, time, or disease, but also new ways of interpreting and using data that will prove helpful to me in future research situations.’

Source: Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies

'… a pioneering effort which should be read by all human biologists … All the contributions are first class - first class in content and first class in presentation. With a little effort they are also a pleasure to read. May this book have a long history.'

Source: Annals of Human Biology

'For population historians who would like to explore this interdisciplinary territory on the borders between history, the social sciences, medicine and human biology, this book provides an excellent introduction'.

Source: Local Population Studies