The Archaeology of Human Bones

by Simon Mays

There is no greater direct evidence regarding earlier human populations than their physical remains. This volume provides a pragmatic and up-to-date account of forensic analysis of human skeletal remains, and its application in tackling major historical and archaeological issues.
The Archaeology of Human Bones starts with an introduction to the anatomy, structure and development of bones and teeth. It analyzes the biasing effects of decay and incomplete recovery on burial data from archaeological sites, and discusses what we may learn about ancient burial rituals from human remains. Subsequent chapters focus on the demographic analysis of bone, the study of ancient DNA, and the study of cremated remains. Examples are brought from archaeological studies around the world.
The Archaeology of Human Bones is a well-illustrated textbook for students of archaeology, explaining current scientific methods - technical jargon kept to a minimum - alongside critical discussion of their strengths and weaknesses.

Genres: Archaeology, Science, Nonfiction, History, Reference

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Colleen]

This was assigned for a bioarchaeology course I'm enrolled in this semester, and I have to say that so far this professor has yet to assign a book that I didn't find to be interesting and accessible, and isn't dry and overly academic in its language. This book was excellent as a companion to the course, but I think anyone with an interest in the topic would benefit from reading it, even if they aren't a student of anthropology or archaeology at university.

There are a couple of other books by this author mentioned on the back cover, and I've already decided to make a point of adding them to my library at some point.

[Kass]

A great introduction and overview of human remains in archaeological settings - Mays covers everything from taphonomy to demographics and pathology.

I would like to see more citations - he provides minimal examples / citations, so it's not the best if your looking for more specific sources