Osteoarchaeology: A Guide to the Macroscopic Study of Human Skeletal Remains

About this book

Osteoarchaeology: A Guide to the Macroscopic Study of Human Skeletal Remains covers the identification of bones and teeth, taphonomy, sex, ancestry assessment, age estimation, the analysis of biodistances, growth patterns and activity markers, and paleopathology.

The book aims to familiarize the reader with the main applications of osteoarchaeology and provide the necessary knowledge required for the implementation of a broad range of osteological methods. It is ideal as a complement to existing textbooks used in upper level undergraduate and graduate courses on osteoarchaeology, human osteology, and, to some extent, forensic anthropology.

Pedagogical features include ample illustrations, case study material, revision exercises, and a glossary. Additional features comprise macros that facilitate data processing and analysis, as well as an extensive chapter on applied statistics.

Contents

Chapter 1. The Human Skeleton
Chapter 2. Taphonomy
Chapter 3. Sex and Ancestry Assessment
Chapter 4. Age Estimation
Chapter 5. Biological Distance
Chapter 6. Growth Patterns
Chapter 7. Activity Patterns
Chapter 8. Pathological Conditions
Chapter 9. Statistical Methods in Human Osteology

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Biography

Dr Efthymia Nikita is an Assistant Professor at the Science and Technology in Archaeology Research Center, The Cyprus Institute, in Nicosia. She is a bioarchaeologist with an undergraduate degree in Archaeology (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) and a PhD in Biological Anthropology (University of Cambridge). Her research aligns with biocultural approaches and seeks to provide insights into the activity, mobility, demography, health, and diet of past populations using macroscopic and microanalytical methods. Geographically, her projects span North Africa, Greece, and the United Kingdom, while, temporally, they cover prehistoric to medieval times. In addition, she is engaged in refining the available osteoarchaeological methodology by evaluating current methods and suggesting new approaches in the study of commingled remains, biodistances, and activity markers. Her research has received funding from European and American foundations and has resulted in more than 40 articles and book chapters.