Larsen, Clark Spencer
1997 Bioarchaeology: Interpreting Behavior from the Human Skeleton. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Notes: Cambridge Studies in Biological Anthropology 21.Reviewed 17 Oct 2001 by:
Nils Mueller-Scheessel <mueller-scheessel@t-online.de>
Roemisch-Germanische Kommission des Deutschen Archaeologischen Instituts, Frankfurt/Main, GermanyMedium: Written Literature Subject
Keywords:Human Remains (Archaeology)
Human Skeleton - Analysis
ABSTRACT: Aimed mostly at advanced postgraduates and professionals, this book provides a fairly complete overview of the approaches - and their results - employed to study the human remains of the archaeological past. Despite some biases and omissions, the range of studies presented and discussed is breath-taking, and this reference work will certainly find a prominent place in many bookshelves.
That the book under review - with its title Bioarchaeology - is concerned with human remains from pre- and protohistoric times will come as a surprise to some Old World archaeologists and physical anthropologists. When judged from the common assumption that the name of a discipline should reflect, as best as possible, its subject matter as well as its methodological basis, the term ôbioarchaeologyö is a veritable misnomer. 'Bioarchaeology' as defined by the author C. S. Larsen and others does not deal with all biological material derived from archaeological digs, but only with the mortal remains of prehistoric people. Furthermore, the methods 'bioarchaeologists' employ are not archaeological, but, as Larsen himself amply demonstrates, derive from physical anthropology and its sister disciplines. Terms like ôprehistoric anthropologyö or ôpaleoanthropologyö seem much more appropriate to denote that discipline which Larsen calls ôbioarchaeologyö; nevertheless, the latter notion is obviously gaining wider currency in the New World, and LarsenÆs book will undoubtedly strengthen this trend.Larsen did not write another introduction or manual of human osteology; instead his goal was "to provide a synthesis of bioarchaeology" (p. 3). Moreover, beyond a critical review of theories and methods, his book is meant to provide a tour de force "of the vast holdings in this storehouse [of individual historical events, provided by human skeletal and dental tissues], displaying the knowledge gained about earlier peoples based on the study of their mortal remains" (ibid.).
In short, and setting nomenclature aside, he does succeed in these endeavours û within some limits. This is indeed an impressive collection of facts and methods of nearly all facets of paleoanthropological research. The list of references alone comprises 89 pages and contains about 2000 entries.
The organization of the book is straightforward and the chapter headings are self-explanatory: It starts with - so to speak - external influences on the human skeleton (chapters 2-4: Stress and deprivation during the years of growth and development and adulthood; Exposure to infectious pathogens; Injury and violent death), then considers consequences of specific behavior on the skeleton (chapters 5-7: Activity patterns: 1. Articular and muscular modifications; Activity patterns: 2. Structural adaptation; Masticatory and nonmasticatory functions: craniofacial adaptation). Next, it comprises sections on the chemical and genetic dimensions of past societies (chapters 8-9: Isotopic and elemental signatures of diet and nutrition; Historical dimensions of skeletal variation: tracing genetic relationships). The work concludes with a short chapter on prospects and challenges to prehistoric anthropology (chapter 10). Additionally, a useful and extensive general index as well as a site index is provided.
The individual chapters are highly and usefully structured. Each starts with a short introduction; then follow the sub-chapters on specific topics which are further divided when necessary. As intended, Larsen mostly offers descriptive accounts of a wide range of case studies and, only now and then, does he discuss specific results critically. Why the case studies were chosen, is not always clear, sometimes the selection seems arbitrary, especially, as certain biases surface (see below). If one wants to study a topic in detail, the reader is advised to start with the useful summary and conclusion at the end of each chapter, where the results of the sometimes bewildering mass of studies cited is drawn together.
With a broad-ranging book like this, it is impossible, perhaps not even desirable, to serve everyone, and gaps are unavoidable. Larsen himself concedes that he took most of the material from North America with which he is most familiar (p. 5). Accordingly, non-English literature is largely absent from his bibliography. As another reviewer remarked: ôPerhaps one could interpret this as an invitation to Europe-based colleagues to match LarsenÆs effortö (Kn’sel 1998: 463).
Occasionally, the bias becomes problematic. The space devoted to some topics is clearly dependent on personal preferences. For example, while 48 pages discuss injuries and homicide, the equally interesting and important topic of healing and surgery (including trepanation) only merits 2,5 pages. Other topics fare even worse. The lack of discussion on aDNA, for instance, is particularly startling; one short paragraph certainly is not very much compared to its prospects, and essential literature dealing with aDNA is also lacking from his list of references (e.g. Herrmann and Hummel 1994).
Despite these flaws, it has to be stressed that the material Larsen handles is breath-taking in its scope and he always gives the impression of total command of the data he discusses.
In material as well as overall layout the book is well produced, but this quality certainly has its price, which will prevent many a potential reader from buying it ($85 US retail). Illustrations are scarce, yet more pictures would probably have made the book even more expensive. The graphs and line drawings are nearly all taken from other sources and have been only roughly reworked, making them, at times, incoherent. The language, however, is clear and consistent (even for an non-English speaker) and the author uses technical terms and jargon no more than necessary.
So, in the end: Who will want to read this book? It is certainly not one of those books, one - apart from the reviewer - studies from front to end, despite the fact that this would be a very rewarding experience. If you are interested in a certain æbioarchaeologicalÆ topic, you will find plenty of material and references. Also, merely thumbing through the book can be most interesting, just stopping here and then and stumbling over some astounding facts. In this respect, the book is very enlightening for Old World anthropologists who are probably not that familiar with the plethora of studies done in North America. It should also be suitable for advanced undergraduate or postgraduate classes.
Ultimately, it is written for other æbioarchaeologistsÆ, as a way to define their topics, to take stock, to assure each other of the importance of their subfield. Despite its weaknesses, it summarizes a wealth of information, which will inspire 'bioarchaeologists' and û hopefully ûarchaeologists alike.
References
Herrmann, Bernd, and Susanne Hummel, eds.
1994 Ancient DNA: Recovery and Analysis of Genetic Material from Paleontological, Archaeological, Museum, Medical, and Forensic Specimens. New York u. a.: Springer.Kn’sel, Christopher
1998 Review of Larsen 1997. Antiquity 72, 276: 462-3.
To cite this review, the American Anthropological Association recommends the following style:
Mueller-Scheessel, Nils
2001 Review of Bioarchaeology: Interpreting Behavior from the Human Skeleton. Anthropology Review Database. October 17. Electronic document, http://wings.buffalo.edu/ARD/cgi/showme.cgi?keycode=320, accessed February 10, 2010.© Anthropology Review Database
(available online: http://wings.buffalo.edu/ARD/)