Reading the Bones: Activity, Biology, and Culture

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What can bones tell us about past lives? Do different bone shapes, sizes, and injuries reveal more about people’s genes or about their environments? Reading the Bones tackles this question, guiding readers through one of the most hotly debated topics in bioarchaeology.

Elizabeth Weiss assembles evidence from anthropological work, medical and sports studies, occupational studies, genetic twin studies, and animal research. She focuses on skeletal features such as measurements from cross-sectional geometries; entheseal changes, or locations of muscle attachments; osteoarthritis, which has often been thought to result from wear and tear on joints; stress fractures and hernias; and bone facets, which have been thought to come from frequent kneeling, squatting, or weight-bearing. This thorough survey of activity indicators in bones helps us understand which markers are mainly due to human biology and which are truly useful in reconstructing lifestyle patterns of the past.