New Directions in Bioarchaeology: Recent Contributions to the Study of Human Social Identities

As a discipline that bridges the biological and social sciences, bioarchaeology has much to contribute to a contextualized and theoretically sophisticated understanding of social identities. Here, we discuss the growing methodological sophistication of bioarchaeology and highlight new developments in osteological age and sex estimation, paleodemography, biodistance analysis, biogeochemistry, and taphonomy, particularly anthropologie de terrain. We then discuss how these methodological developments, when united with social theory, can elucidate social identities. More specifically, we highlight past and future bioarchaeological work on disability and impairment, gender identity, identities of age and the life course, social identity and body modification, embodiment, and ethnic and community identities.     

Caring for the dead? An alternative perspective on Sámi reburial

This article is an effort to critically discuss Sámi repatriation and reburial practice based on the analysis of five repatriation cases. Since the seminal repatriation (and burial) of the skulls of Somby and Hætta in Gávvuonna/Kåfjord in 1997, and the more recent reburial of 94 skeletons in Njauddâm/Neiden in 2011, a precedent seems established in Norway that allows the unconditional reburial of all Sámi human remains from collections and excavations. This inevitably poses a serious challenge to research on Sámi human remains and the Sámi past. It is argued that what is important is not research, but that Sámi are allowed to decide for themselves how they wish to care for the dead. Rather than argue according to the adversarial pro-research or pro-reburial viewpoints, this article will take a closer look at how the dead, and their associated material remains, are cared for during Sámi reburial. As will be argued, the care for the material side tends to be neglected and therefore raises an ethical question regarding this practice.     

试论历史人类学与中国近代史研究中的几个问题

兴起于20世纪80年代中后期的历史人类学,尽管从学术传承上分属于两个不同的学科,但它的出现为消融历史学与人类学的边界,促成两个学科的交叉与融合,起到了不可低估的作用。在历史学内,“历史人类学”的形成亦经历了一个从社会史、社会文化史到历史人类学的演变过程。而在中国近代史领域,历史人类学已经展开一些研究实践,但是尚需进一步提倡。这种提倡表现在三个方面:底层视角、区域经验、文本与田野互动。历史人类学会对中国近代史研究产生有益的影响,会成为一种介于宏大叙事与经验性实证研究的“中层理论”。从历史学科的本位出发,历史人类学对人类学的吸收借鉴颇多,但是不能轻易放弃历史学科本位。     

“Tooting One's Horn” and Lauding One's Fellow in the Construction of a History of Anthropological Theory

The notion of lobbying for a place in the history of anthropological theory is used to frame the importance of the autobiography, collected works, Festschrift essays, and biography reviewed here. Ranging from bottom-up historicism, behavioral paleoanthropology, and French structural Marxism to historical particularism, the books by or about Stocking, Freeman, Godelier, and Mead emphasize the contributions of each while staking out a new or extended intellectual territory or status in the fluid (re)writing of the theoretical history of the discipline.     

Where are the dead of medieval battles? A preliminary survey

Abstract

Only a handful of mass graves from late medieval battles in Western Europe have been subject to large scale excavation to modern standards. The principal reason is that these, and indeed even early modern battlefield graves, have proven extremely elusive, most being identified by chance. Despite a few successes, no combination of prospecting techniques yet provides a consistently effective method of locating such small archaeological features set almost anywhere within a site covering many square kilometres. But this important resource should be explored and conserved for, as Towton has shown, much can be learnt through modern excavation and analysis of the remains. While this paper does consider the existing archaeological record, its primary focus and the starting point for almost any search for mass graves on a battlefield, has to be the documentary record. Using this evidence one must debate the number who actually died, how they were interred and commemorated and whether this varied according to status or allegiance, and where on the battlefield the graves might lie. One must also consider how often we will need to look further afield for the dead, for it is unclear how often the desire for appropriate Christian burial meant some or even most were interred in, or later moved to, consecrated ground.     

古代人骨的分子考古学研究现状与展望

本文重点讨论分子生物学在考古学研究中的应用。根据对人类学研究的回顾与展望,在以研究人类的起源和进化为首要任务的人类学研究领域,由于现代分子生物学理论和方法的应用,为人类学的发展提供了科学可信的研究方法和具发展前景的研究方向。     

Fruit stones from Tiao Lei's tomb of Jiangxi in China,and their palaeoethnobotanical significance

Fruit stones were discovered in Mr. Tiao Lei's Tomb (around 300 AD) at Nanchang, China. The morphology and anatomy of the fruit stones were investigated. They are identified as belonging to three species, namely, Chinese plum (Prunus salicina Lindley), red bayberry (Myrica rubra Sieb. et Zucc.), and Chinese date (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.). These stones suggest the possibility of orchards in the local area, and the fresh or processed drupes of these three species probably played important roles in the tomb owner's life.     

Recent Progress in Bioarchaeology: Approaches to the Osteological Paradox

The publication of The Osteological Paradox (Wood et al., 1992, Current Anthropology, 33:343–370) a decade ago sparked debate about the methods and conclusions drawn from bioarchaeological research. Wood et al. (1992, Current Anthropology, 33:343–370) highlighted the problematic issues of selective mortality and hidden heterogeneity in frailty (susceptibility to illness), and argued that the interpretation of population health status from skeletal remains is not straightforward. Progress in bioarchaeology over the last few years has led to the development of tools that will help us grapple with the issues of this osteological paradox. This paper provides a review of recent literature on age and sex estimation, paleodemography, biodistance, growth disruption, paleopathology, and paleodiet. We consider how these advances may help us address the implications of hidden heterogeneity in frailty and selective mortality for studies of health and adaptation in past societies.     

江苏邳州梁王城遗址西周墓地出土人骨研究

江苏邳州梁王城遗址西周墓地出土了67例西周人骨,对其性别、年龄、人口寿命、体质类型、身高情况的分析特别是对颅骨形态特征的研究表明,梁王城西周组居民属于蒙古人种,具有中颅型结合高颅、狭颅的特点,同时具有狭额、高眶、阔鼻、正颌的面部特征,并且具有长狭的下颌。梁王城西周组居民的颅型与现代亚洲蒙古人种的东亚类型最为接近;面部特征与东亚类型、北亚类型比较接近;体质形态与河南、陕西、甘肃、青海出土的同时代人骨存在一定差异,但这种差异小于梁王城西周组与梁王城大汶口组、殷墟中小墓III组、滕州前掌大B组之间的差异。