Bioarchaeology of the American Southeast
Approaches to Bridging Health and Identity in the Past

Shannon Chappell Hodge (Edited by), Kristrina A. Shuler (Edited by), Mary Lucas Powell (Foreword by), Ralph Bailey (Contributions by), Tracy K. Betsinger (Contributions by), Steven N. Byers (Contributions by), Della Collins Cook (Contributions by), Carlina de la Cova (Contributions by), J. Lynn Funkhouser (Contributions by), Mark C. Griffin (Contributions by), Barbara Thedy Hester (Contributions by), Shannon Chappell Hodge (Contributions by), Emily Jateff (Contributions by), Christopher Judge (Contributions by), Ginesse A. Listi (Contributions by), Charles F. Philips (Contributions by), Eric C. Poplin (Contributions by), Rebecca Saunders (Contributions by), Kristrina A. Shuler (Contributions by), Eric Sipes (Contributions by), Maria Ostendorf Smith (Contributions by), William D. Stevens (Contributions by), Matthew A. Williamson (Contributions by), Christopher Young (Contributions by)

9780817319915, The University of Alabama Press

Hardback, published 25 September 2018

264 pages, 58 black & white figures, 7 maps, 32 tables
23.1 x 15.7 x 2.5 cm, 0.64 kg

Bioarchaeology of the American Southeast compares favorably with other Southeastern-focused bioarchaeology volumes that survey the various archaeological populations in the American southeast. It belongs on bookshelves next to volumes such as Bioarchaeological Studies of Life in the Age of Agriculture: A View from the Southeast and What Mean These Bones? Studies in Southeastern Bioarchaeology."" - Michelle D. Hamilton, associate professor of anthropology at Texas State University

""A wonderful successor to What Mean These Bones?, Bioarchaeology of the American Southeast demonstrates the current diversity seen in theoretical approaches in the discipline, from traditional population-based analyses of health to more socially focused studies of the individual. It will be a valuable addition to courses in both bioarchaeology as well as Southeastern prehistory."" - Marie Danforth, professor of anthropology at the University of Southern Mississippi

A timely update on the state of bioarchaeological research, offering contributions to the archaeology, prehistory, and history of the southeastern United States.
 
Building on the 1991 publication What Mean These Bones? Studies in Southeastern Bioarchaeology, this new edited collection from Shannon Chappell Hodge and Kristrina A. Shuler marks steady advances over the past three decades in the theory, methodology, and purpose of bioarchaeology in the southeastern United States and across the discipline. With a geographic scope that ranges from Louisiana to South Carolina and a temporal span from early prehistory through the nineteenth century, the coverage aims to be holistic.
 
Bioarchaeology of the American Southeast: Approaches to Bridging Health and Identity in the Past is organized into two main parts. The first, “Context and Culture History in Bioarchaeology,” focuses on the fundamentals of archaeology—figuring out who lived at an archaeological site, when they lived there, what they did, and how they lived their lives.
 
This builds the framework that allows archaeologists to answer deeper questions, such as the ones addressed in the second part, “Social Identities in Bioarchaeology.” Here contributors explore questions of identity, ethnicity, gender and the status of women, social status, class, power and exploitation, migration, and conflict. These chapters implement and contribute to anthropological theory and showcase improved methods, such as innovative statistical analyses, and incorporate newer technology, including a DNA and geographic information system applications.