Bioarchaeology

Abstract

Bioarchaeology is the study of human skeletons from archaeological contexts. When viewed in temporal, spatial, social, cultural, and environmental contexts, human skeletal remains provide a fund of information about the lives, lifeways, and living conditions of human ancestors. Bioarchaeologists study human remains in order to develop an understanding of behavior and behavioral inferences about conditions of life, including from individuals and from populations of individuals from cemeteries, regions, continents, and the world. These inferences are documented from an array of biomarkers employed to assess, in various ways, health and general well‐being; injuries sustained from accidents, interpersonal violence, and warfare; activity, workload, and mobility; masticatory and nonmasticatory functions of the teeth and jaws; diet and nutrition; and biological relatedness and social identity. The age‐at‐death of individuals comprising assemblages of skeletons and the growth, stasis, or decline of population size give meaning for understanding long‐term sustainability of communities and regions.