Publisher Description

A central theme of this volume is that future work on the lives of children in antiquity should be built on a strong foundation of biocultural research that draws from, and integrates more successfully, multiple sub-disciplines, including skeletal biology and physiology, archaeology, socio-cultural anthropology.

This book examines how the shifts in the early 19th century in New York City affected children in particular. Indeed, one could argue that within this context, that “children” and “childhood” came into being. In order to explore this, the skeletal remains of the children buried at the small, local, yet politically radical Spring Street Presbyterian Church are detailed. Population level analyses are combined with individual biological profiles from sorted burials and individual stories combed from burial records and archival data. What emerges are life histories of children—of infants, toddlers, younger children, older children, and adolescents—during this time of transition in New York City. When combined with historical data, these life histories, for instance, tell us about what it was like to grow up in this changing time in New York City

The Society for the Study of Childhood in the Past, in conjunction with Oxbow Books, publishes this recent international journal, Childhood in the Past. This journal provides a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary, international forum for the publication of research into all aspects of children and childhood in the past, which transcends conventional intellectual, disciplinary, geographical and chronological boundaries. The editor welcomes offers of papers from any field of study which can further knowledge and understanding of the nature and experience of childhood in the past.

Palaeopathology of Children: Identification of Pathological Conditions in the Human Skeletal Remains of Non-Adults provides archaeological examples of pathological child remains with varying degrees of disease manifestation, and where possible, presents illustrations of individually affected bones to help with identification. The structure and inclusion of photographs and summary diagnostic tables make this suitable for use as a textbook. Each chapter includes a table of international archaeological cases collated by the author from published and unpublished literature. Child skeletal remains come in a variety of different sizes, with bones appearing and fusing at different times during growth. Identifying pathology in such unfamiliar bones can be a challenge, and we often rely on photographs of clinical radiographs or intact anatomical specimens to try and interpret the lesions we see in archaeological material. These are usually the most extreme examples of the disease, and do not account for the wide degree of variation we may see in skeletal remains. - Provides a comprehensive review of the types of pathological conditions identified in non-adult skeletal remains - Contains chapters that tackle a particular disease classification - Features for each condition are described and illustrated to aid in the identification

Illustrates new methodological directions in analyzing human social and biological variation Offers a wide array of research on past populations around the globe Explains the central features of bioarchaeological research by key researchers and established experts around the world

In this volume, experts from around the world investigate childhood in the past, showing why it is important to understand childhood, why different cultures construct different ideas of how to rear children, what part children play in the community, and when and why childhood ends.

The first edition of The Archaeology of Childhood has been credited by many as launching an entire new area of scholarship in archaeology. This second edition, published 17 years later, retains the first edition’s emphasis on combining sources from archaeology, anthropology, environmental studies, psychology, and sociology, to create a rich interdisciplinary basis for studying childhood across time and across cultures. The second edition is updated with archaeological studies about childhood that have been published in the past 20 years, and readers will see that the archaeology of childhood is a field with a relatively short history but a rich and varied scholarship. Archaeologists study children in the very recent past, as well as Neanderthal and early modern human children, and every period in between. These studies use artifacts, the built environment, spatial analyses, the artistic representations, skeletal remains, and mortuary assemblages to illuminate the lives of children, their families, and communities. The book’s eight chapters cover: 1: The Archaeology of Childhood in Context 2: Childhood in Archaeology: Themes, Terms, and Foundations 3: The Cultural Creation of Childhood: The Idea of Socialization 4: Socialization and the Material Culture of Childhood 5: Socialization, Behavior, and the Spaces and Places of Childhood 6: Socialization, Symbols, and Artistic Representations of Children 7: Socialization, Childhood, and Mortuary Remains 8: Looking Back and Moving Forward This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the major themes in the archaeological study of childhood and introduces the concept of socialization as a way of framing archaeological scholarship on children. Case studies and examples from around the globe are included, and the author’s expertise on childhood in 18th-20th century America is drawn upon to provide more familiar examples for readers allowing them to question their own assumptions and understandings of what it means to be a child. Each chapter ends with discussion questions and learning activities.

A synthetic treatment of the study of human remains from archaeological contexts for current and future generations of bioarchaeologists.

Most archaeologists and bioarchaeologists receive little or no training in the recognition of skeletal remains of fetuses, infants, and children. Yet many research sites may contain such materials. Without a framework for identifying the bones or the excavation techniques suited to their recovery, archaeologists may often overlook subadult skeletal remains or even confuse them with animal bones. The Osteology of Infants and Children fills the need for a field and lab manual on this important topic and provides a supplemental textbook for human osteology courses. Focusing on juvenile skeletons, their recovery and identification, and siding in both field and lab settings, the volume provides basic descriptions and careful illustrations of each skeletal element at varying stages of development, along with sections on differentiation from other bones and siding tips. The book offers detailed treatment of the skull and teeth, including the cranial vault and facial bones, and examines the infracranial skeleton: vertebrae, pelvis, chest, shoulders, arms, hands, legs, and feet. A quick reference guide explains age estimation and identification templates. The illustrations are enhanced by photographs from two recent archaeology projects in Egypt, at Abydos and Dakhleh Oasis. The extensive collection of fetal and child remains from these sites provides new reference material unavailable in previous publications, making this manual an unparalleled resource in the field of physical anthropology.