Anthropology & Archaeology

This five-volume Encyclopedia of Anthropology is a unique collection of over 1,000 entries that focuses on topics in physical/biological anthropology, archaeology, cultural/social anthropology, linguistics, and applied anthropology. Also included are relevant articles on geology, paleontology, biology, evolution, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and theology. Special attention is given to hominid evolution, primate behavior, genetics, ancient civilizations, cross-cultural studies, social theories, and the value of human language for symbolic communication.

The most up-to-date and wide-ranging encyclopedia work on human evolution available.

A Handbook of Practicing Anthropology presents a comprehensive account of contemporary anthropological practice written primarily by anthropological practitioners working in corporations, governmental, entrepreneurial, and educational settings. Highlights the range of successful career options for practitioners , describes significant sectors of professional activity, and discusses key issues, concerns, and controversies in the field.

This book promotes an eclectic, multi-faceted anthropology in which multiple approaches are applied in pursuit of the limited insights which each can afford. This book is relevant to anthropology, communication studies, cultural studies and sociology.

The History of Anthropology reveals the theoretical schools, institutions, and social networks of scholars and fieldworkers primarily interested in the anthropology and ethnography of North American Indigenous peoples. Darnell's fifty-year career entails seminal writings in the history of anthropology's four fields: cultural anthropology, ethnography, linguistics, and physical anthropology.

Encyclopedia of Archaeology: History and Discoveries explores the archaeologists, sites, debates, techniques, methods, and issues that are central to the global practice of archaeology. Three richly illustrated volumes trace the development of the field from the ancient Greeks to the present day. Through detailed tours of major excavation sites from all over the world--Chichen Itza, Machu Picchu, Ephesus, Pompeii, the tomb of Tutankhamun--as well as more obscure sites like Brzesc Kujawski in Poland, readers gain an appreciation for the inherent challenges all archeologists share in locating, recovering and making sense of evidence of past human lives.

Dictionary of Artifacts is an indispensable reference for anyone working within the field of archaeology. Entries detail artifact's classification and typology; raw materials; methods and techniques of creation; principles and techniques of examination and identification; and instructions for the care and preservation of specimens. Along with a headword and definition, pronunciations, synonyms, cross-references, and the category/categories also accompany each entry. Drawings, photographs, and extensive annnotated bibliography are included for more complete comprehension

The book covers all relevant approaches to obtaining and analyzing archaeological data, including dating methods, quaternary paleoenvironments, human bioarchaeology, biomolecular archaeology and archaeogenetics, resource exploitation, archaeological prospection, and assessing the decay and conservation of specimens. Readers will also find a thorough introduction to human bioarchaeology, including hominin evolution and paleopathology , the use of biomolecular analysis to characterize past environments, novel approaches to the analysis of archaeological materials that shed new light on early human lifestyles and societies In-depth explorations of the statistical and computational methods relevant to archaeology.

The book guides the reader to an understanding of what theory is, how it works and the range of theories used in archaeology. The growth of theory and the adoption of theories drawn from both the natural and social sciences have broadened our ability to produce trustworthy knowledge about the past. This book helps readers to see the value of archaeological theory and beyond what is sometimes thought to be just the use of indigestible jargon.

Three Stones Make a Wall traces the history of archaeology from an amateur pursuit to the cutting-edge science it is today by taking the reader on a tour of major archaeological sites and discoveries, from Pompeii to Petra, Troy to the Terracotta Warriors, and Mycenae to Megiddo and Masada. Along the way, the book addresses the questions archaeologists are asked most often: How do you know where to dig? How are excavations actually done? How do you know how old something is? Who gets to keep what is found?

This essential handbook explores the relationship between the postcolonial critique and the field of archaeology, a discipline that developed historically in conjunction with European colonialism and imperialism. In aiding the movement to decolonize the profession, the contributors to this volume--themselves from six continents and many representing indigenous and minority communities and disadvantaged countries--suggest strategies to strip archaeological theory and practice of its colonial heritage and create a discipline sensitive to its inherent inequalities. Summary articles review the emergence of the discipline of archaeology in conjunction with colonialism, critique the colonial legacy evident in continuing archaeological practice around the world, identify current trends, and chart future directions in postcolonial archaeological research.

The Concise Dictionary of Social and Cultural Anthropology is an accessible, hands-on guide to the hundreds of terms the student of anthropology and the general reader will encounter in dealing with anthropological and ethnographic literature. It includes related terminology from allied fields such as sociology, economics, and geography. The focus is on key concepts in anthropology, with a number of biographies included to identify influential figures who have formulated central theories and conducted the most famous field research within cultures around the world.

This text shows students that now, more than ever, global forces affect local culture. Students learn that the tools of cultural anthropology are relevant to their life in our globalized world.

This concise introduction to cultural anthropology takes a fresh and accessible approach to stimulating student interest in the human experience, using timely and engaging examples to showcase the ongoing relevance of anthropology today. It also explores how the anthropological perspective can be applied to real-world problems on the local, regional, and global scale.

With contributions from a diverse team of global authors, this cutting-edge Handbook documents the impact of the study of gender and sexuality upon the foundational practices and precepts of anthropology. Providing a survey of the state-of-the-art in the field, it is essential reading for academic researchers and students of anthropology.

A Companion to Medical Anthropology, Second Edition provides the most complete account of the key issues and debates in this dynamic, rapidly growing field. Bringing together contributions by leading international authorities in medical anthropology, this comprehensive reference work presents critical assessments and interpretations of a wide range of topical themes, including global and environmental health, political violence and war, poverty, malnutrition, substance abuse, reproductive health, and infectious diseases. Throughout the text, readers explore the global, historical, and political factors that continue to influence how health and illness are experienced and understood.

Provides an expansive view of the full field of linguistic anthropology, featuring an all-new team of contributing authors representing diverse new perspectives A New Companion to Linguistic Anthropology provides a timely and authoritative overview of the field of study that explores how language influences society and culture. This new edition reflects current trends and developments in research and theory. Entirely new chapters discuss topics such as the relationship between language and experiential phenomena, the use of research data to address social justice, racist language and raciolinguistics, postcolonial discourse, and the challenges and opportunities presented by social media, migration, and global neoliberalism.

This textbook addresses the question of what it means to be human by exploring the origins, evolution, and diversification of primates, especially that of our species, Homo sapiens. The focus of this book is biological anthropology, which explores who we are from biological, evolutionary, and adaptive perspectives. We lay the foundation for this inquiry in the first four chapters by introducing the discipline of anthropology, evolutionary theory, molecular biology and genetics, and the forces of evolution.

A Companion to Biological Anthropology provides a timely and comprehensive account of the foundational concepts, historical development, current trends, and future directions of the discipline. The authors discuss all facets of contemporary biological anthropology including systematics and taxonomy, population and molecular genetics, human biology and functional adaptation, early primate evolution, paleoanthropology, paleopathology, bioarchaeology, forensic anthropology, and paleogenetics. Updated and expanded throughout, this second edition explores new topics, revisits key issues, and examines recent innovations and discoveries in biological anthropology such as race and human variation, epidemiology and catastrophic disease outbreaks, global inequalities, migration and health, resource access and population growth, recent primate behavior research, the fossil record of primates and humans, and much more.

The Alternative Introduction to Biological Anthropology presents an innovative framework for thinking about the major issues in the field with fourteen original essays designed to correlate to the core chapters in standard textbooks. Each chapter draws on and complements - but does not reconsitute (except for the sake of clarity) - the major data and ideas presented in standard texts. Marks explores such topics as how we make sense of data about our origins, where our modern ideas come from, our inability to separate natural facts from culturalfacts and values as we try to understand ourselves, and the social and political aspects of science as a culturally situated mental activity.

The Handbook of Culture and Biology is a comprehensive resource that focuses on theory and research in culture and biology interplay. This emerging field centers on how these two processes have evolved together, how culture, biology, and environment influence each other, and how they shape behavior, cognition, and development among humans and animals across multiple levels, types, timeframes, and domains of analysis. The text provides an overview of current empirical and theoretical advances in culture and biology interplay research through the work of some of the most influential scholars in the field. Harnessing insights from a range of disciplines (e.g., biology, neuroscience, primatology, psychology) and research methods (experiments, genetic epidemiology, naturalistic observations, neuroimaging), it explores diverse topics including animal culture, cultural genomics, and neurobiology of cultural experiences.

This book provides comprehensive coverage of the methods and issues in the current practice of forensic anthropology. It introduces students to all the major topics in the field, with material ranging from the attribution of ancestry and sex, to various forms of bone trauma, to identification through radiography. Introduction to Forensic Anthropology uses the terminology and best practices recommended by the Scientific Working Group for Forensic Anthropology (SWGANTH).

Introduces readers to all of the theoretical and scientific foundations of forensic anthropology and instructs on how modern forensic science relies on an interdisciplinary approach -- with research being conducted in the fields of archaeology, physics, geology and other disciplines. This modern approach to theory in forensic anthropology is presented through the introduction and discussion of Foundational, Interpretive and Methodological theories. Sections cover: Bias and Objectivity in Forensic Anthropology Theory and Practice; The Theory and Science Behind Biological Profile and Personal Identification; Scientific Foundation for Interpretations of Antemortem, Perimortem, and Postmortem Processes; and Interdisciplinary Influences, Legal Ramifications and Future Directions.

The book covers a wide range of evidence collection and management, including characteristics of different types of crime scenes (arson, burglary, homicide, hit-and-run, forensic IT, sexual assault), how to recover the relevant evidence at the scene, and best practices for the search, gathering, and storing of evidence. It examines in detail the properties of biological/DNA evidence, bullet casings and gunshot residue, explosive and fire debris, fibers and hair, fingerprint, footprint, and tire impression evidence, and much more.

A comprehensive guide to the latest technologies and techniques used in forensic science. A section of the book provides detailed explanations of each technology and its applications in forensic investigations, along with case studies and real-life examples to illustrate their effectiveness. The book covers new technologies such as cloud and social media forensics, vehicle forensics, facial recognition and reconstruction, automated fingerprint identification systems, and sensor-based devices for trace evidence, to name a few. Its thoroughly detailed chapters expound upon spectroscopic analytical techniques in forensic science, DNA sequencing, rapid DNA tests, bio-mimetic devices for evidence detection, forensic photography, scanners, microscopes, and recent advancements in forensic tools.

This book reveals amazing examples of what has and is happening with science and DNA forensics. The public now knows the DNA molecule by sight and how it can assist in solving crimes such as murder and sexual assaults. In this book, the authors demonstrate how DNA forensics has developed over the years.

Each chapter begins with learning goals and an introductory section that outlines the topics to be covered. The discussion then leads students through the material, including periodic learning checks built into the structure of the chapter, followed by end-of-chapter exercises. Through clear explanations of fundamental principles, the complete medico-legal context is covered with respect to forensic anthropology. Basic information on bone biology, human osteology, and rules of evidence are also presented.