




































Bioarchaeology International (Volume 1)


Bioarchaeology International
Volume 1, Numbers 1–2: 1–18
DOI: 10.5744/bi.2017.1005

Copyright © 2017 University of Florida Press

Bioarchaeology is a burgeoning, integrative field that 
spans the globe. Bioarchaeology is often thought to 
encompass the study of only the human remains 
found within archaeological sites, frequently divorced 
from the contexts in which they were found. The 
physical remains of people store a record of their bio-
logical attributes, providing information on illnesses 
or trauma they survived or that may have contributed 
to their deaths, their daily activities, biological affin-
ities, and more. Equally informative are the differ-
ent ways that people were treated in death by those 
who survived them. Rather than investigating only the 

biological remains or studying material culture alone, 
integrating these components permits a more com-
plete understanding of how people experienced an 
array of circumstances over the course of their own 
lives and through multiple generations. Differing sub-
sistence practices, access to resources, exposure to 
hazards, and changes in economic, political, religious, 
or environmental factors over time and across vast ar-
eas of the world are topics explored by bioarchaeol-
ogists. Learning how past peoples were affected by 
pathogens, climate change, and immigration, for ex-
ample, provides insight into contemporary issues and 

Stronger Together:
Advancing a Global Bioarchaeology
Brenda J. Bakera* and Sabrina C. Agarwalb

aCenter for Bio archae ol o gi cal Research, School of Human Evolution & Social Change, Arizona State 
 University, Tempe, AZ, USA

bDepartment of Anthropology, University of California Berkeley, 232 Kroeber Hall, Berkeley, CA, USA
*Correspondence to: Brenda Baker, Center for Bio archae ol o gi cal Research, School of Human Evolution & 
Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402 

e-mail: bjbaker@asu  .edu

ABSTRACT Bioarchaeology is a relatively young field that aims to improve our understanding of life, death, and interrela-
tionships among past humans around the globe. The discipline grew out of 1960s American processual archae-
ology and biological anthropology and emerged as human osteoarchaeology in the UK. Today, bioarchaeology 
is a vibrant, interdisciplinary field of study that cross-cuts biological anthropology, archaeology, and social the-
ory to situate past peoples within their biological, cultural, and environmental circumstances. The field empha-
sizes not only the study of human remains but the integrative analysis and interpretation of their context, 
including the archaeological, sociocultural, and political milieu and the environmental setting in which people 
lived. The growing interest in bio archae ol o gi cal research has created the need for a new peer-reviewed journal 
to help unify and advance this discipline around the globe. In this introduction to Bioarchaeology International, 
we trace the origins of the field and the different “schools” of bioarchaeology that have developed and are now 
merging as the discipline has matured. We then delineate the purpose and goals of the journal, highlighting 
how the articles in the first issue contribute to those goals. Finally, as co–editors in chief, we describe our vision 
for contemporary and future directions in bioarchaeology. With this overview of the field and journal, we wish 
to stimulate discussion and promote international submissions. We intend for Bioarchaeology International to 
strengthen this growing field and help promote scholarly and public interest in our collective research.

Keywords: archaeology; biological anthropology; biocultural; funerary archaeology; mortuary behavior; osteol-
ogy; osteoarchaeology; paleopathology



Stronger Together: Advancing a Global Bioarchaeology2

problems. Such studies demonstrate how bioarchaeol-
ogy is relevant to multiple stakeholders and can in-
form the general public.

The Development of Bioarchaeology

Bioarchaeology as a field of research has had different 
trajectories related to variability in academic tradi-
tions between North America and those in Britain, 
France, and other countries (for detailed reviews, see 
Buikstra et al. 2011; Knüsel 2010; O’Donnabhain and 
Lozada 2014; Sheridan 2017). In North America, bio-
archaeology grew out of processual archaeology and 
the “New Physical Anthropology” in the 1950s and 
1960s, which began a shift from typological and de-
scriptive studies to problem-oriented investigations of 
populations embedded within a biocultural paradigm 
(Armelagos 2003; Armelagos and Van Gerven 2003; 
Zuckerman and Armelagos 2011; Zuckerman and 
Martin 2016a). This “bio-cultural” perspective, which 
considers biological, cultural, and environmental fac-
tors in the study of past human populations, was pro-
mulgated by Don Brothwell (1967) of the UK (see also 
Roberts 2006). Incorporation of human osteologists 
and biological anthropologists, including George Ar-
melagos, in large-scale rescue excavations of mortu-
ary sites in southern Egypt and northern Sudan in the 
1960s accelerated this paradigm shift (Baker 2016:183–
184; see Martin and Zuckerman 2016 for a review of 
Armelagos’s influence on biocultural research). While 
the term “bioarchaeology” initially appeared in the 
late 1950s (Sheridan 2017:112) and was applied by Gra-
hame Clark (1972) to the study of faunal remains from 
a Mesolithic site in Yorkshire (northern England), it 
was later used by Jane Buikstra (1977:69) to describe a 
regionally based, interdisciplinary research program 
in the lower Illinois River Valley that integrated ar-
chaeology and human osteology to investigate “bio-
cultural change within the Woodland period.”

In North America, the merging of archaeological 
and biological anthropological perspectives in the in-
vestigation of human remains on a regional scale over 
time has led to an integrative biocultural approach 
and promoted population-level analyses that marked 
a shift from the mostly descriptive studies that fo-
cused on measurement and classification of people 
and their diseases. Within American bioarchaeol-
ogy, however, different schools of thought developed 
within the nascent discipline (Buikstra and Beck 
2006; Rakita 2014; Stojanowski and Duncan 2014). 
The biocultural approach was championed by George 
Armelagos, his colleagues, and their students, who 
acquired broad training across the subfields of anthro-
pology (Zuckerman and Martin 2016b). Jane Buikstra’s 

bioarchaeology emphasizes contextualization and in-
tegration of social theory with biological data from 
human remains (Buikstra et al. 2011; Buikstra and 
Beck 2006). Clark Larsen’s definition of bioarchaeol-
ogy focuses primarily on the interpretation of behav-
ior from the human skeleton (as per the subtitle of his 
book; Larsen 1997, 2015). This perspective separated 
bioarchaeology from wider aspects of archaeological 
and social theory. Larsen’s form of bioarchaeology has 
begun to recognize the linkage of archaeology and bi-
ological anthropology, acknowledging new develop-
ments that situate human biology within “the social 
past” (Larsen and Walker 2010:380) and relate to as-
pects of identity, gender, and other “social and cul-
tural forces that leave their impression on the skeletal 
body” (Larsen 2015:xi). Clearly, the lines among these 
different perspectives both within and beyond North 
America are blurring as the field has matured.

The term “bioarchaeology,” however, is not univer-
sally understood or applied globally. In the United 
States, “bioarchaeology” pertains to both mortuary 
site archaeology and human osteology, though these 
components frequently have been treated separately 
(see Goldstein 2006) and often continue to be separate 
purviews of archaeologists and “anthropologists” in 
many parts of the world, particularly where archaeol-
ogists are trained in classical or Near Eastern studies 
(see, e.g., Sheridan 2017). In France, different termi-
nology is used for investigation of ritual surrounding 
death (les gestes funéraires), the study of field anthro-
pology (anthropologie de terrain), or ancient burial 
(archéothanatologie) as it is now more commonly 
known (Knüsel 2010:68–69). Henri Duday’s work, 
commencing in the 1970s (e.g., Duday 1978), has be-
come widely influential, particularly since its more 
recent dissemination in English (e.g., Duday 2006, 
2009), and is informing studies of body treatment, ta-
phonomy, and commingling (e.g., Geber et al. and 
Haddow and Knüsel in this issue).

Although the biocultural paradigm links both 
British and American perspectives, “bioarchaeology” 
in the UK refers to the study of all ancient biological 
remains, including those of humans, animals, and 
plants, and more generally to environmental archae-
ology and paleoecology (Knüsel 2010:62–63). The 
study of faunal and human skeletal remains came to 
be known as “osteoarchaeology” (Roberts 2006:418). 
In the UK, osteoarchaeologists are found in depart-
ments of archaeology, whereas North American bio-
archaeologists are typically housed in anthropology 
programs. In both the UK and North America, this 
field grew rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s. Training 
programs at the master’s degree level were developed 
at multiple universities in the UK (Roberts 2006:430–
431), but only one specific master of arts graduate 



Baker and Agarwal 3

curriculum in bioarchaeology developed in the United 
States. Designed in the mid-1980s by a group of Ari-
zona State University archaeologists and biological 
anthropologists led by Christopher Carr, Charles 
Merbs, and Christy Turner II, this curriculum required 
coursework in both archaeology and biological an-
thropology, producing bioarchaeologists trained in 
both these subfields of anthropology.

The field of bioarchaeology matured in the 1980s 
and 1990s, largely in response to major criticisms of 
methods and interpretations. The first potential death 
knell emerged with post-processual reevaluations of 
mortuary behavior (e.g., Chapman et al. 1981; Pader 
1982; Parker Pearson 1982; Shanks and Tilley 1982) that 
challenged inferences about socioeconomic status 
based on grave attributes and inclusions as a straight-
forward reflection of social status (e.g., Binford 1971; 
Saxe 1972). Another serious challenge arose when the 
use of life tables in paleodemography was questioned 
and, at a more fundamental level, methods of estimat-
ing age from the skeleton were criticized for reflecting 
the structure of the sample on which they were based 
(Bocquet-Appel and Masset 1982). These criticisms 
met with numerous rebuttals (e.g., Buikstra and Ko-
nigsberg 1985; Van Gerven and Armelagos 1983) but 
spurred efforts to address the concerns in both ar-
chaeology (see Parker Pearson 1999) and biological 
anthropology. Improvements to existing techniques 
of age estimation (e.g., Brooks and Suchey 1990), de-
velopment of new techniques (e.g., using the auricular 
surface [Lovejoy et al. 1985] and sternal ends of ribs 
[İşcan et al. 1984a, 1984b]), and new statistical ap-
proaches (e.g., transition analysis [Boldsen et al. 2002]) 
have helped allay these concerns. Additionally, more 
sophisticated and critically applied paleodemographic 
analyses have arisen that incorporate Bayesian statis-
tics and hazards analysis (for more information con-
cerning these developments see Chamberlain 2000; 
Hoppa and Vaupel 2002; and Milner et al. 2008) as 
well as fertility centered models (Jackes 2011).

Issues concerning demography and pathology sub-
sequently were addressed in “The Osteological Para-
dox,” an influential paper by Wood et al. (1992) that 
brought the issues of demographic nonstationarity, 
selective mortality, and heterogeneous frailty to the 
forefront 25 years ago. This work began perhaps an 
even more important critical examination of our ap-
proach to analyzing the skeletal samples that com-
prise much of bio archae ol o gi cal research. Like the 
critique of assumptions concerning mortuary prac-
tices and the “Farewell to Paleodemography,” publi-
cation of “The Osteological Paradox” also met with 
substantial debate and discussion (e.g., Wright and 
Yoder 2003), yet the issues raised continue to be de-
liberated and new analytical approaches are being 

developed to address them in contemporary bio-
archae ol o gi cal research (DeWitte and Stojanowski 
2015; see the section “Contemporary Directions” be-
low for further discussion).

An additional obstacle in the field was spurred 
principally by repatriation legislation in the early 
1990s, as it had already been recognized that data sets 
generated by different researchers frequently could 
not be compared due to a lack of standardized scor-
ing criteria and publication of only summary statis-
tics rather than raw data. Efforts were made by various 
organizations and groups of scholars to formulate 
standards for recording data that are widely used to-
day (Brickley and McKinley 2004; Buikstra and 
Ubelaker 1994) and are being supplemented with new 
electronic database applications (e.g., Osteoware, the 
free database software for human skeletal remains 
[Smithsonian Institution, https:  //osteoware  .i  .edu]).

With the self-reflection on the development of the 
field in the early 2000s and recognition of continuing 
challenges (e.g., Agarwal and Glencross 2011; Buikstra 
et al. 2011; Buikstra and Beck 2006; Knüsel 2010), 
bioarchaeology is emerging as a more robust field of 
inquiry that engages social theory more fully and 
frequently to contextualize biological information 
gleaned from human remains. Bioarchaeologists reg-
ularly address questions of both cultural and biologi-
cal significance through integration of research 
involving human remains, their burial sites, and their 
curation. Recent work, as outlined below, is contextu-
alizing our understanding of humanity through the 
lens of the life course, from fetus to death, and over 
generations, recognizing that rituals surrounding 
death and body treatment as a form of material culture 
involve the interaction of both the living and dead. 
Such research serves to bridge the gap that has previ-
ously existed between archaeologists and bioarchaeol-
ogists and help unify the different research trajectories 
that developed in the early decades of bio archae ol o gi-
cal inquiry.

Contemporary Directions

Contemporary bioarchaeology continues to empha-
size both contextual and multi-scalar approaches. While 
there remains a focus on population-level trends in 
the field, there has been a shift to consider and inte-
grate a focus on the individual life course in bio archae-
ol o gi cal research. At the same time, the field has 
continued to embrace the use of innovative methods 
in geospatial analysis, (micro)imaging, and molecu-
lar and chemical analysis, coupled with ecological, 
ethnographic, and historical approaches. Recent re-
search in bioarchaeology allows the exploration of 

https://osteoware.i.edu


Stronger Together: Advancing a Global Bioarchaeology4

broad issues that encompass growth, health, demog-
raphy, human ecology, sociopolitical and subsistence 
transitions, epigenetics and developmental biology, 
and social theoretical approaches to understanding 
the conceptualization of mortuary landscapes, spa-
tial organization of cemeteries, embodiment of social 
identity, and more. Bioarchaeologists are addressing 
questions of great relevance to modern issues, includ-
ing the effects of climate change, demographic and 
epidemiological transitions, inequality, and migra-
tion. We outline here some of the major directions in 
the contemporary field, although it is certainly not 
exhaustive. Our aim is to showcase many of these 
current directions of research in the coming issues of 
Bioarchaeology International.

Although researchers have slowly addressed the 
complex issues raised by the osteological paradox, its 
use as a worthy research endeavor in itself has emerged 
only recently (DeWitte and Stojanowski 2015). Several 
innovative studies have embraced the investigation of 
selective mortality and heterogeneous frailty through 
an examination of specific mortality risks associated 
with factors such as age, sex, and non-specific indica-
tors of stress (e.g., Boldsen 2007; DeWitte 2009; De-
Witte and Bekvalac 2010; DeWitte and Hughes-Morey 
2012; DeWitte and Wood 2008; Marklein et al. 2016; 
Wilson 2014). Differential frailty and risk of death for 
subgroups that are identified through archaeological 
evidence or mortuary context now are more fre-
quently investigated (e.g., DeWitte 2010; Stojanowksi 
2013; Storey et al. 2012; Sullivan 2005).

Contemporary studies continue to clarify the inter-
pretation of skeletal stress indicators in relation to risk 
of death in distinct age cohorts, such as preadults ver-
sus surviving adolescent or adult cohorts. While early 
studies such as that by Saunders and Hoppa (1993) 
suggested there was no association with indicators of 
stress (specifically, stunted growth) and risk of death, 
more recent research supports the relationship of 
stress indicators and increased risk of death, and 
demonstrates high frequencies of stress lesions in the 
very youngest age groups and recovery from stress in 
older cohorts (Littleton 2011; Perry 2014; Robbins 
Schug 2011). In particular, new studies highlight rela-
tionships between stress indicators and mortality, 
with influences from factors such as gender or status 
(Vercellotti et al. 2014) or early diet (weaning) patterns 
(for a recent review see Tsutaya and Yoneda 2015).

Interest in assessing the consequences of childhood 
stress for later risk of death and morbidity also has 
prompted bioarchaeologists to engage more directly 
with concepts of epigenetics and, particularly, what 
has been termed the Barker hypothesis or, more re-
cently, the developmental origins of health and dis-
ease (DOHaD) hypothesis (Agarwal 2016; Gowland 

2015b; Klaus 2014). Following an early study by 
 Armelagos et al. (2009), researchers have tested the 
DOHaD hypothesis using bio archae ol o gi cal data on 
dental defects (enamel hypoplasias) and adult health 
and mortality (e.g., Amoroso et al. 2014; Temple 2014; 
Weisensee 2013). This research is enhanced by analy-
sis of stable isotopes from different parts of bones and 
teeth and among teeth that form at different times to 
reveal diet change over the life course and gain a bet-
ter understanding of individual life histories, even in 
commingled deposits (e.g., Gregoricka 2014; Grego-
ricka et al. 2017). New techniques that examine serial 
(incremental) sections of tooth dentine (e.g., Beau-
mont et al. 2013; Burt and Garvie-Lok 2013; Eerkens 
et al. 2011), along with analyses of bone collagen and 
apatite, are advancing our understanding of the wean-
ing process and the identification of a weaning diet, a 
post-weaning diet, and the age at which an adult diet 
is adopted (e.g., Dupras and Tocheri 2007; Eerkens 
and Bartelink 2013; Richards et al. 2002; Waters-Rist 
et al. 2011). These methodological advances have led to 
a proliferation of research that has begun to tease out 
biocultural and environmental influences on past 
communities and contribute to the elucidation of re-
lationships among diet, morbidity, and mortality in 
various subgroups (e.g., Bourbou et al. 2013; Grego-
ricka and Sheridan 2012; Henderson et al. 2014; Kau-
pová et al. 2014; Prowse 2011; Reitsema and Vercelloti 
2012; Reitsema et al. 2016; Sandberg et al. 2014). Addi-
tional tests of hypotheses concerning developmental 
pathways of health in the past and potential multigen-
erational effects (see, e.g., Beaumont et al. 2015) will 
require multifaceted approaches to investigating the 
linkage between morbidity and mortality and address 
the osteological paradox. Such research clearly illus-
trates the maturation and breadth of contemporary 
bioarchaeology.

Diet in the past also is being investigated through a 
life-course approach. When combined with archaeo-
botanical and zooarchaeological information, stable 
isotope analysis is the gold standard method for re-
constructing diet, subsistence, and even for examining 
land-use strategies and environments of past popu-
lations (e.g., Fraser et al. 2013; Iacumin et al. 2016). 
Biogeochemical research once provided only an aver-
age of what a person consumed over many years based 
on bulk bone collagen values, although tissue and 
hair samples in well-preserved assemblages permit-
ted a window into diet during shorter intervals much 
closer to the person’s death (e.g., White and Schwarcz 
1994). Stable isotopes of strontium and oxygen now 
go well beyond diet reconstruction and are used reg-
ularly to trace residential mobility and identify im-
migrants within a cemetery, providing further insight 
into life histories of individuals and social networks 



Baker and Agarwal 5

and population movements in the past (e.g., Bentley 
et al. 2009; Gregoricka and Sheridan 2017; Killgrove 
and Montgomery 2016; Neil et al. 2016; Parker Pear-
son et al. 2016; Shaw et al. 2015; Valentine 2016; 
Wright 2012). Stable isotope research is illuminating 
new aspects of urbanization, immigration, coloniza-
tion, interaction, and identity (e.g., Buzon and Sim-
onetti 2013; Knudson 2011; Knudson et al. 2014). In 
fact, more holistic and multidisciplinary approaches 
to the investigation of migration, culture contact, and 
colonization have been revitalized in bioarchaeology 
(Baker and Tsuda 2015; Cabana and Clark 2011; Mur-
phy and Klaus 2017).

Recent studies of bone mass and biomechanics also 
have begun to consider life-course approaches and 
the role of growth on bone remodeling (Agarwal 
2016). For example, changes in cross-sectional bone 
geometry along with indicators of stress during 
growth explore trade-offs between bone development 
and morphology over the life course (Robbins Schug 
and Goldman 2014; Temple et al. 2013). The critical 
evaluation of skeletal alterations at sites of tendon and 
ligament attachments, their etiology, and their rela-
tionship to pathological processes as well as habitual 
activities (Henderson and Alves Cardoso 2012; Jur-
main et al. 2012) also has led to new investigations of 
entheseal changes and their development over the life 
course (Villotte and Knüsel 2012). While primate 
functional adaptation in bone morphology is well 
studied in paleoanthropology and primatology, bioar-
chaeologists are uniquely positioned to investigate 
the larger synergistic relationships between social be-
havior, context, and bone adaptation in the human 
skeleton across different human communities through 
time.

Along with continued attention in bioarchaeology 
to health and frailty in the past, significant effort has 
been directed toward refining our methods for diag-
nosing skeletal indicators of disease and clarifying 
our interpretation of lesions in ancient bones. For ex-
ample, new research is challenging our traditional in-
terpretation of non-specific indicators of stress as 
measures of health status (Reitsema and McIlvaine 
2014), including dental enamel defects (Hassett 2014; 
Hubbard et al. 2009), periosteal reaction (e.g., DeWitte 
2014a, 2014b; DeWitte and Wood 2008; Weston, 2008, 
2009, 2012), and porotic hyperostosis (McIlvaine 2013; 
Piperata et al. 2014), as well as specific patterns of pa-
thology that are diagnostic of metabolic conditions 
such as scurvy (Crandall and Klaus 2014) and anemia 
(Smith-Guzman 2015), and infections such as leish-
maniasis (Marsteller et al. 2011). The study of disease 
progression over the life course also is being exam-
ined more broadly in contemporary studies of paleo-
pathology that also draw upon medical sources (e.g., 

Baker and Bolhofner 2013). Data from both clinical 
and medical anthropological sources are used in-
creasingly, and we expect work to continue in these 
areas in both living populations and skeletal assem-
blages to improve the understanding of pathological 
lesions in bio archae ol o gi cal research.

Contemporary bio archae ol o gi cal analyses of health 
also use state-of-the-art technology. Imaging technol-
ogy such as computed tomography (CT) scanning 
(O’Brien et al. 2009) and X-ray microtomography 
(micro-CT) analysis (Booth et al. 2016), histology 
(Crowder and Stout 2011), stable isotope analyses, an-
cient DNA analysis (aDNA), immunology, and para-
sitology (Reinhard and Araújo 2012) are now at the 
forefront of paleopathological diagnosis. The fast-
paced advances in biogeochemical analyses and mo-
lecular biology have pushed bio archae ol o gi cal studies 
in new directions. Stable isotope analyses, for example, 
increasingly are being used to investigate malnutri-
tion and disease (Beaumont and Montgomery 2016; 
D’Ortenzio et al. 2015; Katzenberg 2012; Olsen et al. 
2014) as well as disease transmission in the past (Ken-
dall et al. 2013; Roberts et al. 2013). Similarly, analysis 
of aDNA has gone well beyond confirming the 
presence of particular conditions in pathological 
skeletons, revolutionizing our understanding of the 
origins and evolution of disease (Anastasiou and 
Mitchell 2013; Harkins and Stone 2014; Wilbur and 
Stone 2012). Research has emphasized the co-evolution 
of humans and pathogens, including the causative 
organisms of tuberculosis, leprosy, and plague (e.g., 
Bos et al. 2011, 2014; Müller et al. 2014; Stone et al. 
2009) and investigated the spread of various patho-
gens both temporally and geographically (e.g., de 
Melo et al. 2010; Schuenemann et al. 2013). Anthropo-
logical geneticists are also analyzing aDNA to inves-
tigate disease susceptibility, for example, examining 
how North American indigenous populations re-
sponded and adapted to new diseases and epidem-
ics such as smallpox upon contact (Lindo et al. 2016). 
Evidence of cytosine methylation also is being recov-
ered from ancient bone (Gokhman et al. 2014; Smith 
et al. 2015), shedding light on how epigenetic changes 
could have related to physiological stress in the past 
and how these changes could alter bone plasticity 
and growth. Past immunological studies using 
ELISA to investigate antigens or antibodies of para-
sites that cause malaria and schistosomiasis, for ex-
ample, have been critiqued (e.g., Sallares and Gomzi 
2001), but biomolecular investigations have pro-
gressed to encompass analysis of cortisol levels in 
ancient hair samples that demonstrate individual ex-
periences of physiological stress (Webb et al. 2009) 
and experimental work that will aid our understand-
ing of inflammatory responses in past populations 



Stronger Together: Advancing a Global Bioarchaeology6

(Crespo et al. 2016). Finally, advances in paleomicro-
biology are providing insight into the human micro-
biome and enhancing dietary reconstruction thorough 
extraction of chemical compounds, aDNA, and mi-
crofossils from ancient dental calculus and archae-
ological coprolites (Buckley et al. 2014; Radini et al. 2017; 
Schnorr et al. 2016; Warinner and Lewis 2015; see 
also Velsko and Warriner in this issue), applications 
that will surely continue to expand in the coming 
several years.

Along with the concerns about demography and 
differential frailty in archaeological samples, there 
has been a new critical examination of the represen-
tativeness of institutionally housed skeletal samples. 
For example, bioarchaeologists are looking more 
closely at issues of racism, violence, and health dispar-
ities in documented and cadaveric skeletal samples 
(de la Cova 2010; Nystrom 2014, 2017). This recent re-
search has revealed aspects of institutionalization and 
social marginalization historically and has triggered 
a renewed dialogue on the ethics and scientific use of 
anatomical collections both in the past and the pres-
ent. This deep concern for how we study and represent 
the dead in bio archae ol o gi cal research is certainly 
part of the contemporary landscape of the field well 
beyond the passage of the Native American Graves 
Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in the 
United States in 1990, and it forms a new “ethos” of 
bioarchaeology (Martin et al. 2013:23). Both in North 
America and globally (Márquez-Grant and Fibiger 
2011), bioarchaeology is forging a new commitment to 
how we engage with repatriation (Kakaliouras 2012, 
2017; Pérez 2010) and ethical practice with community 
stakeholders and the public (Martin et al. 2013:23–55; 
Roberts 2009:17–34; Turner and Andrushko 2011). 
While bioarchaeologists still have much work to do to 
go beyond consent with stakeholders to achieve a 
truly collaborative practice (Atalay 2006), this recent 
work demonstrates a new direction in the field toward 
a larger goal of community-engaged scholarship.

With its focus on criminal and humanitarian is-
sues, forensic anthropology is deeply engaged with 
the public and local communities. Although forensic 
anthropology is a methodologically focused and ap-
plied specialty, there has been a movement in recent 
years to ally the practice with bioarchaeology more 
closely in order to bring a more holistic and anthro-
pological approach to the field (e.g., Crossland and 
Joyce 2015). Undocumented border crossers, for ex-
ample, are generally underprivileged people sub-
jected to hardships or maltreatment that may result in 
death during their journeys (see Kuba 2012 for a re-
cent review). Forensic anthropologists have begun 
applying bioarcheological tools such as stable iso-
tope analyses to determine area of origin or evaluate 
the frequency of skeletal stress indicators to identify 

undocumented migrants (Beatrice and Soler 2016; see 
also review by Kuba 2012). Forensic anthropologists 
are particularly interested in the study of violence in 
the recent past and the present day. Because violence 
afflicts contemporary society, and the human capabil-
ity for violence continues to capture public attention, 
a large amount of bio archae ol o gi cal research has been 
devoted to understanding violence in the past. Cur-
rent bio archae ol o gi cal approaches to the study of in-
terpersonal and structural violence (e.g., Harrod and 
Martin 2014; Knüsel and Smith 2014; Kurin 2016:127–
153; Martin et al. 2012; Martin and Tegtmeyer 2017; 
Nystrom 2014, 2017; Redfern 2017) thus are a vital con-
tribution to our understanding of violence through-
out human history and in today’s world.

Another trajectory that has driven contemporary 
research in bioarchaeology is a concern with the re-
construction of social identity in the past. Many con-
temporary bioarchaeologists have keenly engaged 
with social theory in their approach to identities based 
on gender, age, or health (Knudson and Stojanowski 
2008, 2009). Theoretically groundbreaking work is 
grappling with the limitations of the binary nature of 
biological sex and the traditional use of heteronor-
mative interpretations of gender roles from skeletal 
remains (Agarwal 2012; Geller 2005, 2009, 2017; Hol-
limon 2011; Sofaer 2006a). Similarly, life-course and 
embodiment perspectives continue to push our study 
of age and growing old in the past (Appleby 2010; 
Gowland 2009, 2015a). This type of research is part of 
the rapidly developing theoretical approach to view-
ing the skeleton as a form of material culture crafted 
through lived experience, which blurs the division of 
the biological and social body (Sofaer 2006b). Similar 
approaches are being taken with the interpretation of 
skeletal data from preadult skeletons in an attempt to 
understand the lives of children in the past (e.g., Hal-
crow and Tayles 2011; Littleton 2011; Thompson et al. 
2014; Wheeler 2010; Wheeler et al. 2013). The effort to 
illuminate group and individual identity is also seen 
in the recent interest in the bioarchaeology of care 
(Tilley 2015; Tilley and Schrenk 2017), which consid-
ers aspects of illness and caregiving in the past.

A resurgence of research focused on individual 
identity and the lived experience through osteo-
biographic approaches pioneered by Frank Saul (1972; 
Saul and Saul 1989) has also occurred (Baadsgaard et al. 
2011; Stodder and Palkovich 2012). This approach is 
not a move away from population-focused research, 
which is still very much the basis of contemporary 
bioarchaeology research. Instead, it is related to the 
increasing desire for more humanistic approaches in 
the field and the appreciation of what the lived experi-
ences of individuals within a group can reveal to con-
textualize our understanding of the population- level 
responses to biological, cultural, and environmental 



Baker and Agarwal 7

factors. A related approach is biohistory (e.g., Sto-
janowski and Duncan 2016), which involves the inves-
tigation of identified historical figures who are often 
well known, such as Richard III (Buckley et al. 2013; 
The Greyfriars Research Team with Maev Kennedy 
and Lin Foxhall 2015) or King Tutankhamun (e.g., 
Rühli and Ikram 2013). Individual-level research rep-
resented by osteobiography and biohistory often is 
best suited to engagement with students and the pub-
lic so they can relate to these past people through their 
own experiences.

Bioarchaeology must incorporate the archaeologi-
cal contextual analysis of sites and skeletal remains by 
integrating them within the landscape and through 
analysis of the spatial organization, grave styles, body 
position and orientation, grave inclusions, and the re-
lationships to other sites and landmarks. More bioar-
chaeologists who focus on skeletal remains have 
begun to recognize that questions concerning iden-
tity, for instance, can only be answered fully by con-
sidering both archaeological and biological data. For 
example, intrasite biodistance studies that estimate 
the degree of relatedness among those interred have 
embraced spatial analysis to reconstruct cemetery 
structure and formation and to discern its underly-
ing organizing principles that relate to grave place-
ment, particularly in regard to biological relationships 
among the deceased. Such research may demonstrate 
kin-structured organization (e.g., Paul et al. 2013; Pil-
loud and Larsen 2011; Sciulli and Cook 2016) and per-
mit insight into variation in health and diet within 
a community and even among families (e.g., Sto-
janowski 2013). Spatial analysis technology such as 
geographic information systems (GIS) is now com-
monly used in archaeological projects, including those 
focusing on sites containing human remains (e.g., 
Herrmann 2002; Wilhelmson and Dell’Unto 2015). 
Recent applications of GIS compare pathology and sta-
tus within an analytic framework to investigate health 
and disease patterns in the past (Herrmann et al. 2014; 
Stojanowski 2013).

Consideration of taphonomic site formation pro-
cesses and the effects of corpse treatment on the pro-
duction of archaeological skeletal assemblages is 
becoming more common and provides new insights 
into mortuary behaviors in past communities, thereby 
enhancing our understanding of a community’s per-
ceptions of death, transformation, and memory (e.g., 
Geber et al. in this issue; Robb et al. 2015; Smith and 
Pérez Arias 2015; Weiss-Krejci 2011). GIS and three- 
dimensional photogrammetry are proving particularly 
useful in understanding how site formation factors and 
body processing (e.g., defleshing, cremation), curation 
of elements, the reuse of graves, and patterns of pur-
poseful disturbance are linked to ongoing relationships 
between the living and the dead (e.g., Haddow and 

Knüsel in this issue). The lived experiences of individ-
uals embodied in their remains and the performed 
identities and experiences evidenced in mortuary con-
texts are instrumental in new approaches to investi-
gating social inequality in the past. Quinn and Beck 
(2016), for example, propose that the degree of coher-
ence or dissonance found across multiple social di-
mensions is indicative of social organization, and they 
present three cases studies that examine institutional-
ized inequality in prehistoric Europe.

While the preceding types of research are more in-
tegrative, much more multidisciplinary collaborative 
work, particularly research including archaeologists, 
bioarchaeologists, and others with differing areas of 
expertise, is needed to advance our understanding of 
the human experience. There are still too many situa-
tions in which the human remains are a low priority, 
even for projects involving excavation of ancient cem-
eteries (see Sheridan 2017), and many collections of 
human remains for which archaeological documenta-
tion is lacking for a variety of reasons, thus limiting 
research potential beyond the bones. Over the last 
several years, however, many projects have become 
increasingly collaborative endeavors. Projects may be 
directed by a bioarchaeologist overseeing a team with 
differing areas of expertise, have co-directorships of 
an archaeologist and a bioarchaeologist, integrate bio-
archaeologists into both field and lab components of 
a project, or are partnerships on broad research proj-
ects involving previously excavated material that are 
enriched by cooperation (examples include, among 
many others, Baker 2016:191–193; Binder and Spencer 
2014; Buzon et al. 2016; Carr and Case 2005; and Case 
and Carr 2008). Recent works on the archaeology of 
death and burial reflect such collaboration and are 
more inclusive of archaeological, biological, and cul-
tural perspectives (see, e.g., the representation among 
chapters in Tarlow and Nilsson Stutz 2013 and Wro-
bel 2014). These trends are encouraging and point to 
more cooperative engagement in the future.

The Need for Bioarchaeology International

The field of bioarchaeology has flourished in the early 
twenty-first century, accounting for a significant pro-
portion of recent tenure-track academic positions in 
anthropology in North America (Stojanowski and 
Duncan 2014:56) and in archaeology departments 
globally. Numerous graduate and senior researcher 
grants for bio archae ol o gi cal projects are awarded by 
the National Science Foundation and the Wenner- 
Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research in 
the United States, the Social Science and Humanities 
Research Council in Canada, the Wellcome Trust 
and the Leverhulme Trust in the UK, and many other 



Stronger Together: Advancing a Global Bioarchaeology8

agencies around the world. In North America, bioar-
chaeologists constitute a substantial portion of the 
American Association of Physical Anthropologists 
(AAPA), the Canadian Association of Physical An-
thropologists (CAPA), and the Society for American 
Archaeology (SAA). Bioarchaeology podium sessions 
have comprised a significant number of the Biological 
Anthropology Section sessions at the American An-
thropological Association annual meetings in the past 
several years. Meetings of regional bio archae ol o gi cal 
associations in the United States, including the Mid-
west Bioarcheology and Forensic Anthropology Asso-
ciation (BARFAA), the Western Bioarchaeology Group 
(WeBiG), and the Bioarchaeologists' Northeast Re-
gional Dialogue (BNRD), are well attended. Organiza-
tions with a substantial focus on bioarchaeology also 
are prominent in other countries, such as the British 
Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoar-
chaeology (BABAO).

Despite maturation of bioarchaeology as a field of 
inquiry and its tremendous growth, there is no dedi-
cated, integrative peer-reviewed journal for this field 
as a whole. Established journals tend to focus on skel-
etal remains (e.g., American Journal of Physical An-
thropology, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 
International Journal of Paleopathology), are archae-
ology outlets appropriate for articles emphasizing the 
mortuary context or ritual behavior (e.g., American 
Antiquity, Antiquity), or are more methodologically 
(e.g., Journal of Archaeological Science) or theoretically 
(e.g., Journal of Archaeological Research) oriented. 
Because these traditional divisions between biologi-
cal and archaeological emphases and even between 
more theoretical and empirical research persist in our 
principal journals, integrative work often does not fit 
well within the scope of one type of journal or the 
other. Regional journals form another outlet for bio-
archae ol o gi cal research, yet these publications may 
not be consulted regularly by those working outside 
that area, hindering the exchange of ideas among 
scholars investigating related research questions or 
working in similar environmental or social contexts. 
Although edited volumes have been a major publica-
tion venue for bioarchaeologists since the 1990s, with 
bioarchaeology book series promulgated by the Uni-
versity Press of Florida, Cambridge University Press, 
and Springer (see Sheridan 2017 for a valuable sum-
mary table), current tenure and promotion criteria in 
North American and British institutions frequently 
devalue book chapters in comparison to peer-reviewed 
journal articles.

Bioarchaeology International provides a new outlet 
for rigorous peer-reviewed publication of substantive 
articles that will help unify this growing field and pro-
vide a global perspective. The overarching goal is to 
publish studies that are contextually and theoretically 

informed and that explore the human condition and 
ways in which human remains and their funerary 
contexts can provide unique insight on variation, be-
havior, and lifestyle of past people and communi-
ties. Original research articles, brief reports, and 
invited commentary essays related to the study of ar-
chaeological human remains and mortuary sites will 
be published quarterly. Occasionally, Bioarchaeology 
International will publish thematic issues. Thematic 
issues may build upon conference symposia or arise 
anew. Our well-respected advisory and editorial board 
members work in seven different countries, helping 
recruit manuscripts and reviewers because the jour-
nal is intended to be global in both content and read-
ership. To facilitate this international perspective, 
authors are asked to supply their abstracts in a language 
other than English. This requirement will improve the 
visibility of the published article, particularly in situ-
ations where the alternate-language abstract is that of 
the country where the author conducted the research 
or is employed. Publication of theoretical, topical, and 
data-oriented research spanning different regions 
and temporal periods will appeal to a broad range of 
scholars, students, and professionals in the fields of 
bioarchaeology, archaeology, biological/physical an-
thropology, anthropology, paleopathology, human 
biology, history, medicine, geography, and other re-
lated fields. Commentary pieces are intended to pro-
mote discussion among readers on current issues and 
themes in the field or to discuss new research direc-
tions that may advance the field. Letters to the editors 
in chief may be submitted to facilitate discussion or 
alert colleagues to new information concerning col-
lections, methods, projects, and so forth. A feature 
that sets Bioarchaeology International apart is the pro-
fessional copyediting of accepted manuscripts provided 
by the University of Florida Press.

Our first issue exemplifies the international reach 
of the journal. Authors are affiliated with institutions 
in six countries. The collected research articles in-
clude work in Sudan, Turkey, the UK, and Ireland, 
and our alternate-language abstracts in this issue are 
in four different languages—Arabic, French, German, 
and Spanish. The concern with archaeological context 
pervades the research articles in this issue and illus-
trates recent developments in bioarchaeology that in-
tegrate trends highlighted above in American, British, 
and French perspectives. For example, Sarah Schrader 
and Michele Buzon examine entheseal changes 
and accidental trauma in concert to help understand 
changes in activities and risk that may have occurred 
during the period of Egyptian colonization in the 
New Kingdom to the postcolonial era during which a 
new state developed in ancient Nubia. While at first 
glance this article may appear to be a typically skele-
tally focused contribution, the authors stress the 



Baker and Agarwal 9

investigation of lived experiences of groups of people 
and the insight such studies provide into understand-
ing population resilience during the imposition and 
subsequent collapse of a colonial empire.

Two articles in this issue explore burial treatment 
and taphonomy. Jonny Geber and colleagues and 
Scott Haddow and Christopher Knüsel discuss treat-
ment of the dead by the living and the careful record-
ing during excavation that allows the reconstruction 
of processes that resulted in the mixing of individu-
als, reuse of skeletal elements or graves, and the social 
meaning of these manipulations in very different con-
texts in Neolithic Ireland and Turkey. The juxtaposi-
tion of these articles raises points about information 
gained through restudy of assemblages excavated long 
ago (Geber et al.) and through careful stratigraphic 
analysis of skull retrieval and secondary burial af-
forded by thorough excavation records, 3D modeling 
of graves, and GIS spatial analysis (Haddow and Knü-
sel). These articles should be of interest to scholars 
investigating body treatment, secondary burial, and 
retention or reuse of skeletal elements from sites in 
different regions or periods. Additional discussion of 
the importance of site stratigraphy in bio archae ol o gi-
cal research is provided by Bennjamin Penny-Mason 
in his study of use of the Harris Matrix and phasing 
of burials within cemeteries. He indicates the diffi-
culty of reconstructing site stratigraphy from field 
records but provides evidence to show that it is pref-
erable to undertake such time-consuming work than 
to group the burials together in one, often long, tem-
poral span. His examples show the impact that lump-
ing and splitting individuals from different phases of 
cemeteries excavated in the UK has on the interpre-
tation of pathology within that skeletal assemblage. 
 Although Penny-Mason’s examples are specific to the 
UK, his findings are of interest to anyone investigating 
assemblages from cemetery sites, whether focusing on 
skeletons or grave architecture and artifacts. Under-
standing phases of use within a cemetery is integral 
to any investigation of ritual, identity, pathology, or 
change through time.

Finally, commentary on bioarchaeology of the oral 
microbiome transcends geography. This issue’s in-
vited essay by Irina Velsko and Christina Warinner 
highlights new advances in investigating the DNA 
and proteins of microbes found in dental calculus to 
gain information on human health and biology, human 
and pathogen co-evolution, and diet in past peoples. 

Recommendations for handling and sampling dental 
calculus from the field to lab will promote future 
studies. We hope that the utility of investigations on 
the oral microbiome will spread by word of mouth!

Conclusion

Contemporary bioarchaeology is a field with many 
arms—some focus their research on methodological 
and technical specialties of bony analysis, or carefully 
trace mortuary and burial context, while others inter-
pret data with an infusion of social theory and narra-
tive. These branches of the field are no longer disparate. 
Many of today’s scholars are more at ease with, and 
seek to engage in, multiple modalities of inquiry. The 
current field is united in its commitment to under-
stand the human experience within a contextual and 
ethical framework. We are pleased for Bioarchaeology 
International to represent this vision of the field and 
present a new forum to encompass this expanding 
and exciting field.

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Meredith Morris-Babb, director of 
University Press of Florida, for her interest in creating 
a new journal in bioarchaeology and support of this 
endeavor. Lauren Phillips, journals manager at the 
press, has provided endless help in setting up our 
manuscript submission site, web page, and myriad 
mechanics needed to bring the journal to fruition. 
Katherine Kinkopf (University of California, Berke-
ley), our editorial assistant, has also managed our 
system adeptly, and her help in keeping the workflow 
with manuscripts going smoothly is appreciated. Jon-
athan Lawrence has done excellent work as the jour-
nal’s copy editor. We are grateful to our advisory and 
editorial board members for their enthusiasm and en-
couragement. Comments on an earlier draft of this 
paper were graciously provided by Troy Case, Tina 
Jakob, Katie Kinkopf, Judith Littleton, and Gwen 
Robbins Schug. Abstracts were translated into Arabic 
by Mohamed Faroug Ali, Chinese by Shih-Shun Lee 
and Mei-Chih Lee, French by Isabelle Crevecoeur, 
German by Tina Jakob, and Spanish by Tiffiny Tung. 
We also thank Christine Lee for facilitating the Chi-
nese translation.

 La bioarchéologie est une discipline relativement jeune qui a pour objectif d’améliorer notre compréhension de 
la vie, de la mort et des interrelations entre les populations humaines passées à l’échelle du monde entier. Cette 
discipline est née de l'archéologie processuelle américaine et de l'anthropologie biologique dans les années 1960, 
et a émergé en tant qu’ostéo-archéologie humaine au Royaume-Uni. Aujourd'hui, la bioarchéologie est un champ 
d'étude dynamique et interdisciplinaire au croisement de l'anthropologie biologique, de l'archéologie et des 



Stronger Together: Advancing a Global Bioarchaeology10

théories sociales. Elle cherche à appréhender les populations humaines passées en tenant compte du con-
texte biologique, culturel et environnemental. Cette discipline met l'accent non seulement sur l'étude des 
restes humains, mais également sur l'analyse et l'interprétation intégratives de ces données dans leur cadre 
archéologique, socioculturel, politique, et environnemental. L'intérêt croissant pour les recherches en bio-
archéologie est à l’origine de la nécessité de créer un nouveau journal évalué par les pairs afin d’unifier et de 
faire progresser cette discipline dans le monde entier. Dans cette introduction à Bioarchaeology International, 
nous retraçons les origines de la discipline et les différentes “écoles” de bioarchéologie qui se sont développées 
et qui tendent maintenant à fusionner à mesure que la discipline mûrit. Nous décrivons ensuite l’ambition et les 
intentions de la revue, en soulignant l’adéquation des articles du premier numéro avec ces objectifs. Enfin, en tant 
que co-rédactrices en chef, nous décrivons notre vision des orientations actuelles et futures de la bioarchéologie. 
Avec cet aperçu de la discipline et du journal, nous souhaitons encourager la discussion et promouvoir les 
soumissions internationales. Nous espérons que Bioarchaeology International viendra renforcer cette discipline 
en plein essor et aidera à promouvoir l'intérêt scientifique et public pour notre recherche collective.

ملخص:
 علم اآلثار البايولوجي )علم آثار العظام البشرية القديمة( هو مجال في مهده نسبياً و يهدف الي تحسين مفهوم الحياة و الموت باإلضافة الي العالقات
 الداخلية ما بين قدماء البشر حول العالم. نشأ العلم في ستينيات علم اآلثار الحديث األمريكي و علم دراسة االنسان البايولوجي كما ظهر في المملكة
 المتحدة بإسم علم آثار العظام. يعتبر حالياً علم اآلثار البايولوجي علم متجدد و مجال تداخله مع علوم اآلثار، علم دراسة االنسان البايولوجي و النظرية
 اإلجتماعية يهدف الي إظهار الشعوب القديمة في ظل ظروفهم البايولوجيه و الثقافية و البيئية. ال يركز هذا العلم فقط علي دراسة البقايا البشرية بل
 التحاليل المتكاملة و تفسير سياقاتها متضمنةً الظروف األثرية، الوسط اإلجتماعي الثقافي و السياسي باألضافة الي المحيط البيئي لهذه الجماعات.
 أّدت الرغبة المتزايدة في بحوث علم اآلثار البايولوجي الي ضرورة أيجاد مجلة جديدة تستند علي تقييم علمي للمساعدة في توحيد و تطور هذا العلم
 حول العالم. في هذه المقدمة لعلم اآلثار البايولوجي العالمي نقتفي أصول ميادين علم اآلثار البايولوجي و تطور المدارس المختلفة التي ظهرت حالياً
 مع نضوج العلم. بعد ذلك نقوم بتوضيح الغرض و األهداف من المجلة و تسليط بعض الضوء في المقام األول علي كيفية مساهمة المقاالت لتحقيق
 هذه االهداف. و آخيراً نوضح رؤيتنا كمحررون للتوجهات الحالية و المستقبلية لعلم اآلثار البايلوجي. و نرجوا بهذه النظرة العامة للعلم و المجلة إثراء
 النقاش و شجيع المشاركات العالمية. و نسعي هنا الي تعزيز مجال علم اآلثار البايولوجي العالمي المتطور كما نأمل أن نساعد في التطور البحثي و

الفائدة العامة من خالل أبحاثنا الجماعية.

 La bioarqueología es un campo de estudio relativamente joven que tiene como objetivo mejorar nuestra comp-
rensión de la vida, la muerte y las interrelaciones entre los humanos del pasado en todo el mundo. La disciplina 
surgió de la arqueología “procesual” y de la antropología biológica en los EE UU de los años 60, y surgió como 
osteoarqueología humana en el Reino Unido. Hoy en día, la bioarqueología es un campo de estudio vibrante e 
interdisciplinario que integra la antropología biológica, la arqueología y la teoría social para situar a las comu-
nidades del pasado en sus contextos biológicos, culturales y ambientales. El campo enfatiza no sólo el estudio de 
los restos humanos, sino también la integración del análisis e interpretación de sus contextos, incluyendo el ar-
queológico, sociocultural y político, así como el ambiente en el que vivió la gente. El creciente interés en la in-
vestigación ha creado la necesidad de una nueva revista revisada por pares para ayudar a unificar y avanzar esta 
disciplina en todo el mundo. En esta introducción a Bioarchaeology International, trazamos los orígenes del 
campo y las diferentes “escuelas” de bioarqueología que se han desarrollado y ahora se están fusionando a me-
dida que la disciplina ha madurado. Luego delineamos el propósito y objetivos de la revista, destacando cómo 
los artículos en la primera edición contribuyen a esos objetivos. Finalmente, como Co-Editores, describimos 
nuestra visión para las direcciones contemporáneas y futuras en la bioarqueología. Con esta visión general del 
campo y la revista, deseamos estimular el debate y promover las presentaciones de manuscritos internacionales. 
Nuestra intención es que Bioarchaeology International fortalezca este campo creciente y ayudar a promover el 
interés académico y público en nuestras investigaciones colectivas.

 Bioarchäologie ist ein reltiv junges Forschungsgebiet, das die Verbesserung unserer Verständnisse von Leben, 
Tod und den Verbindungen archäologischer Bevölkerungsgruppen weltweit miteinander zum Ziel hat. Die 
Disziplin erwuchs aus der nordamerikanischen prozessualen Archäologie und physischen Anthropologie der 
1960er Jahre und enstand als Human-Osteoarchäologie in Grossbritannien. Heutzutage ist die Bioarchäologie 
ein lebendiges, interdisziplinäres Gebiet, das übergreifend die biologische Anthropologie, Archäologie und So-
zialtheorie umfasst, um archäologische Bevölkerungen in ihren biologischen, kulturellen und ökologischen 
Rahmen zu stellen. Die Bioarchäologie beinhaltet nicht nur das Studium menschlicher Überreste, sondern auch 
die integrative Analyse und Interpretation der Lebensumstände, insbesondere des archäologischen, soziokul-
turellen und politischen Milieus und der Umwelt, in der die Menschen lebten. Dieses wachsende Interesse an 
der bioarchäologischen Forschung hat es notwendig gemacht eine neue Peer-Review-Fachzeitschrift zu erschaf-
fen, die helfen soll die Disziplin weltweit zu vereinen und voranzutreiben. In diesem Einführungsartikel zu Bio-
archaeology International verfolgen wir die Ursprünge und die verschiedenen „Schulen“ der Bioarchäologie, die 
sich entwickelt haben und die im Zuge der Weiterentwicklung der Disziplin verschmelzen. Desweiteren werden 
die Zwecke und Ziele der Fachzeitschrift definiert und es wird dargelegt, wie die Beiträge in dieser ersten 



Baker and Agarwal 11

Ausgabe zu diesen Zielen beitragen. Abschliessend beschreiben wir als Cefredakteurinnen unsere Vision für 
zeitgenössische und zukünftige Forschungrichtungen der Bioarchäologie. Mit diesem Überblick über die 
Disziplin und die Fachzeitschrift wollen wir Diskussionen anregen und internationale Beiträge fördern. Es ist 
unsere Absicht für Bioarchaeology International dieses wachsende Forschungsgebiet zu stärken und zu helfen, 
das wissenschaftliche und öffentliche Interesse in unsere gemeinschaftliche Forschung zu unterstützen.

	 生物考古學是一個比較年輕的領域，其目的是在改善我們對過去地球上人類的生活，死亡及相互間的関係作
進一步的瞭解，這個學科是從1960年代美國流程考古學及生物考古學在英國演變而成的人類骨頭考古學。生
物考古學現在是一個很活躍跨領域的學科，它蓋括生物考古人類學，考古學，以及社會理論，把過去人類在生
物，文化，生活環境的種種情況放在應有的階位上，這個領域不僅僅強調研究人體的遺留物，並且對他們所
存在的一切作整體的分析及解釋，這包括考古學上，社會文化上及政治情景上以及人類生活環境上的擺置。
因為対生物考古學的研究，有愈來愈多的人有興趣。因此有必要發行一份新的期刊來刊登經過專家審核合格
的文章，能這樣的話，對這個學科在全球性的融合及發展會有幫助。在介紹生物考古學這一期，我們追朔到這
個領域的源頭以及不同生物考古學派的發展，現在這些學派，己融合成爲一個成熟的學科。然後我們把辦這
個刊物的宗旨及目標描述出來並強調刊在這一期的每篇文章都符合我們刊物的目標。最後作為刊物的共同總
編輯，我們對現代及未來生物考古學發展的方向也陳述了我們的視野。為這個領域及這刊物的總體觀，我們
希望能鼓舞討論及促進國際間投稿。我們有意使國際生物考古學這刊物能加強這個領域的發展以及促進學
者及大衆對我們共同研究產生興趣。

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Agarwal, Sabrina C. 2016. Bone morphologies and histories: Life 
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Agarwal, Sabrina C., and Bonnie A. Glencross. 2011. Building a 
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