Tucker 2002.5


26 27

BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE HUMAN 
SKELETON. Edited by M. Anne Katzenberg and 
Shelley R. Saunders. New York, Toronto.  Wiley-Liss, 
Inc., 2000. 504 pp. ISBN 0-471-31616-4.  $80.75, cloth.

This exciting and comprehensive volume, detailing 
methods of bioanthropological research as applied to 
the human skeleton, brings together 21authors in 16 
chapters.  An initial impulse is to compare this work 
with the 1992 book edited by Saunders and Katzenberg, 
Skeletal Biology of Past Peoples: Research Methods, as many 
of the same authors appear in both volumes.  However, 
to characterize this book as an updated version of the 
1992 volume is to grossly misrepresent this work.  On 
closer inspection, it is clear that the editors have adopted 
a mature approach to the biocultural study of the 
human skeleton.  Many contributors are cautionary, but 
not pessimistic as they discuss in detail the limitations 
associated with bioarchaeological research, while other 
chapters portray practical applications for describing 
and analyzing biological data.  The definitive theme 
of the book is to report advanced methods in skeletal 
and dental research, however a welcome addition is the 
introductory chapter on ethics in bioarchaeology.

The book is divided into five parts, with the first 
section consisting of two chapters devoted to theory and 
application in studies of past peoples.  The remaining 
four sections emphasize current perspectives for 
specific areas of skeletal and dental anthropology such 
as morphological analyses, paleopathology, chemical 
analyses of bone (including aDNA research), aging 
techniques, and quantitative applications.

In the first chapter, P. Walker sharply focuses the 
reader’s attention to bioethics and addresses the moral 
conflicts associated with bioarchaeological research. 
Walker presents the historical background for research 
on human remains highlighting the paradoxical position 
of bioarchaeology with its roots both in medicine and 
anthropology (p. 3).  One strength of this chapter is that 
Walker provides a framework for discourse between 
bioarchaeologists and indigenous populations—a 
discourse that employs respect born from historical 
perspective and understanding.  In the second 
chapter, D. Ubelaker examines forensic anthropology.  
Again, a historical background provides a basis for 
understanding that the “theoretical approach employed 
in forensic anthropology basically involves a broad 
anthropological population perspective applied to the 
individual” (p 49).  Ublelaker reviews the methods 
employed in forensic anthropology and supports that 
the future of forensic research is bright.

Part two consists of five chapters concerning 
morphological analyses and age changes.  C. Ruff 
presents an overview of biomechanical research as 
applied in the reconstruction of past human behavior.  
He discusses different methods for structural analysis 
of long bones and reviews the exciting results of 

biomechanical studies as applied to long term 
evolutionary trends, microevolutionary changes and 
variation within an individual’s lifetime.  Students 
looking for a detailed discussion on dental morphology 
recording strategies will be thrilled to read J. Mayhall’s 
chapter.  Mayhall provides extensive descriptions of 
morphological methods and notes the strengths and 
limits of each technique.  He emphasizes that dental 
morphological studies should employ methods that are 
consistent, easily achievable, and comparable with other 
studies.  S. Saunders takes a careful look at subadult 
growth studies as indicators of past population health 
and applies a practical perspective for addressing some 
of the problems associated with these studies.  She 
explores issues such as the recovery of an unbiased 
sample of subadults, the limits of sexing subadults 
and the inherent difficulties associated with age 
estimation techniques.  Although cautionary, Saunders 
stresses that the potential of data recovered from living 
individuals, forensic cases, historic cemeteries as well as 
aDNA techniques and histology may serve to clarify age 
estimation in subadult skeletons and provide population 
specific databases for testing growth study assumptions.  
C. FitzGerald and J.C. Rose discuss exciting methods for 
assessing subadult age using dental growth markers.  
The authors provide a generous review of dental 
anatomy, which allows the reader to understand how 
enamel is formed and thus how enamel microstructures 
can be used to determine subadult age.  A major strength 
of this chapter is its practical focus, which includes 
discussions on preparation of tooth samples, microscopy 
as well as image analysis.  A. Robling and S. Stout 
review the physiology and histomorphology of cortical 
bone and provide a synthesis of histomorphometric age 
estimation research.  The authors include discussions 
of several factors that affect histological age estimates 
at both the physiological and methodological level.  
Again, the practical perspective must be applauded 
which includes worked examples of age estimation 
methods in the appendix.

Part three presents three chapters detailing current 
methods and research in prehistoric health and 
disease.  N. Lovell examines several methods used in 
paleopathological research such as gross macroscopic 
observations, radiographic methods, computed 
tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, endoscopy, 
microscopic methods, and biochemical methods.  She 
cautions that although paleopathology is the discipline 
that “aims to reconstruct the history and geography of 
disease” it is mostly restricted to lesions from trauma and 
chronic conditions (p. 217).  She states that researchers 
must consider the larger role of disease as factors in 
biocultural evolution in order for paleopathology to have 
relevance outside our scientific community.  S. Hillson 
reviews methods for evaluating dental pathology and 
provides extensive discussions on developmental 
defects of enamel, dental wear, dental calculus, caries 



28 29

and periodontal disease.  Hillson reminds the reader 
that the pathologies reflected in the human mouth are 
linked and their pattern of progression is complex and 
can sometimes interact in contrasting ways.  Therefore it 
is important that the recording systems and analyses of 
dental pathology reflect accurate life processes.  Hillson 
provides excellent advice for recording and evaluating 
dental data and presents a scoring system for caries and 
periodontal disease (pp. 273-280).  The final chapter 
in this section reviews palaehistological methods as a 
technique in evaluating health and disease.  S. Pfeiffer 
stresses that the size and organization of osteons, 
haversion canals, and other bone microstructures 
provide telltale clues in reconstructing past human 
life.  Pfeiffer describes methods for obtaining, preparing 
and analyzing samples.  She also presents research 
from different studies that employ palaehistological 
methods in evaluating bone structure variation, health 
and disease.

Part four, Chemical and Genetic analyses of Hard 
Tissues, includes three chapters that explore stable 
isotope, trace element, and ancient DNA analyses.  M.A. 
Katzenberg provides a mature look at stable isotope 
analyses and how these studies are integrated with other 
biocultural questions and themes.  She reviews methods 
for obtaining samples and presents research studies 
that employ stable isotope techniques to reconstruct 
diet, determine infant weaning strategies, identify 
pathological bone changes and identify residence and 
migration patterns.  M. K. Sandford and D. S. Weaver 
present a frank discussion on elemental analyses in 
skeletal research, emphasizing the confounding affects 
of diagensis.  The authors review bone chemistry, 
biogenic and diagenetic processes and conclude with 
a plea for “genuine interdisciplinary collaborations 
and more specialized, up-to date training of our 
students” (p. 344).  A. C. Stone reviews the methods 
for recovering ancient DNA, drawing attention to 
how DNA is preserved and modified in the original 
environment and during subsequent extraction.  Stone 
cautions that there are still challenges within the field, 
such as experimental design and contamination of 
samples, but also demonstrates the potential rewards 
for this area of research.  Through numerous examples, 
Stone demonstrates how molecular archaeology can 
be used as supplemental verification for traditional 
anthropological questions or provide unique evidence 
such as in the identification of specific pathogens.

The final section of the book contains three 
chapters that emphasize quantitative methods and 
population studies.  M. Pietrusewksy presents a non-
technical discussion for using multivariate statistical 
methods in analyzing morphometric data.  Starting 
with the assumptions used in biological distance 
studies, Pietrusewksy provides a step by step review 
of quantitative techniques and ultimately focuses 
on current computer statistical packages.  Examples 

of Pietrusewksy’s personal research in craniometric 
analyses provide excellent references for use in 
comparison studies.  M. Jackes offers a thought-
provoking discussion on adult age determination 
and portrays a clear depiction of the crises that 
bioarchaeology faces without accurate age estimates.  
Jackes exhaustively reviews all techniques used in 
evaluating age at death and provides a test of each 
technique. She maintains that skeletal indicator stages 
are stages of skeletal change and not direct indicators 
of chronological age.  Jackes concludes that statistical 
techniques cannot take the place of accurate descriptive 
methods and that any analyses of adult age must employ 
seriation of adults by many different stage methods 
scaled by cemental anulations whenever possible.  
G. R. Milner, J. W. Wood and J. L. Boldsen revisit 
several questions that are fundamental to the field of 
paleodemography and at the center of skeletal research 
in general.  The authors present a pragmatic approach 
to understanding problems of sampling, age and sex 
estimation, population non-stationarity, heterogeneous 
frailty and selective mortality.  They promote the use 
of parametric mortality models, maximum likelihood 
estimation, and other statistical modeling methods as 
strategies to provide a more reliable estimate of life and 
death in past populations.

Bioarchaeology is a highly specialized discipline 
and students must be well versed in the methods of 
chemistry and statistics as well as in the discourse 
of bioethics.  This book addresses these concerns by 
providing in unambiguous detail advanced methods for 
the analysis of bones and teeth.  Although many of the 
methods highlighted in this volume employ destructive 
techniques, it is evident that students new to graduate 
research as well as international scholars and senior 
researchers will find this book a useful tool.  Indeed, 
every chapter contains an extensive bibliography as 
well as practical, reality-based approaches to skeletal 
research.  Each author has provided well-written and 
insightful contributions, with only a handful of errors 
mainly contained to captions, missing references and a 
few proofing errors within the text.  It is clear that this 
book will be a mainstay for bioanthropology graduate 
reading lists and will acquire a welcomed spot on many 
bioarch-laboratory bookshelves.

 TERI TUCKER
 Department of Anthropology
 The Ohio State University
 Columbus, OH 43210