The Archaeology of Disease / Edition 3

by Charlotte Roberts, Keith Manchester

Overview

The Archaeology of Disease shows how the latest scientific and archaeological techniques can be used to identify the common illnesses and injuries from which humans suffered in antiquity. Charlotte Roberts and Keith Manchester offer a vivid picture of ancient disease and trauma by combining the results of scientific research with information gathered from documents, other areas of archaeology, art, and ethnography. The book contains information on congenital, infectious, dental, joint, endocrine, and metabolic diseases. The authors provide a clinical context for specific ailments and accidents and consider the relevance of ancient demography, basic bone biology, funerary practices, and prehistoric medicine. This fully revised third edition has been updated to and encompasses rapidly developing research methods of in this fascinating field.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801473883
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	02/09/2007
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	588,520
Product dimensions:	6.75(w) x 9.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Charlotte Roberts is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Durham. She is a biological anthropologist whose focus is on paleopathology. Keith Manchester was formerly a Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Archaeological Sciences at the University of Bradford and a general medical practitioner in Bradford.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - The Study of Palaeopathology
Introduction and definitions
History of study
Working from a clinical base
Methods of study and tissue change
Terminology
Limitations of palaeopathological study
Biocultural perspectives of disease frequency
Movement of people
Climate and weather
Diet and economy
Living environment
Occupation
TreatmentChapter 2 - Back to Basics
Introduction
Population growth through time
Population growth, mortality and disease
Palaeopathology and the question of numbers
Palaeodemographic structure: age and sex
Methods of analysis for age and sex estimation
Sex estimation
Age at death estimation
Palaeodemography
Stature and health
Social status and health
Ethnicity and health
EpilogueChapter 3 - Congenital Disease
Introduction
Causes of developmental defects
Axial skeleton
Anencephaly and microcephaly
Cleft palate
Hydrocephalus
Abnormalities in cranial suture development
Spina bifida
Lumbarization and sacraclization
Spondyolysis
Appendicular skeleton
Congenital dislocation of the hip
Club foot
Axial and appendicular skeleton
Achondroplasia
Osteogenesis imperfecta
Down's syndromeChapter 4 - Dental Disease
Introduction
Dental caries
Dental abscess
Calculus (calcified plaque)
Periodontal disease and ante-mortem tooth loss
Enamel hypoplasia
Dental problems and associated diseases
Dental attrition
Culturally induced dental alteration
Methods of recording dental diseaseChapter 5 - Trauma
Introduction
Types and causes of fractures
Healing of fractures
Fracture complications
Limitations of trauma study
Fractures: living population studies
Post-cranial fractures: past population studies
Interpersonal aggression and traumatic lesions
Decapitation and scalping
'Domestic' violence: infanticide, child abuse, defleshing and cannibalism
Trauma and cause of death
Dislocation
Osteochondritis dissecans
Treatment of trauma
Amputation
Trepanation
Treatment of fracturesChapter 6 - Joint Disease
Introduction
Joint anatomy and physiology
Joint disease: pathological process
Nenromechmical joint disease: osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis: skeletal involvement
Spinal joint disease
Activity, osteoarthritis and markers of 'occupation'
Inflammatory joint disease: septic arthritis
Immune joint disease
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
Psoriatic arthritis (PA)
Ankylosing spondylitis(SA)
Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH)
Metabolic joint disease: gouty arthritisChapter 7 - Infectious Disease
Introduction
Non-specific infections
Osteomyelitis
Periostitis
Sinusitis
Middle-ear and mastoid infection
Endocranial changes
Soft-tissue infection
Specific infections
Tuberculosis
Leprosy
Treponemal disease
Brucellosis and the mycoses
Parasitic infection
Infectious disease in palaeopathology and biomolecular analysisChapter 8 - Metabolic and Endocrine Disease
Introduction
Metabolic disease
Diet and its relationship to disease
Anaemia
Vitamin C and D deficiencies
Harris lines of arrested growth
Osteoporosis
Endocrine disease
Paget's diseaseChapter 9 - Neoplastic Disease
Introduction
Benign neoplasms
Malignant neoplasms
Secondary cancerChapter10 - Conclusions: The Next Ten Years
Introduction
The past (since 1995)
The biocultural/bioarchaeological population approach to palaeopathology
Diagnosis and interpretation of disease
The practitioners
Ambitious projects on disease
Standardization of palaeopathological data recording
Research on specific diseases or themes
Methodological advances
The present and future
Standardization of recording and reporting find access to palaeopathological data
The practitioners, organizations and conferences, anl the media
Palaeopathological studies
Our resource, and analytical developmentsReferences
Index

What People are Saying About This

Andreas G. Nerlich

As close to perfection as a book can come.... The Archaeology of Disease is highly recommended to all who are interested in the history of diseases and their scientific investigation. The clear, precise, and elaborate description and interpretation of paleopathological observations the world over, from many different time periods, provide excellent insight into life and death hundreds to thousands of years ago.

Anneli Rufus

Details how skeletal discoveries at archaeological sites reveal much about illnesses in earlier eras and how they were treated. Dead men do tell tales.

From the Publisher

Well structured, clearly written, and extremely accurate from both a historical and scientific point of view.

Editorial Reviews

This is a fabulous book. It is stocked full of useful data, is well organized, and devoid of most of the pseudoscience that plagues this area of study. It covers the entire field in a practical, no-nonsense style. If you are interested in ancient disease, then this is the bible, the finest text to date.

Journal of the American Association of Forensic Dentists

A concise, informative, and very readable introduction to the field of paleopathology.

Journal of the History of Medicine (reviewing a previous edition)

"Well structured, clearly written, and extremely accurate from both a historical and scientific point of view."

From the Publisher

"Details how skeletal discoveries at archaeological sites reveal much about illnesses in earlier eras and how they were treated. Dead men do tell tales."

Anneli Rufus

"As close to perfection as a book can come.... The Archaeology of Disease is highly recommended to all who are interested in the history of diseases and their scientific investigation. The clear, precise, and elaborate description and interpretation of paleopathological observations the world over, from many different time periods, provide excellent insight into life and death hundreds to thousands of years ago."

Andreas G. Nerlich

Shows how the latest archaeological techniques can identify illnesses and injuries in human remains, combining a clinical interpretation of prevalent diseases with descriptions of their social, economic, and cultural consequences. Chapters focus on specific conditions such as trauma, tumors, and infectious diseases, and discuss ancient demography, basic bone biology, funerary practices, and prehistoric medicine. This second edition includes revised material incorporating technical advances in the field. Contains numerous b&w photos. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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