Bioarchaeology of Marginalized People - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0128152249 ISBN 13: 9780128152249

Publisher: Academic Press, 2019

Synopsis

Bioarchaeology of Marginalized People amplifies the echoes of voices of previously marginalized or powerless individuals. Archaeological investigations have generally taken a top-down approach to exploring the past, trying to reconstruct individual lives through datasets concerning populations. Following previous work done by physical anthropologists on the biology of poverty, this volume will focus on the voices of past actors who would normally be subsumed within a cohort or whose stories represented the minority, rather than the majority. By focusing on previously excluded voices this volume will enrich our understanding of the lived experience of individuals in the past.

Contributors to this volume will highlight the histories and stories of individuals who did not record their own stories, investigate two disparate ancient Egyptian women and discuss five individuals (including an infant) recovered from a high status indigenous cemetery in British Columbia. Additional chapters examine the marginalized individuals whose bodies comprise the Terry and Hamann-Todd collections and investigate inequalities in health status of individuals in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Modern clinical population health is researched through a historical lens, bringing a new perspective to the critical public health interventions occurring today. Finally, the editors will weave together themes identified in the chapters, including loss of identity, marginalization of the stigmatized, and the biology of poverty, with a look to future bioarchaeological and anthropological investigations of these topics.

About this title

About the Authors

Madeleine L. Mant, PhD, is a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Archaeology at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. She has published bioarcheological and historical articles in international peer-reviewed journals. Her Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship-funded doctoral research involved the uniting of archival and skeletal data to study skeletal trauma and fracture experience in Georgian London, UK.

Alyson Jaagumägi Holland, PhD, has experience in archaeology, biological, and medical anthropology. She has published on topics related to bioarchaeology and medical anthropology, including her doctoral using qualitative methods to explore nutrition and osteoporosis in Canadian young adults. Dr. Holland is also active in bioarchaeology as a member of a community archaeology project in British Columbia and is a licensed professional She is currently training to become a family physician, seeking to unite her interest in the nutrition of past peoples with modern health interventions.

From the Back Cover

Bioarchaeology of Marginalized People

Edited by Madeleine L. Mant and Alyson Jaagumägi Holland

Bioarchaeology of Marginalized People amplifies the voices of marginalized or powerless individuals. Following previous work done by physical anthropologists on the biology of poverty, this volume focuses on the voices of past actors who would normally be subsumed within a cohort or whose stories represent those of the minority. The physical effects of marginalization – manifest as skeletal markers of stress and disease – are read in their historical contexts to better understand vulnerability and the social determinants of health in the past. Bioarchaeological, archaeological, and historical datasets are integrated to explore the varied ways in which individuals may be marginalized both during and after their lifespan. By focusing on previously excluded voices this volume enriches our understanding of the lived experience of individuals in the past.

This volume queries the diverse meanings of marginalization, from physical or social peripheralization, to identity loss within a majority population, to a collective forgetting that excludes specific groups. Contributors to the volume highlight the histories of individuals who did not record their own stories, including two disparate Ancient Egyptian women and individuals from a high-status Indigenous cemetery in British Columbia. Additional chapters examine the marginalized individuals whose bodies comprise the Robert J. Terry anatomical collection and investigate inequalities in health status in individuals from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Modern clinical population health research is examined through a historical lens, bringing a new perspective to the critical public health interventions occurring today. Together, these papers highlight the role that biological anthropologists play both in contributing to and challenging the marginalization of past populations.

Key Features:

• Highlights the histories and stories of individuals whose voices were silenced, such as workhouse inmates, migrants, those of low socioeconomic status, the chronically ill, and those living in communities without a written language
• Provides a holistic and more complete understanding of lived experiences of the past, as well as changes in populations through time
• Offers an interdisciplinary discussion with contributions from a wide variety of international authors

About the Editors:

Madeleine L. Mant, PhD, is a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Archaeology at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. She has published bioarcheological and historical articles in international peer-reviewed journals. Her Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship-funded doctoral research involved the uniting of archival and skeletal data to study skeletal trauma and fracture experience in Georgian London, United Kingdom.

Alyson Jaagumägi Holland, PhD, has experience in archaeology, biological, and medical anthropology. She has published on topics related to bioarchaeology and medical anthropology, including her doctoral work using qualitative methods to explore nutrition and osteoporosis in Canadian young adults. Dr. Holland is also active in bioarchaeology as a member of a community archaeology project in British Columbia and is a licensed professional archaeologist. She is currently training to become a family physician, seeking to unite her interest in the nutrition of past peoples with modern health interventions.

Edition details

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0128152249
• ISBN 13: 9780128152249
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 300
• Editor: Mant Madeleine L.