The Archaeology of Disease

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801484480 ISBN 13: 9780801484483

Publisher: Cornell University Press, 1997

"This second edition . . . illustrates how the latest techniques in paleopathology and archaeology are used to identify injury and disease patterns in past human populations. . . . The quality of the text is accentuated by the addition of numerous high quality illustrations, tables, and photographs along with a comprehensive bibliography."--Choice

"[The authors] enhance their study by employing the biocultural approach. [They] stress the importance of using both the physical evidence, which is obvious, and the cultural proof, which is often less clear, in a multidisciplinary approach to diseases in people who lived in the past. . . . This book is recommended as a good reference source, which will provide both historical background and cultural data on disease. It will be most valuable to the person who seeks information about diseases past, their virulence, and their effect upon a population."--Journal of the American Medical Association

"Anyone generally interested in the history of medicine in antiquity will want to keep this useful reference book at hand."--Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"This is an excellent, thought-provoking account, packed with fascinating information. . . . A thoroughly useful book. . . . The authors are to be congratulated on successfully surveying such a broad field of study."--Journal of the History of Medicine

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.

Review:

"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, JAMA, September 20, 2006

"Well structured, clearly written, and extremely accurate from both a historical and scientific point of view."―The Lancet (reviewing a previous edition)

"A concise, informative, and very readable introduction to the field of paleopathology."―Journal of the History of Medicine (reviewing a previous edition)

"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, East Bay Express.com, 25 January 2006

"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