Building Bones: Bone Formation and Development in Anthropology (Hardcover)

Christopher J. Percival

ISBN 10: 1107122783 / ISBN 13: 9781107122789

Published by Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2017

About this Item

Hardcover. Bone is the tissue most frequently recovered archaeologically and is the material most commonly studied by biological anthropologists, who are interested in how skeletons change shape during growth and across evolutionary time. This volume brings together a range of contemporary studies of bone growth and development to highlight how cross-disciplinary research and new methods can enhance our anthropological understanding of skeletal variation. The novel use of imaging techniques from developmental biology, advanced sequencing methods from genetics, and perspectives from evolutionary developmental biology improve our ability to understand the bases of modern human and primate variation. Animal models can also be used to provide a broad biological perspective to the systematic study of humans. This volume is a testament to the drive of anthropologists to understand biological and evolutionary processes that underlie changes in bone morphology and illustrates the continued value of incorporating multiple perspectives within anthropological inquiry. Anthropologists study the changing shapes of the skeleton during growth and across evolutionary time. This volume brings together examples of how novel methods and approaches can be used to expand our understanding of skeletal variation by combining knowledge from the fields of developmental biology, genetics, histology, morphometrics and imaging. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781107122789

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Building Bones: Bone Formation and Development in Anthropology (Hardcover)
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
• Publication Date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1107122783
• ISBN 13: 9781107122789
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Bone is the tissue most frequently recovered archaeologically and is the material most commonly studied by biological anthropologists, who are interested in how skeletons change shape during growth and across evolutionary time. This volume brings together a range of contemporary studies of bone growth and development to highlight how cross-disciplinary research and new methods can enhance our anthropological understanding of skeletal variation. The novel use of imaging techniques from developmental biology, advanced sequencing methods from genetics, and perspectives from evolutionary developmental biology improve our ability to understand the bases of modern human and primate variation. Animal models can also be used to provide a broad biological perspective to the systematic study of humans. This volume is a testament to the drive of anthropologists to understand biological and evolutionary processes that underlie changes in bone morphology and illustrates the continued value of incorporating multiple perspectives within anthropological inquiry.

About the Authors

Christopher J. Percival is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Calgary. His research focuses on the basis for variation in skull form, in particular focusing on quantifying the role that interactions between tissues play in defining craniofacial morphology.

Joan T. Richtsmeier is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at Pennsylvania State University. Her research seeks to understand the complex genetic and developmental basis of variation in head shape in development, disease and evolution.