Exploring behaviour through bones has always been a fascinating topic to those that study human remains. Human bodies record and store vast amounts of information about the way we move, where we live, and our experiences of health and socioeconomic circumstances. We see it every day, and experience it, but when it comes to past populations, understanding behaviour is largely mediated by our ability to read it in bones. Behaviour in Our Bones: How Human Behaviour Influences Skeletal Morphology examines how human physical and cultural actions and interactions can be read through careful analyses of skeletal human remains.
This book synthesises the latest research on reconstructing behaviour in the past. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific region of the human body, guiding the reader from head to toe and highlighting how evidence found on the skull, shoulder, thorax, spine, pelvis, and the upper and lower limbs has been used to infer patterns of activity and other behaviour. Chapter authors expertly summarise and critically discuss a range of methodological, theoretical, and interpretive approaches used to read skeletal remains and interpret a wide variety of behaviours, including tool use, locomotion, reproduction, health, pathology, and beyond.
Author(s): Cara S. Hirst, Rebecca J. Gilmour, Francisca Alves Cardoso, Kimberly A. Plomp
Publisher: Elsevier
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 327
City: Amsterdam
Front Cover
Behaviour in our Bones: How Human Behaviour Influences Skeletal Morphology
Copyright
Contents
Contributors
Foreword
References
Chapter 1 Skeletons in action: Inferring behaviour from our bones
References
Chapter 2 Bone biology and microscopic changes in response to behaviour
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Bone anatomy and cells
2.2.1 Bone cells
2.3 Long bone micro-anatomy, modelling, and remodelling
2.4 Bone functional adaptation
2.5 Bone histology and behaviour in archaeological humans
2.6 Trabecular bone structure and behaviour
2.7 Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 3 Biosocial complexity and the skull
3.1 Introduction
3.2 The skull
3.2.1 Anatomy of the skull
3.2.2 Modularity and integration
3.3 Origins and dispersals
3.3.1 Evolution of the human skull
3.3.2 Population history
3.3.3 Gene flow and hybridisation
3.4 Transition to agriculture
3.4.1 Craniofacial gracilisation and globularisation
3.4.2 Dental size reduction
3.4.3 Plasticity, selection, and lifestyle changes
3.5 Adaptations to environmental changes
3.5.1 The impact of climate on the skull
3.5.2 Extreme cold environments
3.5.3 High-altitude adaptations
3.6 Culture and communication
3.6.1 Cultural modifications of the skull
3.6.2 Self-domestication and ‘modernity’
3.6.3 Communication and the face
3.7 Summary and conclusion
References
Chapter 4 Activity and the shoulder: From soft tissues to bare bones
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Activity versus occupation
4.3 Entheses
4.4 Shoulder joint anatomy
4.4.1 The static stabilisers
4.4.2 The dynamic stabilisers
4.4.3 Anatomical summary
4.5 Studies of shoulder activity in modern contexts
4.6 Archaeological studies of activity and the shoulder
4.7 Synthesising clinical and bioarchaeological studies
4.8 Conclusions and future directions
References
Chapter 5 Archery and the arm
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Basic biomechanics: The kinesiology of archery
5.2.1 Draw arm
5.2.2 Bow arm
5.3 Common bone adaptation responses to archery
5.3.1 Degenerative joint disease (DJD)
5.3.2 Entheseal changes (EC)
5.3.3 Cross-sectional bone geometry (CSBG)
5.4 Injuries in modern archers
5.4.1 How common injuries might manifest on bone
5.4.1.1 Overuse
5.4.1.2 Rotator cuff disease and impingement
5.4.1.3 Lateral and medial Epicondylosis
5.5 Studies in biological anthropology
5.6 Conclusion
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 6 Tool use and the hand
6.1 What behaviours are unique to the human hand?
6.2 Hominin hand morphology and tools in the past
6.3 Soft tissues
6.4 Soft tissue traces in the archaeological record
6.5 Internal bone morphology
6.6 Conclusions
Glossary
References
Chapter 7 Behaviour and the bones of the thorax and spine
7.1 Introduction
7.2 The human spine
7.3 The human thorax
7.4 Locomotion
7.5 Activity-related palaeopathology of the spine
7.6 Corsetry and binding
7.7 Violence and ritual behaviour
7.8 Conclusion and ways forward
References
Chapter 8 Human behaviour and the pelvis
8.1 Introduction
8.2 The human pelvis
8.3 The human pelvis vs. the fossil and nonhuman primate pelvis
8.4 Childbirth
8.4.1 The process of childbirth in humans
8.4.2 Childbirth as a cause of death today
8.4.3 The obstetric dilemma hypothesis
8.4.4 The human pelvis and bioarchaeological analyses
8.5 Movement (locomotion and gait)
8.6 Health, disease, and trauma
8.6.1 Joint diseases of the pelvis
8.6.2 Metabolic diseases of the pelvis
8.6.3 Infectious diseases of the pelvis
8.6.4 Trauma to the pelvis
8.7 Everyday behaviours
8.7.1 Corset use and its impacts on the pelvis
8.7.2 Horse riding and its impacts on the pelvis
8.8 Conclusion
References
Chapter 9 Horse riding and the lower limbs
9.1 Introduction
9.1.1 Why study horse riding?
9.1.2 A multidisciplinary approach
9.2 Modern riders and sports medicine
9.2.1 Anatomy of riding
9.2.2 Injuries of modern riders
9.3 Biological anthropology of horse riding
9.3.1 Entheseal changes
9.3.1.1 Macromorphological analysis of entheseal changes
9.3.1.2 Micromorphological analysis of entheseal changes
9.3.2 Joint changes
9.3.3 Morphological variants and adaptations
9.3.4 Skeletal trauma
9.4 The identification of reliable horse riding-related skeletal changes
9.4.1 Methodological limitations and reflections
9.4.2 Perspectives
References
Chapter 10 Locomotion and the foot and ankle
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Experimental studies that support bone functional adaptation in the ankle and foot
10.2.1 The lower leg—Tibia
10.2.1.1 Tibial response to loading—Cortical modelling
10.2.1.2 Tibial response to loading—Trabecular modelling
10.2.1.3 Tibial response to loading—Summary
10.2.2 The foot
10.2.2.1 The hindfoot
10.2.2.2 The midfoot
10.2.2.3 The forefoot
10.2.2.4 The foot—Summary
10.3 Development in archaeological and anthropological research
10.3.1 The evolution of bipedalism as evidenced by the foot and ankle
10.3.1.1 Evidence of locomotion— Ardipithecus ramidus
10.3.1.2 Evidence of locomotion— Australopithecus anamensis
10.3.1.3 Evidence of locomotion— Australopithecus afarensis
10.3.1.4 Evidence of locomotion— Australopithecus africanus
10.3.1.5 Evidence of locomotion— Australopithecus sediba
10.3.1.6 Evidence of locomotion— Paranthropus
10.3.1.7 Evidence of locomotion—Early Homo and Neanderthals
10.3.1.8 Evidence of locomotion—Summary
10.3.2 Holocene human activity and the effects on bone modelling/remodelling
10.3.2.1 Effects of activity levels/subsistence strategies on bone modelling/remodelling in Holocene humans
10.3.2.2 Effects of substrate/terrain on bone modelling/remodelling in Holocene humans
10.3.2.3 Effects of footwear on bone modelling/remodelling in Holocene humans
10.3.2.4 Factors affecting bone modelling/remodelling in Holocene humans—Summary
10.4 Conclusion
References
Chapter 11 Injury, disease, and recovery: Skeletal adaptations to immobility and impairment
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Progression of disuse bone loss
11.2.1 Phase I: Rapid loss
11.2.2 Phase II: Slow and prolonged loss
11.2.3 Phase III: Steady state
11.2.4 Distribution of bone loss
11.3 Asymmetry
11.4 Recovery following disuse
11.5 Bioarchaeological studies
11.5.1 Bed rest and frailty: Diffuse/systemic bone loss
11.5.2 Asymmetric impairment
11.5.3 Amputation, adaptation, and assistive devices
11.5.4 Adaptation: Recovery after pathology
11.6 Discussion and ways forward
11.7 Conclusion
References
Chapter 12 Acting on what we have learned and moving forward with skeletal behaviour
References
Index
Back Cover
