Ancient Bones

"Splendid and important... Scientifically rigorous and written with a clarity and candor that create a gripping tale... [Böhme's] account of the history of Europe's lost apes is imbued with the sweat, grime, and triumph that is the lot of the fieldworker, and carries great authority." —Tim Flannery, The New York Review of Books In this "fascinating forensic inquiry into human origins" (Kirkus STARRED Review), a renowned paleontologist takes readers behind-the-scenes of one of the most groundbreaking archaeological digs in recent history. Somewhere west of Munich, paleontologist Madelaine Böhme and her colleagues dig for clues to the origins of humankind. What they discover is beyond anything they ever imagined: the twelve-million-year-old bones of Danuvius guggenmosi make headlines around the world. This ancient ape defies prevailing theories of human history—his skeletal adaptations suggest a new common ancestor between apes and humans, one that dwelled in Europe, not Africa. Might the great apes that traveled from Africa to Europe before Danuvius's time be the key to understanding our own origins? All this and more is explored in Ancient Bones. Using her expertise as a paleoclimatologist and paleontologist, Böhme pieces together an awe-inspiring picture of great apes that crossed land bridges from Africa to Europe millions of years ago, evolving in response to the challenging conditions they found. She also takes us behind the scenes of her research, introducing us to former theories of human evolution (complete with helpful maps and diagrams), and walks us through musty museum overflow storage where she finds forgotten fossils with yellowed labels, before taking us along to the momentous dig where she and the team unearthed Danuvius guggenmosi himself—and the incredible reverberations his discovery caused around the world. Praise for Ancient Bones: "Readable and thought-provoking. Madelaine Böhme is an iconoclast whose fossil discoveries have challenged long-standing ideas on the origins of the ancestors of apes and humans." —Steve Brusatte, New York Times-bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs "An inherently fascinating, impressively informative, and exceptionally thought-provoking read." —Midwest Book Review "An impressive introduction to the burgeoning recalibration of paleoanthropology." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Bones: Ancient Men and Modern Myths focuses on bone structures and characteristics, including bone modifications, breakage, processing, and destruction by animals. The publication first elaborates on the transitions to relics to artifacts and monuments to assemblages and middle-range research and the role of actualistic studies, including artifact and assemblage phase and relic and monument phase. The text then takes a look at the patterns of bone modifications produced by nonhuman agents and human modes of bone modification. Discussions focus on breakage related to other forms of bone processing, morphology of bone breakage, chopping and bone breakage as butchering techniques, butchering marks, bone breakage and destruction by animals, tooth marks, and previous approaches to understanding the significance of broken and modified bone. The manuscript ponders on patterns of association stemming from the behavior of man versus that of beast, as well as control collections of animal-structured assemblages; information on kill behavior and comparisons; observations of wolves and their behavior; and studies of assemblage composition caused by beasts. The publication is a valuable source of information for researchers interested in bone structure and modifications.

No Australian material except illustration of Alyawara butchering technique.

Includes an indexed bibliography of the first 150 years of Maya osteology. This volume pulls together a spectrum of bioarchaeologists that reveal remarkable data on Maya genetic relationship, demography, and diseases.

This volume presents a truly integrated methodological and biocultural approach to the expanding discipline of human palaeopathology. The book provides researchers and practitioners with a comprehensive guide to the main methods and techniques that are currently available for studying diseases and related conditions from human skeletal remains. It also describes the ways in which these methods can be applied to the reconstruction of health and disease in the past. The first part of the book deals with the survival of palaeopathological evidence and provides an up-to-date account of some of the latest techniques for studying disease in ancient remains. These include imaging techniques, such as radiography and CT scanning, and biochemical and histological analyses. Part two discusses the diagnosis and interpretation of particular classes of disease. The emphasis here is on what can be learnt by taking a biocultural or holistic approach to the study of disease frequencies at a population level. Combines theoretical, methodological and diagnostic aspects with key biocultural approaches. Includes overviews of the latest applicable techniques from molecular biology, biochemistry, histopathology and medical imaging. Written by an international team of experts. This book is an invaluable resource for biological anthropologists and archaeologists who study health and disease in past populations. It is also of interest to medical researchers dealing with epidemiological, diagnostic and pathophysiological aspects of diseases, who need a perspective upon the ways in which particular diseases affected earlier generations. Praise from the reviews: “... This book offers an impressive amount of information for both students and more advanced researchers. Its value lies in the vast expertise the contributors have to offer, with all of them being experts with long-standing careers in their respective fields, as well as the geographical distribution of examples that are given to illustrate specific diseases... outstanding and it truly is an important resource for anyone interested in palaeopathology.” PALEOPATHOLOGY NEWSLETTER “The strengths of the book are numerous, but I am especially impressed with the clarity of presentation... I strongly recommend the book, and plan on using it in my classes as assigned reading to emphasize the very complex nature of diagnosis and its essential role of providing baseline information for interpreting health profiles of ancient populations.” THE QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY “It may be asked if we really need yet another book on paleopathology, especially because there are many acclaimed sources available. In this case, the answer must be a resounding ‘‘Yes!’’...Visually and textually, this volume is of exceptional value for guiding future generations of paleopathologists.” AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY "Pinhasi and Mays have produced an excellent, balanced compilation that reflects what is currently happening in paleopathology research and that nicely addresses paleopathology as both discipline and tool, highlighting technical advanced and schooling us on how disease manifests in the human skeleton. This is valuable resource that students and professionals interested in human paloepathology should consider adding to their libraries." AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY

"Do creation scientists do actual science, or do they just propagate religious talking points? Ancient and Fossil Bone Collagen Remnants, based on Dr. Brian Thomas’ PhD dissertation, answers this question. Intended for the technical science reader, it reveals results from research projects designed to address questions about the presence or absence, geographic and stratigraphic extent, and decay rate of collagen in ancient bones. Not only do the experiments and descriptions found in this volume show that yes, creation scientists do real science, but they also provide the solid technical background needed to address the question of why short-lived collagen has been found in supposedly very old dinosaur bones"--Publisher's description.

The aim of this book is to provide an introduction to what can be learnt from the scientific study of human skeletal remains from archaeological sites.

Interest in ancient DNA is growing very rapidly in fields as diverse as evolution, anthropology, medicine, agriculture, and even law enforcement. This is a valuable source of information, ideas, and protocols for everyone interested in this extraordinary field. 50 illustrations; 10 tables.