Bioarchaeology of the Southwest

A wide-ranging synthesis of research illuminating the lives of ancient people who lived in the deserts, mountains, and river valleys of the North American Southwest

The two volumes of Bioarchaeology of the Southwest bring together more than 100 years of research into the lives of the ancient people of the Southwest United States and Northwest Mexico. Featuring contributions from specialists working in academic, museum, and cultural resource management settings, these books make available knowledge from a variety of unpublished sources that have been difficult to access until now.

Chapters in volume 2 include northern and southern Arizona, southwest New Mexico, and northern Mexico. The contributors summarize findings about people of the Sinagua, Kayenta, Mimbres, Hohokam, and Trincheras traditions and the Casas Grandes region. Four topically focused chapters discuss evidence of cancer in the Southwest, biological distance in Colonial-era populations, stable isotope studies, and archaeoparasitology. The concluding chapter reviews the strengths and challenges in the field, and some avenues for progress.

With chapters representing hundreds of ancient communities dating from the Archaic to the early Historic period, Bioarchaeology of the Southwest demonstrates the range of topics that can be addressed through the contextualized study of human remains, the insights this field offers into the everyday experiences of people in the past, and the challenges and promise of collaborative approaches to this research. Together, these volumes constitute an unparalleled resource for understanding the history of bioarchaeology and critical issues impacting the future of the discipline in the region.