AJA Online Publications: Book Review
The Social Archaeology of Funerary
Remains
edited by Rebecca Gowland and Christopher Knsel. Pp. xiv + 312, figs.
114, tables 45. Oxbow Books, Oxford 2006. $120. ISBN 1-84271-211-5 (cloth).
In a recent review of Sofaers book, The
Body as Material Culture (Cambridge 2006),
Hamilton observed (American Journal of Physi-
cal Anthropology 132 [2006] 16162) that the
British tradition in osteoarchaeology was
shaped by different influences than American
bioarchaeology. The four-fields approach
to anthropology in the United States, where
human biologists commonly are integrated
within departments of anthropology, enjoys a
somewhat longer history of effectively incor-
porating human bone studies into the process
of archaeological analysis.
Today British archaeologists are enjoying in-
creasingly fruitful relationships with biological
anthropologists, many of whom have recently
found posts within departments of archaeology
at British universities. Yet researchers on both
sides of the pond still enjoy varying degrees of
input from archaeologists and social anthro-
pologists. Full integration of data sets remains
an important shared goal, as is demonstrated
by the papers in this collection.
Gowland and Knsel have here assembled
19 papers by 25 contributors, some of which
were aired (viii) at the 2004 meeting of the Eu-
American Journal of Archaeology Online Book Review
ropean Association of Archaeologists in Lyon,
Copyright 2007 by the Archaeological Institute of America
France. Their intent was to integrate data from
all aspects of burial activities with relevant skel-
etal information to enhance our understanding
of the social and cultural processes involved
in mortuary practices. The resulting collection
provides a number of useful overviews, many
with a strong focus on British contexts. Space
limitations, unfortunately, permit me to write
only a few lines for some of the many notable
I11.3 (July 2007)
papers in this volume.
The important first paper, by Bello and
Andrews, effectively sets the stage. Their
review of patterns of preservation of human
skeletal remains from archaeological contexts
assembles data from a number of well-pre-
served medieval and post-medieval French
sites, as well as from the important Spitalfields
excavations in London. Their conclusions are
applicable to findings from every type of site
and in all parts of the world (cf. M. Becker,
Archaeology of Infancy and Childhood:
Integrating and Expanding Research into the
Past, AJA 110 [2006] 65558). Variations in
patterns of disposal of the dead are addressed
by Andrews and Bello in the second chapter,
where they examine human activities that
complement natural taphonomic processes
as seen at Neolithic atalhyk in Turkey. In
the next paper, Duday expands on the open-
ing chapters with a review of taphonomic
processes, illustrated by unsurpassed line
drawings depicting skeletons in situ. Duday
points out that processes of skeletal alteration
differ in significant ways depending upon the
structure of the grave. For example, bones from
bodies interred in large open chambers have
distinct patterns of movement after soft tissue
decay. Duday does not note that demineraliza-
tion of skeletons within open chamber tombs
often yields bones resembling those found in
cremations. The overly literal translation from
the French of Dudays contribution does not
enhance its value.
Chapter 4, by Beckett and Robb, provides a
useful collation of studies at Neolithic sites in
Britain and Ireland. The authors focus on what
can be achieved through computer modeling
of the evidence, a methodologically important
contribution.
The significance of animal remains found
among human bones from Anglo-Saxon and
Viking cremations in Britain is deftly sum-
marized by Bond and Worley in chapter 6.
 This often neglected aspect of archaeologi-
cal research includes the note that terminal
phalanges of brown bear are recorded in
cremations from all over Europe from the
Iron Age onwards (95). They suggest that
these derive from bear skins included with
offerings. The possibility that other vectors
may account for these finds, or that these bear
bones may relate to parallel rituals involving
human phalanges, should be noted (cf. M.
Becker, The Contents of Funerary Vessels as
Clues to Mortuary Customs, in J. Christiansen
and T. Melande, eds., Proceedings of the Third
Symposium on Ancient Greek and Related Pottery
[Copenhagen 1988] 2532).
Le Huray and his colleagues contribute an
excellent paper on dietary variation in central
Europe during the La Tne period (ca. 475415
B.C.E.). Unfortunately, the dates for the period
are not offered, and La Tne is not indexed.
The following paper by Montgomery and Ev-
ans, who apply similar analytical techniques to
a Scottish example, is even more successful.
In chapter 9, Gowland addresses the evalu-
ation of human age at death and discusses the
problematic use of age groupings. Her discus-
sion of variations on how age is defined
should consider allowing the data to suggest
culturally established categories (cf. M. Becker,
The Cazzanello Perinatal Cemetery, StEtr 70
[20042005] 25567). Gowlands note that the
skeletal anatomy of the skull (146) provides
useful indicators of sex works best, I believe,
in northern Europe. Italian samples from the
past 3,000 years are far less distinct in cranio-
metric variation or sexual dimorphism (cf. M.
Becker and L. Salvadei, Analysis of the Hu-
man Skeletal Remains from the Cemetery of
Osteria dellOsa, in A.M. Bietti Sestieri, ed.,
La Necropoli Laziale di Osteria dellOsa [Rome
1992] 53191).
Mays summary of the osteology of me-
American Journal of Archaeology Online Book Review
dieval monasticism (ch. 12) carefully distills
data from several of his important works. Fay
(ch. 13) focuses on the presentation of mortu-
ary evidence from lepers buried in Norwich,
England, during the Late Medieval and Tu-
dor periods. Knsel, in chapter 14, offers an
important cautionary tale regarding the inter-
pretation of data from royal burials from the
emerging states of continental Europe. His fine
review of the literature covering what is known
about these contexts, and what is known about
relevant elements of cultural dynamics during
this period, provides valuable suggestions on
how to evaluate these tombs.
Schulting (ch. 15) crafts a concise overview
of evidence for violence as revealed in skeletal
injuries dating from the European Mesolithic
and Neolithic. Knsel and Outram offer a
perceptive study of analyses of fragmentary
human remains and possible evidence for can-
nibalism. Their discussion of the many reasons
why people might consume human flesh is
particularly insightful.
In chapter 19, Pettitt examines data relating
to burials with associated Venus figurines
from the middle Upper Paleolithic in Europe.
What appears to be remarkable cultural uni-
formity through time and space assumes the
accuracy of evaluations of sex, which suggest
that males represent two-thirds of this small
(50+) sample.
This well-illustrated volume demonstrates
the vibrant contributions of physical anthropol-
ogists everywhere to archaeological attempts
at understanding the past. Largely absent,
however, are references to parallel develop-
ments in research taking place on the Continent
or in the Americas. Included here are many
outstanding line drawings. But some computer-
generated plans are not particularly useful,
and others employ costly color that detracts
from the presentation. Speedy publication of
conference papers is a laudable achievement,
but the process requires more effective editing,
indexing, and proofreading. As is generally the
case with volumes loosely organized around
a theme, some of the papers have not found a
comfortable home. This collection, however,
demonstrates that archaeologists in Britain
are increasingly using sophisticated methods
by which human remains can be interpreted,
and are enjoying increased cooperation with
human biologists.
Marshall Joseph Becker
department of anthropology
university of pennsylvania
philadelphia, pennsylvania 19104
mbecker@wcupa.edu