Bioarchaeology and Identity in the Americas

by Knudson, Kelly J.

• ISBN13: 9780813033488
• ISBN10: 0813033489
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-04-26
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Florida

Summary

"Extends discussions of identity beyond the social meaning of age, sex, and social role to larger issues of group identity and ethnogenesis. The integration of biological and mortuary data results in new approaches to the construction of social identity."--Dale L. Hutchinson, University of North Carolina Bioarchaeology and Identity in the Americasrepresents an important shift in the interpretation of skeletal remains in the Americas. Until recently, bioarchaeology has focused on interpreting and analyzing populations. The contributors here look to examine how individuals fit into those larger populations. The overall aim is to demonstrate how bioarchaeologists can uniquely contribute to our understanding of the formation, representation, and repercussions of identity. The contributors combine historical and archaeological data with population genetic analyses, biogeochemical analyses of human tooth enamel and bones, mortuary patterns, and body modifications. With case studies drawn from North, Central, and South American mortuary remains from AD 500 to the Colonial period, they examine a wide range of factors that make up identity, including ethnicity, age, gender, and social, political, and religious constructions. By adding a valuable biological element to the study of culture--a topic traditionally associated with social theorists, ethnographers, and historical archaeologies--this volume highlights the importance of skeletal evidence in helping us better understand our past.

Author Biography

Kelly J. Knudson is assistant professor and founding member of the Center for Bioarchaeological Research at Arizona State University. Christopher M. Stojanowski, assistant professor and founding member of the Center for Bioarchaeological Research at Arizona State University, is the author of Biocultural Histories in La Florida.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. ix
List of Tables	p. xi
Foreword	p. xiii
The Bioarchaeology of Identity	p. 1
Key Concepts in Identity Studies	p. 24
Community Identity and Ethnogenesis
Bridging Histories: The Bioarchaeology of Identity in Postcontact Florida	p. 59
The Reconstruction of Identity: A Case Study from Chachapoya, Peru	p. 82
Post-Tiwanaku Ethnogenesis in the Coastal Moquegua Valley, Peru	p. 103
Surviving Contact: Biological Transformation, Burial, and Ethnogenesis in the Colonial Lambayeque Valley, North Coast of Peru	p. 126
Identity Formation and Manipulation at the Level of the Individual
Cultural Embodiment and the Enigmatic Identity of the Lovers from Lamanai	p. 155
Cranial Modification among the Maya: Absence of Evidence or Evidence of Absence?	p. 177
The Complex Relationship between Tiwanaku Mortuary Identity and Geographic Origin in the South Central Andes	p. 194
The Bodily Expression of Ethnic Identity: Head Shaping in the Chilean Atacama	p. 212
Concluding Remarks
Identity Formation: Communities and Individuals	p. 231
List of Contributors	p. 237
Index	p. 239
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