The relationships between religion, spirituality, health, biomedical institutions, complementary, and alternative healing systems are widely discussed today. While many of these debates revolve around the biomedical legitimacy of religious modes of healing, the market for them continues to grow. The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Medicine, and Health is an outstanding reference source to the key topics, problems, and debates in this exciting subject and is the first collection of its kind. Comprising over thirty-five chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into five parts: Healing practices with religious roots and frames Religious actors in and around the medical field Organizing infrastructures of religion and medicine: pluralism and competition Boundary-making between religion and medicine Religion and epidemics Within these sections, central issues, debates and problems are examined, including health and healing, religiosity, spirituality, biomedicine, medicalization, complementary medicine, medical therapy, efficacy, agency, and the nexus of body, mind, and spirit. The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Medicine, and Health is essential reading for students and researchers in religious studies. The Handbook will also be very useful for those in related fields, such as sociology, anthropology, and medicine.

Daily life and living conditions in the Byzantine world are relatively underexplored subjects, often neglected in comparison with more visible aspects of Byzantine culture, such as works of art. The book is among the few publications on Greek Byzantine populations and helps pioneer a new approach to the subject, opening a window on health status and dietary patterns through the lens of bioarchaeological research. Drawing on a diversity of disciplines (biology, chemistry, archaeology and history), the author focuses on the complex interaction between physiology, culture and the environment in Byzantine populations from Crete in the 7th to 12th centuries. The systematic analysis and interpretation of the mortality profiles, the observed pathological conditions, and of the chemical data, all set in the cultural context of the era, brings new evidence to bear on the reconstruction of living conditions in Byzantine Crete. Individual chapters look at the demographic profiles and mortality patterns of adult and non-adult populations, and study dietary habits and breastfeeding and weaning patterns. In addition, this book provides an indispensable body of primary data for future research in these fields, and so furthers an interdisciplinary approach in tracing the health of the past populations.

With the development of new direct interfaces between the human brain and computer systems, the time has come for an in-depth ethical examination of the way these neuronal interfaces may support an interaction between the mind and cyberspace. In so doing, this book does not hesitate to blend disciplines including neurobiology, philosophy, anthropology and politics. It also invites society, as a whole, to seek a path in the use of these interfaces enabling humanity to prosper while avoiding the relevant risks. As such, the volume is the first extensive study in cyberneuroethics, a subject matter which is certain to have a significant impact in the 21st century and beyond.

Native Americans, researchers increasingly worry, are disproportionately victims of epidemics and poor health because they "fail" to seek medical care, are "non-compliant" patients, or "lack immunity" enjoyed by the "mainstream" population. Challenging this dominant approach to indigenous health, Juliet McMullin shows how it masks more fundamental inequalities that become literally embodied in Native Americans, shifting blame from unequal social relations to biology, individual behavior, and cultural or personal deficiencies. Weaving a complex story of Native Hawai'ian health in its historical, political, and cultural context, she shows how traditional practices that integrated relationships of caring for the land, the body, and the ancestors are being revitalized both on the islands and in the indigenous diaspora. For the fields of medical anthropology, public health, nursing, epidemiology, and indigenous studies, McMullin's important book offers models for more effective and culturally appropriate approaches to building healthy communities.

In an era of globalization, population growth, and displacements, migration is now a fact of life in a constantly shifting economic and political world order. This book contributes to the discourse on the beneficiaries, benefactors, and the casualties of African displacement. While the few existing studies have emphasized economic motivation as the primary factor triggering African migration, this volume treats a range of issues: economic, socio-political, pedagogical, developmental, and cultural. Organized with a multidisciplinary thrust in mind, this book argues that any discussion of African migration, whether internal or external, must be conceived as only one aspect of a more complex, organic, and global patterning of "flux and reflux" necessitated by constantly shifting dynamics of world socio-economic, cultural, and political order.

How do we identify and measure human disease in the past? In the absence of soft tissue, paleoepidemiologists have developed ingenious ways of assessing illness and mortality in archaeological populations. In this volume, the key methods of epidemiology are outlined for non-specialists, showing the importance of studying prevalence over incidence, adjustments needed in studying past groups, how to compare studies, and the dangers of assessing occupation based upon bone evidence. A model for planning a proper paleoepidemiological study concludes the volume. Both as an introduction to epidemiology for archaeologists, and as a primer on archaeological analysis for epidemiologists, this book should serve the needs of both populations.

This ground-breaking book challenges us to re-think ourselves as techno-sapiens-a new species we are creating as we continually co-evolve ourselves with our technologies. While some of its chapters are imaginary, they are all empirically grounded in ethnography and richly theorized from diverse disciplines. The authors go far beyond a techno-optimism vs. techno-pessimism stance, stretching our thinking about birthing techno-sapiens to consider not only how our cyborgian reproductive lives are constrained and/or enabled by technology but are also about emotions and spirit. The world of reproductive health care and particularly that of genetic engineering is developing exponentially, and current challenges are vastly different from those of a decade ago. The book is provocative, intended to generate debate, ideas, and future research and to influence ethical policy and practice in human techno-reproduction. It will be of interest across the social sciences and humanities, for reproductive scholars, bioethicists, techno-scientists, and those involved in the development and delivery of maternity services.

This ground-breaking book challenges us to re-think ourselves as techno-sapiens-a new species we are creating as we continually co-evolve ourselves with our technologies. While some of its chapters are imaginary, they are all empirically grounded in ethnography and richly theorized from diverse disciplines. The authors go far beyond a techno-optimism vs. techno-pessimism stance, stretching our thinking about birthing techno-sapiens to consider not only how our cyborgian reproductive lives are constrained and/or enabled by technology but are also about emotions and spirit. The world of reproductive health care and particularly that of genetic engineering is developing exponentially, and current challenges are vastly different from those of a decade ago. The book is provocative, intended to generate debate, ideas, and future research and to influence ethical policy and practice in human techno-reproduction. It will be of interest across the social sciences and humanities, for reproductive scholars, bioethicists, techno-scientists, and those involved in the development and delivery of maternity services.

Winner of the 2011 W.W. Howells Book Award of the American Anthropological Association
How has bipedalism impacted human childbirth? Do PMS and postpartum depression have specific, maybe even beneficial, functions? These are only two of the many questions that specialists in evolutionary medicine seek to answer, and that anthropologist Wenda Trevathan addresses in Ancient Bodies, Modern Lives.
Exploring a range of women's health issues that may be viewed through an evolutionary lens, specifically focusing on reproduction, Trevathan delves into issues such as the medical consequences of early puberty in girls, the impact of migration, culture change, and poverty on reproductive health, and how fetal growth retardation affects health in later life. Hypothesizing that many of the health challenges faced by women today result from a mismatch between how their bodies have evolved and the contemporary environments in which modern humans live, Trevathan sheds light on the power and potential of examining the human life cycle from an evolutionary perspective, and how this could improve our understanding of women's health and our ability to confront health challenges in more creative, effective ways.

Biosocialities, Genetics and the Social Sciences explores the social, cultural and economic transformations that result from innovations in genomic knowledge and technology.

This pioneering collection uses Paul Rabinow's concept of biosociality to chart the shifts in social relations and in ideas about nature, biology and identity brought about by developments in biomedicine. Based on new empirical research, it contains chapters on genomic research into embryonic stem cell therapy, breast cancer, autism, Parkinson's and IVF treatment, as well as on the expectations and education surrounding genomic research.

It covers four main themes:

• Novel modes of identity and identification, such as genetic citizenship.
• The role of institutions, ranging from disease advocacy organizations and voluntary organizations to the state
• The production of biological knowledge, novel life-forms, and technologies
• The generation of wealth and commercial interests in biology.

Including an afterword by Paul Rabinow and case studies focusing on the UK, the US, Canada, Germany, India and Israel, this book will be of interest to students and researchers of the new genetics and the social sciences - particularly medical sociologists, medical anthropologists and those involved with science and technology studies.

In an era of globalization, population growth, and displacements, migration is now a fact of life in a constantly shifting economic and political world order. This book contributes to the discourse on the beneficiaries, benefactors, and the casualties of African displacement. While the few existing studies have emphasized economic motivation as the primary factor triggering African migration, this volume treats a range of issues: economic, socio-political, pedagogical, developmental, and cultural. Organized with a multidisciplinary thrust in mind, this book argues that any discussion of African migration, whether internal or external, must be conceived as only one aspect of a more complex, organic, and global patterning of "flux and reflux" necessitated by constantly shifting dynamics of world socio-economic, cultural, and political order.

Biosocialities, Genetics and the Social Sciences explores the social, cultural and economic transformations that result from innovations in genomic knowledge and technology. This pioneering collection uses Paul Rabinow's concept of biosociality to chart the shifts in social relations and ideas about nature, biology and identity brought about by developments in biomedicine. Based on new empirical research, it contains chapters on genomic research into embryonic stem cell therapy, breast cancer, autism, Parkinson's and IVF treatment, as well as on the expectations and education surrounding genomic research. It covers four main themes: novel modes of identity and identification, such as genetic citizenship the role of institutions, ranging from disease advocacy organizations and voluntary organizations to the state the production of biological knowledge, novel life-forms, and technologies the generation of wealth and commercial interests in biology. Including an afterword by Paul Rabinow and case studies on the UK, US, Canada, Germany, India and Israel, this book is key reading for students and researchers of the new genetics and the social sciences - particularly medical sociologists, medical anthropologists and those involved with science and technology studies.

An essential foundation for the practice of forensic anthropology

This text is the first of its level written in more than twenty years. It serves as a summary and guide to the core material that needs to be mastered and evaluated for the practice of forensic anthropology.

The text is divided into three parts that collectively provide a solid base in theory and methodology: Part One, "Background Setting for Forensic Anthropology," introduces the field and discusses the role of forensic anthropology in historic context. Part Two, "Towards Personal Identification," discusses initial assessments of skeletal remains; determining sex, age, ancestral background, and stature; and skeletal markers of activity and life history. Part Three, "Principal Anthropological Roles in Medical-Legal Investigation," examines trauma; the postmortem period; professionalism, ethics, and the expert witness; and genetics and DNA.

The critical and evaluative approach to the primary literature stresses the inherent biological constraints on degrees of precision and certainty, and cautions about potential pitfalls. The practical focus, coupled with theoretical basics, make "Fundamentals of Forensic Anthropology" ideal for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students in biological anthropology as well as forensic scientists in allied fields of medical-legal investigation.

This collection brings together three generations of medical anthropologists working at European universities to reflect on past, current and future directions of the field. Medical anthropology emerged on an international playing ground, and while other recently compiled anthologies emphasize North American developments, this volume highlights substantial ethnographic and theoretical studies undertaken in Europe. The first four chapters trace the beginnings of medical anthropology back into the two formative decades between the 1950s-1970s in Italy, German-speaking Europe, the Netherlands, France and the UK, supported by four brief vignettes on current developments. Three core themes that emerged within this field in Europe - the practice of care, the body politic and psycho-sensorial dimensions of healing - are first presented in synopsis and then separately discussed by three leading medical anthropologists Susan Whyte, Giovanni Pizza and Rene Devisch, complemented by the work of three early career researchers. The chapters aim to highlight how very diverse (and sometimes overlooked) European developments within this rapidly growing field have been, and continue to be. This book will spur reflection on medical anthropology's potential for future scholarship and practice, by students and established scholars alike. This book was originally published as a special issue of Anthropology and Medicine.

The Archaeology of Human Bones provides an up to date account of the analysis of human skeletal remains from archaeological sites, introducing students to the anatomy of bones and teeth and the nature of the burial record. Drawing from studies around the world, this book illustrates how the scientific study of human remains can shed light upon important archaeological and historical questions. This new edition reflects the latest developments in scientific techniques and their application to burial archaeology. Current scientific methods are explained, alongside a critical consideration of their strengths and weaknesses. The book has also been thoroughly revised to reflect changes in the ways in which scientific studies of human remains have influenced our understanding of the past, and has been updated to reflect developments in ethical debates that surround the treatment of human remains. There is now a separate chapter devoted to archaeological fieldwork on burial grounds, and the chapters on DNA and ethics have been completely rewritten. This edition of The Archaeology of Human Bones provides not only a more up to date but also a more comprehensive overview of this crucial area of archaeology. Written in a clear style with technical jargon kept to a minimum, it continues to be a key work for archaeology students.

Ancestral Diets and Nutrition supplies dietary advice based on the study of prehuman and human populations worldwide over the last two million years. This thorough, accessible book uses prehistory and history as a laboratory for testing the health effects of various foods. It examines all food groups by drawing evidence from skeletons and their teeth, middens, and coprolites along with written records where they exist to determine peoples' health and diet. Fully illustrated and grounded in extensive research, this book enhances knowledge about diet, nutrition, and health. It appeals to practitioners in medicine, nutrition, anthropology, biology, chemistry, economics, and history, and those seeking a clear explanation of what humans have eaten across the ages and what we should eat now. Features: Sixteen chapters examine fat, sweeteners, grains, roots and tubers, fruits, vegetables, and animal and plant sources of protein. Integrates information about diet, nutrition, and health from ancient, medieval, modern and current sources, drawing from the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Provides comprehensive coverage based on the study of several hundred sources and the provision of over 2,000 footnotes. Presents practical information to help shape readers' next meal through recommendations of what to eat and what to avoid.

In this innovative contribution to the study of food, gender, and power, Helen Vallianatos meticulously documents cultural values and beliefs, dietary practaices, and the nutritional and health status of mothers in Indian squatter settlements. She explores both large-scale forces-incorporating critical medical anthropology and feminist theory into a biocultural paradigm-and the local and individual choices New Delhi women make in interpreting cultural dietary norms based on their reproductive histories, socioeconomic status, family structure, and other specific conditions. Her findings have significant implications for nutritional and medical anthropology and development studies, and her innovative research design serves as a model for multi-method studies that use participatory research principles, combine quantitative and qualitative investigations, and interpret diverse types of data.

This book explores the experiences of Muslims in the United States as they interact with the health care system during serious illness and end-of-life care. It shifts "actively dying" from a medical phrase used to describe patients who are expected to pass away soon or who exhibit signs of impending death, to a theoretical framework to analyze how end-of-life care, particularly within a hospital, shapes the ways that patients, families, and providers understand Islam and think of themselves as Muslim. Using the dying body as the main object of analysis, the volume shows that religious identities of Muslim patients, loved ones, and caregivers are not only created when living, but also through the physical process of dying and through death. Based on ethnographic and qualitative research carried out mainly in the Washington, D.C. region, this volume will be of interest to scholars in anthropology, sociology, public health, gerontology, and religious studies.

This book examines depression as a widely diagnosed and treated common mental disorder in India and offers a significant ethnographic study of the application of a traditional Indian medical system (Ayurveda) to the very modern problem of depression. Based on over a year of fieldwork, it investigates the Ayurvedic response to the burden of depression in the Indian state of Kerala as one of the key processes of the local appropriation or glocalization of depression. More broadly, Lang considers: What happens with the category of depression when it leaves the West and travels to South Asia? How is depression appropriated in a South Asian society characterized by medical pluralism? She explores on the level of ideas, institutions and materialities how depression interacts with and changes local worlds, clinical practice and knowledge and subjectivities. As depression travels from 'the West' to South India, its ontology, Lang argues, multiplies and thus leads to what she calls 'depression multiple'.

Worlds of Psychotic People brings a fresh twenty-first century voice to the lives of those with serious psychological disorders, focusing on the manner in which psychiatric patients experience their subjective worlds. Based on ethnographic research gathered at the psychiatric hospital of Saint Anthony's in the Netherlands over a period of five years, it seeks to describe from the perspective of the mental patient some of the fears and hopes that mark an individual's encounter with the fixed reality-structures of a clinical mental ward.

Theoretical Approaches in Bioarchaeology emphasizes how several different theoretical perspectives can be used to reconstruct the biocultural experiences of humans in the past. Over the past few decades, bioarchaeology has been transformed through methodological revisions, technological advances, and the inclusion of external theoretical frameworks from the social and natural sciences. These interdisciplinary perspectives became the backbone of bioarchaeology and strengthened the discipline's ability to address questions about past biological and social dynamics. Consequently, how, why, and when to apply external theory to studies of past populations are central and timely questions tied to future developments of the discipline. This book facilitates ongoing dialogues about theoretical applications within the field and interdisciplinary connections between bioarchaeology, biological anthropology, and other disciplines. Each chapter highlights how a theoretical framework originating from a social or natural science connects to past and future bioarchaeological research. For scholars and archaeologists interested in the theoretical applications of bioarchaeology, this book will be an excellent resource.

Charles Lyell's argument in this classic volume is that the processes of nature are slow and uniform, and that the Earth is in consequence hundreds of millions of years old. This work includes his prediction that if our nearest relatives are great apes, then the places to look for human fossils will be central Africa and Indonesia.

This book explores the interaction between anthropology and humanitarianism, focussed on the organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). The emphasis of the collection is on practising anthropology within humanitarian situations, reflecting on how anthropology contributes to the development of operational response. Each chapter presents an experience of working within a particular MSF project and highlights the real issues that anthropologists of humanitarian practice confront. The volume will be of interest to scholars of anthropology, development studies and global health, as well as to NGO staff and health professionals.

This work examines some of the most significant health problems facing South Asia today and provides an assessment of the ways these problems are approached by those directly engaged in primary health care. This series of essays demonstrates the relevance of anthropological research to international health and the application of anthropological theory in medical anthropology. Recognizing the significance of cultural aspects in the practice of medicine, this book places a strong emphasis on the social structure, customs and history of the indigenous population and its ramifications on health care providers. The book also considers the econo-cultural influences on the way medicine is practiced. By including chapters that focus on health care's sudden advent as commodity and the microeconomic approach to public funding for health care facilities, the authors explore a world in which money and patients' expectations play an ever increasing role in the way health care is provided.

The study of human reproductive ecology represents an important new development in human evolutionary biology. Its focus is on the physiology of human reproduction and evidence of adaptation, and hence the action of natural selection, in that domain. But at the same time the study of human reproductive ecology provides an important perspective on the historical process of human evolution, a lens through which we may view the forces that have shaped us as a species. In the end, all actions of natural selection can be reduced to variation in the reproductive success of individuals.

Peter Ellison is one of the pioneers in the fast growing area of reproductive ecology. He has collected for this volume the research of thirty-one of the most active and influential scientists in the field. Thanks to recent noninvasive techniques, these contributors can present direct empirical data on the effect of a broad array of ecological, behavioral, and constitutional variables on the reproductive processes of humans as well as wild primates. Because biological evolution is cumulative, however, organisms in the present must be viewed as products of the selective forces of past environments. The study of adaptation thus often involves inferences about formative ecological relationships that may no longer exist, or not in the same form. Making such inferences depends on carefully weighing a broad range of evidence drawn from studies of contemporary ecological variation, comparative studies of related taxonomies, and paleontological and genetic evidence of evolutionary history. The result of this inquiry sheds light not only on the functional aspects of an organism's contemporary biology but also on its evolutionary history and the selective forces that have shaped it through time.

Encompassing a range of viewpoints--controversy along with consensus--this far-ranging collection offers an indispensable guide for courses in biological anthropology, human biology, and primatology, along with demography, medicine, social anthropology, and public health.