Over the past 20 years there has been increased research traction in the anthropology of childhood. However, infancy, the pregnant body and motherhood continue to be marginalised. This book will focus on the mother-infant relationship and the variable constructions of this dyad across cultures, including conceptualisations of the pregnant body, the beginnings of life, and implications for health. This is particularly topical because there is a burgeoning awareness within anthropology regarding the centrality of mother-infant interactions for understanding the evolution of our species, infant and maternal health and care strategies, epigenetic change, and biological and social development. This book will bring together cultural and biological anthropologists and archaeologists to examine the infant-maternal interface in past societies. It will showcase innovative theoretical and methodological approaches towards understanding societal constructions of foetal, infant and maternal bodies. It will emphasise their interconnectivity and will explore the broader significance of the mother/infant nexus for overall population well-being.

Over the past 20 years there has been increased research traction in the anthropology of childhood. However, infancy, the pregnant body and motherhood continue to be marginalised. This book will focus on the mother-infant relationship and the variable constructions of this dyad across cultures, including conceptualisations of the pregnant body, the beginnings of life, and implications for health. This is particularly topical because there is a burgeoning awareness within anthropology regarding the centrality of mother-infant interactions for understanding the evolution of our species, infant and maternal health and care strategies, epigenetic change, and biological and social development. This book will bring together cultural and biological anthropologists and archaeologists to examine the infant-maternal interface in past societies. It will showcase innovative theoretical and methodological approaches towards understanding societal constructions of foetal, infant and maternal bodies. It will emphasise their interconnectivity and will explore the broader significance of the mother/infant nexus for overall population well-being.

Few things are as interesting to us as our own bodies and, by extension, our own identities. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the relationship between the body, environment and society. Reflecting upon these developments, this book examines the role of the body in human identification, in the forging of identities, and the ways in which it embodies our social worlds. The approach is integrative, taking a uniquely biological perspective and reflecting on current discourse in the social sciences. With particular reference to bioarchaeology and forensic science, the authors focus on the construction and categorisation of the body within scientific and popular discourse, examining its many tissues, from the outermost to the innermost, from the skin to DNA. Synthesising two, traditionally disparate, strands of research, this is a valuable contribution to research on human identification and the embodiment of identity.

Few things are as interesting to us as our own bodies and, by extension, our own identities. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the relationship between the body, environment and society. Reflecting upon these developments, this book examines the role of the body in human identification, in the forging of identities, and the ways in which it embodies our social worlds. The approach is integrative, taking a uniquely biological perspective and reflecting on current discourse in the social sciences. With particular reference to bioarchaeology and forensic science, the authors focus on the construction and categorisation of the body within scientific and popular discourse, examining its many tissues, from the outermost to the innermost, from the skin to DNA. Synthesising two, traditionally disparate, strands of research, this is a valuable contribution to research on human identification and the embodiment of identity.