Bioarchaeology International provides rigorous peer-reviewed publication of substantive articles in the growing field of bioarchaeology. This vibrant, interdisciplinary field of study cross-cuts biological anthropology, archaeology, and social theory to situate past peoples within their biological, cultural, and environmental circumstances. Bioarchaeology emphasizes not only the study of human remains but the integrative analysis and interpretation of their context, including the archaeological, socio-cultural and political milieu, and environmental setting. Bioarchaeologists use both state-of-the-art methodological innovation and theory to investigate a diversity of questions.
The goal of this journal is to publish research articles, brief reports, and invited commentary essays that are contextually and theoretically informed and explore the human condition and ways in which human remains and their funerary contexts can provide unique insight on variation, behavior and lifestyle of past people and communities. Submissions from around the globe using varying scales of analysis that focus on theoretical and methodological issues in the field are encouraged.
Bioarchaeology International is included in multiple indexes and databases, including Ebsco Academic Search Ultimate, Gale Academic OneFile, ProQuest Central, and ProQuest Social Science Database.
Current Issue
Vol. 8 No. 1–2 (2024): Special Issue: Integrating Chemical Isotopes and Critical Theory in Bioarchaeology
Special Issue: Integrating Chemical Isotopes and Critical Theory in Bioarchaeology
Special Issue Editors: Sara L. Juengst and Matthew C. Velasco
Published: 2024-06-28
Introduction
Editorial: Ethical Guidelines and Policies of Bioarchaeology International
1–3
AbstractAn editorial by Co-Editors-In-Chief, Siân Halcrow and Gwen Robbins Schug, and Founding Co-Editors-In-Chief, Sabrina Agarwal and Brenda Baker
Social Theory in Isotope Bioarchaeology
Case Studies and Prospects
4–8
AbstractIntroduction to the Special Issue
Research Articles
Exploring Intersectional Identities and Geographic Origins in Ancient Nubia at Tombos, Sudan
9–22
AbstractAs part of an intersectional investigation of changes in identity and lifeways during sociopolitical changes in the
ancient Nile Valley,...
An Investigation of Identity and Ontology at Salango, Ecuador (BCE 100–300 CE)
Combining Paleopathological, Mortuary, and Stable Isotopic Analyses
23–44
AbstractBioarchaeologists have increasingly investigated social identities of past peoples, engaging with theory from a
variety of sources,...
Heavenly Meals and Humble Hearts
Foodways in a Jesuit Context in Spanish Colonial New Granada and Early Republican Colombia
45–62
AbstractThis research explores how bone isotopic data (δ13C, δ15N), in combination with analyses of dental...
Gender across Generations
Childhood Food Practices as Socialization Processes in Ancient China
63–84
AbstractFood is a biological imperative as well as a core material that humans use in socializing ourselves, and the
things we choose to consume...
Embodied Places
Theorizing Locality, Identity, and Isotopes in the Ancient Andes
85–103
AbstractBioarchaeologists routinely use isotopic data to classify the geographic origin of skeletal individuals as “local”
or “nonlocal” using...
Beyond “Non-Local”
Biogeochemical and Morphological Approaches to Examining Diverse Migrant Experiences in Epiclassic Central Mexico
104–122
AbstractWhile biogeochemical analyses of residential history have revolutionized the study of paleomobility, the monolithic categories of “local” and...
Commentaries
Reconciling Identity Narratives
Creating Collaborative Space with Isotopic Baselines
123–138
AbstractIsotopic methods have provided breakthrough insights into bioarchaeological identity studies, yet merit more critical theoretical perspectives....
"How to Do a Good Job of Body Snatching"
Historicizing Radiogenic and Stable Isotopic Studies
139–147
AbstractTo situate the contributions in this special issue, I historicize the isotopic study of ancient bodies. I begin with radiocarbon...
Approaching Identity, Locality, and Community in Isotope Bioarchaeology
148–162
AbstractEach contribution to this special issue represents an emergent effort to explicitly situate isotopic research within the theoretical...