Paleopathology and children in the Andes: Local/situated biologies and future directions.

Autor: Blom DE; University of Vermont, Department of Anthropology, United States. Electronic address: dblom@uvm.edu., Knudson KJ; Arizona State University, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, United States.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: International journal of paleopathology [Int J Paleopathol] 2020 Jun; Vol. 29, pp. 65-75. Date of Electronic Publication: 2019 Oct 01.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2019.08.004
Abstrakt: In the decades since Verano (1997) published his foundational piece on Andean paleopathology, scholars have recognized the importance of the bioarchaeology of childhood. Yet, scholarship on ancient childhood in the Andes deemphasizes paleopathology. Nonadult paleopathological data are often employed in large-scale, biocultural studies focused on environmental or political adaptations; however, they can also elucidate children's individual lived experiences and roles in society. To generate culturally-meaningful paleopathological data, we must take a contextualized approach to our analyses and interpretations. Disparate use of chronological age in published datasets makes synthesis across studies problematic, and ethnohistorical and ethnographic data on Andean children demonstrate that developmental age categories, rather than chronological age ranges, are most appropriate. Further, paleopathological data can best inform our investigations when they are combined with related datasets such as those on sex, diet, activity, and mobility. With that in mind, we use the theoretical framework of "local biologies" (and the related "situated biologies"), where biology is viewed as heavily contingent on culturally-specific beliefs and practices and local physical, sociocultural, and political environments (Lock, 1993, 2001; Niewöhner and Lock, 2018). Local biologies approaches can enrich social bioarchaeology and paleopathology to by specifically situating children and their experiences within the ancient Andean world.
(Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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