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Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating, But a Little Dry
Review: "Written in Bones" explains what human remains can tell us about how people lived in the distant past. The book covers natural deaths, deliberate deaths (murders and massacres), burials, mummies and mummifications, as well as how ancient people lived and what they ate, all in 36 chapters. Each chapter is an article written by an expert on the subject, with editor Paul Bahn supplying the overall organization and continuity.Because the chapters are written by different authors, they vary substantially in quality. Some are well-written and provide a context for the stories they tell; others are fairly dry and look as though they were based on academic articles with the footnotes removed. On the whole, however, the book is fascinating-- at times, it's even graphic and unsettling, especially when it deals with child sacrifice, murder, mayhem and (to the modern mind) rather bizarre burial practices. If you are interested in the subjects covered by this book, here are a few other recommendations: Chamberlain & Pearson, "Earthly Remains: The History and Science of Preserved Bodies" (2002); David & Archbold, "Conversations with Mummies" (2000); Wilson, "Past Lives: Unlocking the Secrets of Our Ancestors" (2001); and Richards, "Meet the Ancestors." I found the last two of these books to be especially fascinating, because they devote a substantial amount of space to showing what the owners of the excavated skeletons would have looked like in life (something that "Written in Bones" does only in a few chapters).
Rating: 
Summary: Not for the squeamish!
Review: A wide-ranging and comprehensive catalog of human burial sites and artefacts, this book explains much about past conditions. Bahn introduces us to many of the tools used in probing human remains. Evidence of the local environment, combined with physical and chemical analysis of the remains indicates the health, life style and sometimes the cause of death. His examinations are taken from a diversity of sites from nearly every continent [Australia is touched lightly through a site on an offshore island]. Along the way, many misconceptions are set aside and a few mysteries resolved. But many enigmatic situations emerge with pointers to work that remains to be done. Given the wealth of information available on many topics, Bahn is yet able to produce a solid, readable text. From the suspected "massacre" at Mohenjo Daro to real ones in Vilnius and Beacon Island, Bahn relates the finds and what they mean. The contorted skeletons of Mohenjo Daro appear to have met violent deaths during a conquest. The real cause was due to a combination of flooding, tainted water and successive waves of building. Other mysteries, such as whether Pharaoh Tutankhamen was murdered, remain unsolved. Mummies from the Western Hemisphere, have proven more expressive. Bahn evokes our sympathy for the Inca children found on Andean peaks. There's clearly more feeling aroused at the sight of a nearly perfectly preserved ancient child than occurs with anonymous skeletons. Even stronger feelings arise when you encounter the image of a young man wearing a helmet - and a rope around his throat. Why was he murdered? Even more poignant is the blindfolded girl with partially shaved head. She was purposely drowned. Even where the deaths were likely natural, Bahn gives us glimpses of inexplicable burial practices. Many cultures have cremated their dead, but to pack the remains in urns placed in straw models of the living is unique. For many centuries various societies disarticulated skeletons, choosing some bones for internment while discarding others. Leg, arm and other large bones may be found but toes, fingers and ribs were thrown away. The skull, of course, retained prominence, sometimes collected in large numbers. Respect doesn't necessarily mean stability - many skulls seem to have been transported from place to place. According to Bahn this suggests the living may have hoped to invoke the accumulated wisdom of the departed even if the external environment forced relocation. As indicated, much of this book is devoted to images. The photography is excellent, with images ranging from broad vistas to close-up analysis of disease-damaged bones. Some of the illustrations depict reconstructions of faces built up from skulls. Star Trek buffs will find the image on page 82 startling! There are also many good drawings that amplify the photographs. In fact, the only missing element in this book is maps. Another near-omission is Bahn's bibliography. There are references to specific sites and topics, all deeply academic. For the general reader, the obvious target of this book, some additional general recommended reading might have helped enlarge the picture. "Gray's Anatomy", while highly informative, is unlikely to occupy a place on your shelf. These are minimal aspects of a truly worthwhile book. Bahn's choices and presentation is a fine accomplishment at many levels. Much of our past is revealed and questions needing attention are detailed. There's more digging and analysis to do. Start with this book to see what's been done. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Rating:
Summary: Interesting to the last page...
Review: Although the writing tends towards the dry and academic, I find this one of the more interesting books on physical anthropology out there. It details dozens of the most well known and important anthropological finds in history, from who killed King Tut, to the legal battle of Kennewick Man, to the brutal murders of the "bog bodies" of Western Europe during the Bronze Age, and beyond. It's extremely facinating, but with each description totalling a few pages at most, I found it almost too brief. I would have loved to been able to read an entire book on just about all the burial finds offered up in "Written in Bones", as the short synopsis of each site feels more like a teaser than a complete story. Definitely a good way to get your feet wet if you're interested in physical anthropology and don't know where to start, or as a sort-of Cliff's Notes of some of the more recognizable finds in anthropology.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting to the last page...
Review: Although the writing tends towards the dry and academic, I find this one of the more interesting books on physical anthropology out there. It details dozens of the most well known and important anthropological finds in history, from who killed King Tut, to the legal battle of Kennewick Man, to the brutal murders of the "bog bodies" of Western Europe during the Bronze Age, and beyond. It's extremely facinating, but with each description totalling a few pages at most, I found it almost too brief. I would have loved to been able to read an entire book on just about all the burial finds offered up in "Written in Bones", as the short synopsis of each site feels more like a teaser than a complete story. Definitely a good way to get your feet wet if you're interested in physical anthropology and don't know where to start, or as a sort-of Cliff's Notes of some of the more recognizable finds in anthropology.
Rating:
Summary: Great introductory book
Review: As an introductory book to archeology and anthropology, this book is without peer. It's individual case studies are detailed enough to spark interest, but short enough not to bog down in details. There are lots of color photographs so the reader can see what the writer is trying to describe. The case studies cover many different parts of the world, including some that one doesn't readily connect with archeology, and many time periods, from 1.5 million years ago to a couple of hundred years ago. From these case studies one can begin to understand how ancient bodies are yielding their secrets to forensic science. Each case study produces more revelations. For me one of the most amazing was "The Wife of the Marquis of Dai" who died in China some 160 years before the birth of Christ. Her body is almost perfectly preserved and it has been discovered that she suffered from about 10 diseases, including tuberculosis, but that she died from a heart attack due to overeating. I found this book a delight. I've always been impressed by the way forensic anthropologists can sample, analyze and deduce human stories from these ancient bones. This book presents the results in a very readable fashion and should help to create wider interest and understanding of this fascinating topic.
Rating:
Summary: Great addition to my science book collection!
Review: Pictures. Pages and pages of nothing but glorious pictures, and maps, and photographs (along with the writing of course). For a deaf person who often has an opportunity to lend out science books to hearing and deaf kids, nothing is better than a science book chock full of illustrations and pictures to make sense of the words. This book is not really on forensic science, rather it is an anthropological book in which the history of human beings on this planet and in a variety of countries at different time periods lived. Does it shock people that even from the earliest beginnings of mankind, the prediliction for war and fighting existed? Some of the pictures are shocking in that our 'civilization' views the religious ceremonies of other ancient civilizations as cruel and obscene from our point of view. And of course, they are, because we would never do such a thing as put a child at risk...right? If anyone believes that no one puts children at risk in modern society has not had contact with the pharmaceutical companies who are pushing to test drugs on children with no benefit to the children. But I digress.... Anthropology was not one of the sciences I got a lot of information in at college in biology and neuroscience. Yet it is interesting that some of the previously held views concerning brain capacity (size of the cranium) are being turned upside-down by findings in anthropology. I had no idea either that the Chinese also were as good at preserving bodies as the ancient Egyptians. I think the saddest parts of the whole book is the information on the 'bog bodies'. Life was cruel, and the inability of man to understand the cruelty of life often led to 'sacrifices' to appease the Gods of nature. I probably wouldn't recommend giving this book out to immature kids below 10th grade. Like the other reviewer commented...some of the pictures and the information is very dark, and very morbid. For those mature teenagers interested in going into science, and specifically anthropology and archaeology, this is a great and fascinating book.
Rating:
Summary: Broad-based regionally and by period
Review: Written in Bones is a multi-authored volume of articles edited by Paul Bahn, who coauthored along with Colin Renfrew my favorite book on archaeology, Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice. I had therefore expected something a little more cutting edge in this department and so was a little disappointed. Other readers will probably not be. As with any book with several authors the quality of the writing varies from chapter to chapter according to the abilities of the various sources. In some instances the word choices and grammar suggested that a foreign language speaker or his translator had make an awkward word selection, in others it might have been an editing failure, but the overall style is very lucid and rapidly read. I took about an afternoon to read it. Some of the material was already known to me from other sources; other information was new and fun to read. Because most of my study has been conducted in ancient history, in particular the Near East, Greece and Rome, I found the studies of modern remains and those in Chinese and Andean sites were of more interest. Vilnius and the Ghosts of the Grande Armee was particularly arresting, describing as it does the tragic fate of the bulk of Napoleon's army during his ill-conceived Russian campaign. High-mountain Inca Sacrifices updated me on the discovery and examination of the freeze-dried remains of children sacrificed in the Andes Mountains. The find given the name Juanita was known to me, but much research has been done since her discovery almost a decade ago. Since I have recently taken an interest in post-conquest English history (inspired by a particularly good series of murder mysteries) I found the article Anne Mowbray and the Skeletons in the Tower, a discussion of the murders of the nephews of Richard III, enjoyable. It filled in a knowledge gap and extended my period of interest a little. Most of the stories are simple, general descriptions of human remains and their relevance to the historical record of human kind. They should appeal to the casual reader with junior high school reading skills or above, and require no prior study in archaeology. They will not bog the reader down in professional jargon or differences and might even inspire the reader to do further reading on a particular period of interest.
Rating:
Summary: Broad-based regionally and by period
Review: Written in Bones is a multi-authored volume of articles edited by Paul Bahn, who coauthored along with Colin Renfrew my favorite book on archaeology, Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice. I had therefore expected something a little more cutting edge in this department and so was a little disappointed. Other readers will probably not be. As with any book with several authors the quality of the writing varies from chapter to chapter according to the abilities of the various sources. In some instances the word choices and grammar suggested that a foreign language speaker or his translator had make an awkward word selection, in others it might have been an editing failure, but the overall style is very lucid and rapidly read. I took about an afternoon to read it. Some of the material was already known to me from other sources; other information was new and fun to read. Because most of my study has been conducted in ancient history, in particular the Near East, Greece and Rome, I found the studies of modern remains and those in Chinese and Andean sites were of more interest. Vilnius and the Ghosts of the Grande Armee was particularly arresting, describing as it does the tragic fate of the bulk of Napoleon's army during his ill-conceived Russian campaign. High-mountain Inca Sacrifices updated me on the discovery and examination of the freeze-dried remains of children sacrificed in the Andes Mountains. The find given the name Juanita was known to me, but much research has been done since her discovery almost a decade ago. Since I have recently taken an interest in post-conquest English history (inspired by a particularly good series of murder mysteries) I found the article Anne Mowbray and the Skeletons in the Tower, a discussion of the murders of the nephews of Richard III, enjoyable. It filled in a knowledge gap and extended my period of interest a little. Most of the stories are simple, general descriptions of human remains and their relevance to the historical record of human kind. They should appeal to the casual reader with junior high school reading skills or above, and require no prior study in archaeology. They will not bog the reader down in professional jargon or differences and might even inspire the reader to do further reading on a particular period of interest.
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