Routledge Handbook of the Bioarchaeology of Climate and Environmental Change

This handbook explores how past climate and environmental changes have impacted human health,well-being,migration,and interpersonal violence,using bioarchaeological evidence to understand the human experience. It highlights the relevance of bioarchaeology to contemporary challenges and emphasizes the need to consider historical and socio-cultural factors in planning for a warmer world.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 524 pages
\n Publication date: 28 October 2020
\n Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
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This comprehensive handbook delves into the intricate human responses to historical climatic and environmental shifts, exploring their profound impacts on disease patterns, nutritional status, migration, and interpersonal violence. By employing the field of bioarchaeology, which involves the study of archaeological human skeletons, researchers gain direct insights into the lived experiences of past climate and environmental changes, serving as a valuable complement to paleoclimate, historical, and archaeological approaches to future climate-related challenges. Spanning 27 chapters authored by esteemed experts from diverse time periods and geographical regions, this book addresses a range of hypotheses regarding the effects of climate and environmental changes on human health and well-being, factors that promote resilience, and the circumstances that increase the likelihood of migration or interpersonal violence.

The volume particularly emphasizes the potential relevance of bioarchaeological analysis to contemporary challenges by organizing the chapters within a framework aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Recognizing the intricate interplay between humans as biological organisms and their deep connections to Earth's ecosystems, the book sheds light on the complex factors that shape long-term outcomes for human communities. It explores the interplay between historical and socio-cultural circumstances, socioeconomic inequality, urbanization, community mobility, and social institutions, highlighting their profound impact on human responses to environmental change.

Packed with a wealth of nuanced perspectives about human-environmental relations, this book is an essential resource for students of environmental archaeology, bioarchaeology, and the history of disease. It provides a longer view of contemporary challenges, making it of interest to readers in public health, public policy, and planning. By unraveling the complexities of human-environmental interactions, this handbook contributes to a deeper understanding of the past and the potential pathways forward in addressing the pressing issues of our time.

\n Weight: 1179g\n
Dimension: 246 x 174 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781138492486\n \n