Book review: Anne L. Grauer (ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Paleopathology

Abstract

This edited volume by Grauer and colleagues marks an update on the state of paleopathology as a field of study. The intent of this handbook is not to assist in the identification of pathological conditions and differential diagnoses, a focus already well represented in numerous other recent publications, including Ortner's Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains (Academic Press, 2019) and Paleopathology of Children: Identification of Pathological Conditions in the Human Skeletal Remains of Non-Adults (Elsevier, 2018), but rather seeks to provide broader foundational discussions around paleopathology as a discipline along with theoretical syntheses focused on topics addressed by paleopathological research. This handbook primarily engages with pathological conditions among human populations, though contributions on the fossil record (Chapter 29) and zooarchaeology (Chapter 30) are also represented.