Bioarchaeology of East Asia: Movement, Contact, Health (Bioarchaeological Interpretations of the Human Past: Local, Regional, and Global)

East Asia spans more than 10 million square kilometres. The human remains examined by the contributors in this volume date from the Early Neolithic (more than 12,000 years ago) to the Iron Age (up to AD 500). Bioarchaeology of East Asia interprets human skeletal collections from a region where millets, rice, and several other important cereals were cultivated, leading to attendant forms of agricultural development that were accompanied by significant technological innovations. The contributors follow the diffusion of these advanced ideas to other parts of Asia, and unravel a maze of population movements. In addition, they explore the biological implications of relatively rare subsistence strategies more or less unique to East Asia: millet agriculture, mobile pastoralism with limited cereal farming, and rice farming combined with reliance on marine resources. Diverse scholarly traditions--from China, Japan, Mongolia, Russia, Australia, and the United States--supply a constructive mix of conceptual frameworks and methodologies. Chinese-to-English translations make chapters available that might not otherwise be published outside of China. Ideas stemming from this collection will significantly boost collaborative work among bioarchaeologists and other scientists working in East Asia. Examines Current Understandings Of Human Population Histories, Adaptations, Dietary Changes, And Health Variations Within The Geographical Context Of Ancient East Asia. 1. Research On Human Skeletal Biology In East Asia: A Historical Overview / Kate Pechenkina And Marc Oxenham -- 2. Human Ecology In Continental And Insular East Asia / Kate Pechenkina And Marc Oxenham -- Part 1: Biological Indicators Of Population Histories In East Asia -- 3. The Population History Of China And Mongolia From The Bronze Age To The Medieval Period (2500 Bc-ad 1500) / Christine Lee -- 4. Mongolian Origins And Cranio-morphometric Variability: Neolithic To Mongolian Period / Tumen Dashtseveg -- 5. A Nonmetric Comparative Study Of Past And Contemporary Mongolian And Northeast Asian Crania / Erdene Myagmar -- 6. Tuberculosis And Population Movement Across The Sea Of Japan From The Neolithic Period To The Eneolithic / Takao Suzuki -- 7. Biological Connections Across The Sea Of Japan: A Multivariate Comparison Of Ancient And More Modern Crania From Japan, China, Korea, And Southeast Asia / Michael Pietrusewsky --^ 8. Population Dispersal From East Asia Into Southeast Asia: Evidence From Cranial And Dental Morphology / Hirofumi Matsumura And Marc Oxenham. Part Ii. Community Health. 9. Conflict And Trauma Among Nomadic Pastoralists On China's Northern Frontier / Jacqueline T. Eng And Zhang Quanchao -- 10. Stresses Of Life: A Preliminary Study Of Degenerative Joint Disease And Dental Health Among Ancient Populations Of Inner Asia / Michelle L. Machicek And Jeremy J. Beach -- 11. Dental Wear And Oral Health As Indicators Of Diet Among The Early Qin People: A Case Study From The Xishan Site, Gansu Province / Wei Miao, Wang Tao, Zhao Congcang, Liu Wu, And Wang Changsui -- 12. Yangshao Oral Health From West To East: Effects Of Increasing Complexity And Contacts With Neighbors / Kate Pechenkina, Ma Xiaolin, Fan Wenquan, Wei Dong, And Zhang Quanchao -- 13. Life On The Frontier: The Paleopathology Of Human Remains From The Chinese Early Imperial Taojiazhai Mortuary Site / Zhang Jinglei --^ 14. Bioarchaeological Perspectives On Systemic Stress During The Agricultural Transition In Prehistoric Japan / Daniel H. Temple And Clark Spencer Larsen -- 15. Change In The Linear Growth Of Long Bones With The Adoption Of Wet-rice Agriculture In Japan / Kenji Okazaki -- 16. Trauma And Infectious Disease In Northern Japan: Okhotsk And Jomon / Marc Oxenham, Hirofumi Matsumura, And Allison Drake -- 17. A Paleohealth Assessment Of The Shih-san-hang Site From Iron Age Taiwan / Liu Chin-hsin, John Krigbaum, Tsang Cheng-hwa, And Liu Yi-chang -- 18. Trajectories Of Health In Early Farming Communities Of East Asia / Kate Pechenkina, Ma Xiaolin, And Fan Wenquan -- 19. East Asian Bioarchaeology: Major Trends In A Temporally, Genetically, And Eco-culturally Diverse Region / Marc Oxenham And Kate Pechenkina. Edited By Kate Pechenkina And Marc Oxenham ; Foreword By Clark Spencer Larsen. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. Cover 1 Bioarchaeology of East Asia 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 List of Figures 8 List of Tables 12 Foreword 16 Preface 18 1. Research on Human Skeletal Biology in East Asia: A Historical Overview 22 2. Human Ecology in Continental and Insular East Asia 49 Part I. Biological Indicators of Population Histories in East Asia 80 3. The Population History of China and Mongolia from the Bronze Age to the Medieval Period (2500 BC–AD 1500) 82 4. Mongolian Origins and Cranio-Morphometric Variability: Neolithic to Mongolian Period 106 5. A Nonmetric Comparative Study of Past and Contemporary Mongolian and Northeast Asian Crania 131 6. Tuberculosis and Population Movement across the Sea of Japan from the Neolithic Period to the Eneolithic 146 7. Biological Connections across the Sea of Japan: A Multivariate Comparison of Ancient and More Modern Crania from Japan, China, Korea, and Southeast Asia 165 8. Population Dispersal from East Asia into Southeast Asia: Evidence from Cranial and Dental Morphology 200 Part II. Community Health 232 9. Conflict and Trauma among Nomadic Pastoralists on China’s Northern Frontier 234 10. Stresses of Life: A Preliminary Study of Degenerative Joint Disease and Dental Health among Ancient Populations of Inner Asia 267 11. Dental Wear and Oral Health as Indicators of Diet among the Early Qin People: A Case Study from the Xishan Site, Gansu Province 286 12. Yangshao Oral Health from West to East: Effects of Increasing Complexity and Contacts with Neighbors 309 13. Life on the Frontier: The Paleopathology of Human Remains from the Chinese Early Imperial Taojiazhai Mortuary Site 344 14. Bioarchaeological Perspectives on Systemic Stress during the Agricultural Transition in Prehistoric Japan 365 15. Change in the Linear Growth of Long Bones with the Adoption of Wet-Rice Agriculture in Japan 389 16. Trauma and Infectious Disease in Northern Japan: Okhotsk and Jomon 420 17. A Paleohealth Assessment of the Shih-san-hang Site from Iron Age Taiwan 438 18. Trajectories of Health in Early Farming Communities of East Asia 465 19. East Asian Bioarchaeology: Major Trends in a Temporally, Genetically, and Eco-Culturally Diverse Region 503 List of Contributors 520 Index of Subjects 522 Index of Archaeological Sites and Skeletal Collections 531 Examined through the lens of human remains, the overarching theme of this volume is human interaction and its consequences for the human condition across the vast expanse of East Asia during the Holocene. The volume is also an exploration of human interaction at an entirely different level, bringing together chapters written by scholars from several distinct academic schools of thought. The contributors stem from a range of culturally mediated scholarly traditions in biological anthropology that were isolated to varying degrees by the tumultuous politics of the 20th century. Conceptual frameworks, underlying assumptions, goals, and even styles of presentation vary considerably among the chapters, reflecting our goal of creating a forum within which a highly diverse and international group of scholars could engage in their particular approaches to examining human skeletal remains drawn from archaeological contexts