"Pulls together a global sampling of excellent research on a topic of great interest to scholars of prehistory that otherwise would be difficult to assemble or in some cases to even access."--Patricia M. Lambert, Utah State University

Twenty years ago Mark Nathan Cohen coedited a collection of essays that set a new standard in using paleopathology to identify trends in health associated with changes in prehistoric technology, economy, demography, and political centralization. Ancient Health expands and celebrates that work.

Confirming earlier conclusions that human...

Makes an important contribution to our understanding of the challenges our ancestors faced during the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture. . . . A well-organized and highly readable volume that synthesizes an enormous amount of data on what is perhaps the most significant economic transformation in the history of our species. American Anthropologist

In 1982, the Conference on Paleopathology and Socioeconomic Change at the Origins of Agriculture was held in Plattsburgh, New York, to examine previously untested theories about how the adoption of...