Abstract
Where health-related care practices can be inferred from the bioarchaeological record, these may offer unique insights into both the caregiving community and the individual care-recipient. The ‘bioarchaeology of care’ provides both a conceptual and an applied framework for analysing bioanthropological and archaeological indicators of health-related caregiving practice and, as a consequence, offers the opportunity to deepen our understanding of the past. Chapter 1 introduces the bioarchaeology of care approach, provides brief definitions of key terms and concepts employed in this book, and notes some of the limitations facing any research into past care practice. It explains the parameters adopted in developing bioarchaeology of care theory, gives a short description of the applied methodology, and goes on to explain the scope, aims and structure of this book and outline chapter content. In conclusion, it discusses some of the challenges faced by all archaeological research dealing with subject matter as contested as that of ‘disability’ and ‘care’, and presents a personal response to these.
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Tilley, L. (2015). Introducing the Bioarchaeology of Care. In: Theory and Practice in the Bioarchaeology of Care. Bioarchaeology and Social Theory. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18860-7_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18860-7_1
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