Abstract

As a biological, cultural, and social entity, the human fetus is a multifaceted subject which calls for equally diverse perspectives to fully understand. Anthropology of the Fetus seeks to achieve this by bringing together specialists in biological anthropology, archaeology, and cultural anthropology. Contributors draw on research in prehistoric, historic, and contemporary sites in Europe, Asia, North Africa, and North America to explore the biological and cultural phenomenon of the fetus, raising methodological and theoretical concerns with the ultimate goal of developing a holistic anthropology of the fetus.

Sallie Han is Associate Professor of Anthropology at SUNY Oneonta, and past chair of the Council on Anthropology and Reproduction. She is the author of Pregnancy in Practice: Expectation and Experience in the Contemporary US (Berghahn Books, 2013).

Tracy K. Betsinger is Associate Professor of Anthropology at SUNY Oneonta. She conducts bioarchaeological studies of health and mortuary patterns with medieval/post-medieval European populations and prehistoric populations from the Southeastern United States.

“This is an outstanding collection of articles, all based on original research, giving the volume a fresh feel.” · Eugenia Georges, Rice University

Amy B. Scott is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of New Brunswick. Her research interests include biochemical analyses of health and stress, skeletal growth and development, and mortuary burial patterns in medieval and post-medieval Europe and 18th century Atlantic Canada.