Abstract
Over half of people today live in cities, and urban populations will increase in the future. It is thus crucial to understand the consequences that urbanization has for human populations. Urbanization has long been a focus of bioarchaeological research, but what is missing from the literature is an exploration of the geographic and temporal range of human biological, demographic, and sociocultural responses to this major shift in settlement pattern. Studies of contemporary urbanization have found both positive and negative outcomes, which likely have parallels in past human societies. Bioarchaeological studies have similarly yielded varying results, and the impacts of urbanization in the past were surely shaped by local ecological and sociocultural conditions. In this Introduction to the volume, we explore some of the consequences of urban living, how those contrast with rural settings, and provide examples of previous bioarchaeological scholarship on the topic, highlighting the need for further examination of urbanization in the past. To explore the variability in human responses to urbanization, this volume includes studies from a wide range of geographic locations and temporal periods. These studies enable cross-cultural and temporal comparisons and a more holistic understanding of the impact of urbanization.
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Notes
- 1.
Race is a social category that, while not reflecting a biological reality, does have biological consequences. We refer readers to the American Association of Physical Anthropologist’s statement on race and racism to learn more (Fuentes et al. 2019).
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DeWitte, S.N., Betsinger, T.K. (2020). Introduction to the Bioarchaeology of Urbanization. In: Betsinger, T.K., DeWitte, S.N. (eds) The Bioarchaeology of Urbanization. Bioarchaeology and Social Theory. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53417-2_1
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