Customer Reviews

Human Osteology: A Laboratory and Field Manual (Special Publications (Missouri Archaeological Society), No. 2.)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

THIS TEXT TAKES THE READER INTO AN ELLABORATE AND INTERESTING LOOK AT HUMAN OSTEOLOGY. IT PROVIDES EXCELLANT DIAGRAMS AND WRITTEN DESCRIPTIONS OF BONES AND THE BODY. IT ALSO DISCUSSES IN DEPTH THE ISSUES OF AGE, SEX, AND RACE DETERIMINATION. IT IS AN INVALUABLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION FOR FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY STUDENTS AND DEATH INVESTAGATORS AS WELL.

THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN BY ONE OF THE FIELDS PIONEERS DR. WILLIAM BASS WHO WAS THE LEAD PROFESSOR AND THE UNIVERSITY OF KNOXVILLE, TN WHERE HE INSTITUTED A FIRST IN THE FIELD IN HANDS-ON STUDY. HE DEVELOPED A HUMAN BODY INVESTIGSTION CENTER DUBBED THE BODY FARM. WHERE HE TAKES AN ACTIVE LOOK AT DECOMPOSTION OF HUMAN REMAINS, HE KNOWS HIS STUFF AND THIS BOOK PROVES IT!

This is a field book rather than a text. Never the less it contains all the basic information needed for field excavation and analysis. We have used it extensively in the field in early Mayan excavations in Guatemala and I have ended in giving many copies to my Guatemalan co- workers. They, by the way, have recently established a proficient team which travels world wide to excavate burials when investgating human rights abuses and they tell me that they prefer it to the other volumes they have vailable ax a quick reference.

This is a very useful field manual for osteology/physical anthropology students or anyone interested in the skeleton. My only concern is with the actual construction of the book. The spiral binding is a complaint of all of my fellow physical anthropology student friends. In one semester our books had fallen apart. It is such a crucial book to me, yet whenever I need to read it, I must pull random pages out of a plastic ziploc. My advice is to buy it, but don't flip through it with too much zeal.

For students of palaeo and forensic anthropology, this book is an excellent field guide and reference. Although some of the terminologies and formulae are American-orientated, Bass has produced an excellent supplement to standard texts which makes identification of 'minor' skeletal parts a bit easier. It's a pity about the spiral binding which limits its life off the bookshelf. I ended up removing the covers which I covered in plastic book wrap and replaced within the wire spiral - hopefully this will entend its life.
It would be useful if future editions could include stature regression formulae for a wider cross section of world geographic groups (broader than just America - we are not all the same!). It would also be useful to develop an indexed interactive CD version which could be loaded onto a laptop.
Overall, an excellent resource.

I've used this book for the last decade to help me with skeletal analysis. Though the spirals are a problem, I have solved it. I now have two copies since my original is so well used it's falling apart. Of all the osteological manuals I've used, this one is by far the best for bone identification. It's helped not only me, but my students as they muddle through the osteology labs. A must have for any osteologist/anthropologist.

Human Osteology is an informative and well concived lab manual. It provides all the nessesary background information for begining students of Comparitive Human Osteology as well as a basic overveiw of the entire human skeletal system including all landmarks. This manual also includes techniques for aging and sexing a skeleton

I have referred to this manual extensively in both field and lab situations. While there are better and more sophisticated human osteo reference materials available (Tim White's book comes to mind), Bass's book has long been my go-to guide. It includes basic info on how to estimate age, sex, ancestral affiliation, height, and of course, tooth and bone ID (and how to side teeth and bones). The bibliography is a fantastic wealth of info in itself. The only problem is that it is spiral-bound softcover, and I have worn out two copies over the years. I always encourage anthro students to pick up a copy of this manual- SO unfortunate that it's not available on Amazon.

I love this book. I'm an anthropology student, so I have osteology textbooks (notably the one by Tim White) and what I was looking for this time was precisely what I got: something that condenses all of the information of a textbook into a more portable form. This is not, I believe, a book for actually LEARNING osteology, and I don't think it's designed for that, so if you're looking to get a really in-depth look at the human skeleton, I do recommend going for textbooks first (or a class if you have the opportunity.) But this is a great supplemental reference material.

One drawback that people have already touched upon is the physical book itself. The cover seems in constant danger of falling off, and the wire ring binding gets in the way of comfortable perusal. I do hope they make a sturdier edition in the future. But for me, it's not enough of a drawback to mark it down. It's still excellent at what it does, and I recommend it.

Item arrived on time and in the condition advertised. No complaints here. I will try the same store again. Thanks!

The book arrived prior to the expected date and was in better condition than the description listed. I would definitely purchase from this supplier again.