The histories of many human societies over the last ten millennia have been characterized by increasing social complexity and economic inequality. This phenomenon ranks among the intellectually pressing anthropological questions about human history that also holds great relevance to help understand modern social challenges. Drawing upon diverse studies of human remains from ancient Egypt, Greece, China, and the Americas, this volume is the first to bring together physical anthropologists, archaeologists, and economists to better understand the wide range of effects of social complexity upon hu ... More

The histories of many human societies over the last ten millennia have been characterized by increasing social complexity and economic inequality. This phenomenon ranks among the intellectually pressing anthropological questions about human history that also holds great relevance to help understand modern social challenges. Drawing upon diverse studies of human remains from ancient Egypt, Greece, China, and the Americas, this volume is the first to bring together physical anthropologists, archaeologists, and economists to better understand the wide range of effects of social complexity upon human biology in the past. The authors encounter many different kinds of entanglements between sociopolitical organization, economic variation, and inequality. This book shows how bioarchaeology provides a key voice to help to better understand and navigate contemporary issues of social complexity and inequality in terms of the forces and factors that impact human biology and health. This book contribute greater perspective toward understanding the present day and perhaps point toward some potential direction of the near-term human future.