When science sheds light on history
Subtitle: forensic science and anthropology
By: Philippe Charlier with David Alliot ; translated by Isabelle Ruben
Contributors: Alliot, David, author; Ruben, Isabelle, translator
Publisher: University Press of Florida
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 170
ISBN-13: 9780813056548
Subjects: Forensic anthropology; Medical archaeology; Physical anthropology and history; Case studies; History; Paleopathology; Research
Description: "Did Richard the Lionheart really die from a simple crossbow wound, or was there foul play? Who are the two infants buried in Tutankhamun's tomb? Could a skull found in a tax collector's attic be the long-lost head of Henri IV? In When Science Sheds Light on History, Philippe Charlier, the "Indiana Jones of the graveyards," travels the globe to unravel these and other unsolved mysteries of human history. To get answers, Charlier looks for clues in medical records, fingerprints, and bloodstains. He reconstructs the face of Robespierre from masks molded from his body after death and analyzes charred bones to see if they really are Joan of Arc's. He discovers lethal levels of gold in the hair and bones of King Henry II's mistress Diane de Poitiers, who used gold salts to "preserve her eternal youth." Charlier also pieces together the stories of people whose names and lives have long been forgotten. He investigates Stone Age graves, medieval necropolises, and museum collections. Playing the role of both crime-scene investigator and forensic anthropologist, Charlier diagnoses a mummy with malaria, an ancient Greek child with Down syndrome, and a stately Roman with encephalitis. He also delves into ancient miracles and anomalies: a mute boy able to speak after making sacrifices to the gods, a woman pregnant for five years, and a serpent that cured a broken toe with its tongue.    Exploring how our ancestors lived and how they died, the forty cases in this book seek to answer some of history's most enduring questions and illustrate the power of science to reveal the secrets of the past."--Amazon.com.
Notes: "Authorized translation from the French language edition entitled ̀Quand la science explore l'histoire.' --Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 167-168)
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note:; title: pt. I; title: PREHISTORY -- -- 1.; title: Planet of the Wise: Tending Disabilities during Prehistory -- -- 2.; title: A Prehistoric Amputation: A Neolithic Amputation from Buthiers-Boulancourt -- -- pt. II; title: ANTIQUITY -- -- 3.; title: The Story of the Mummy: The Proto-dynastic Egyptian Mummy of an Infant with Malaria -- -- 4.; title: Return of the Mummy: Tutankhamun's Fetuses -- -- 5.; title: Et in Argolide Ego: Earthquake Victims in Midea, Greece, in the 10th Century BC -- -- 6.; title: Urbi et Orbi: A Case of Down Syndrome in the Rome of Romulus and Remus (9th -- 6th centuries BC) -- -- 7.; title: Boulevard of Bones: The Etruscan-Celtic Necropolises of Monte Bibele and Monterenzio Vecchia (3rd Century BC) -- -- 8.; title: Other People's Taste: Representing Deformity in Antiquity -- -- 9.; title: The Fire of God: Greek Cremations in Romania (3rd Century BC) -- -- 10.; title: A Hero of Our Time: A Greek Cremation in the Louvre Museum -- -- 11.; title: Drunken Offense: A Case of Alcoholism in Antiquity -- -- 12.; title: Ancient Miracles: Accounts of Divine Cures in Greco-Roman Antiquity -- -- 13.; title: Domain of the Gods: Anatomical Ex-votos in Antiquity -- -- 14.; title: Memories from the House of the Dead: The Tortured of Fourni at Delos (2nd -- 1st Centuries BC) -- -- 15.; title: An Upside-Down Bone...: Pathological Skeletons in Roman Romania (1st Century AD) -- -- 16.; title: Bad Calculus: Urinary Calculus in a Roman Child (2nd Century AD) -- -- 17.; title: Not a Word: A Malformed Mouth in Roman Gaul (2nd Century AD) -- -- 18.; title: Resquiescat in Pace: A Lethal Trepanation and Another Successful One in Imperial Rome (2nd Century AD) -- -- 19.; title: Atmosphere, Atmosphere...: A Child's Mummy from the Fin-Renard in Bourges (2nd Century AD) -- -- 20.; title: The Yellow Peril: "Fecal Peril" in Antiquity -- -- 21.; title: I Am Another...: An Embryonic Tumor in Rome (3rd Century AD) -- -- pt. III; title: MIDDLE AGES -- -- 22.; title: Plague of...: A Hormonal Disease in Byzantine Crete (7th Century AD) -- -- 23.; title: Twisting the Neck of Received Wisdom: A Congenital Stiff Neck in Byzantine Crete (7th Century AD) -- -- 24.; title: The Age of Tartar: Dental Tartar with Parasites -- -- 25. -- 26.; title: In the Odor of Sanctity...: The Heart of Richard the Lionheart -- -- 27.; title: All Rotten! The Charnel Houses for Medieval Bodies -- -- 28.; title: An Anatomy Lesson: The Oldest Anatomical Dissection (13th Century) -- -- 29.; title: The Magic Mountain: Human Diseases in the Greek Orthodox Art of Mount Athos -- -- 30.; title: With a Valiant Heart...: The Mummy of Saint Rose -- -- 31.; title: A Vase in the Cranium: The Reliquary of Saint Afra (13th Century) -- -- 32.; title: Trafficking in Reliquaries: The Fake Reliquaries of Joan of Arc (15th Century) -- -- 33.; title: The "Dame de Beaute": Agnes Sorel (c. 1422 -- 1450) -- -- pt. IV; title: RENAISSANCE TO MODERN TIMES -- -- 34.; title: Queen of Hearts: Diane de Poitiers (1499 -- 1566) -- -- 35.; title: The King's Body: The Embalming of the Kings of France (16th to 18th Centuries) -- -- 36.; title: The Henri IV Affair: The Mummified Head of "Good King Henry" -- -- 37.; title: Autopsy of an Autopsy: Official Report of an Autopsy in Saint Nectaire (1765) -- -- 38.; title: The Face of the Incorruptible: Maximilien de Robespierre (1758 -- 1794) -- -- 39.; title: Rigor Mortis: The Mummies of Santa Maria de Randazzo (17th -- 19th Centuries) -- -- 40.; title: Distant Mumps: An Epidemic of Mumps in Polynesia in the 19th Century -- -- 41.; title: Head Held High: Shrunken Heads of the Jivaros and Tattooed Heads of the Maoris.