The body in history
Subtitle: Europe from the Palaeolithic to the future
By: Edited by John Robb, University of Cambridge, Oliver J. T. Harris, University of Leicester
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2013
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 266
ISBN-13: 9780521195287
Subjects: Human body; History; Human remains (Archaeology)
Description: This book is a long-term history of how the human body has been understood in Europe from the Palaeolithic to the present day, focusing on specific moments of change. Developing a multi-scalar approach to the past, and drawing on the work of an interdisciplinary team of experts, the authors examine how the body has been treated in life, art and death for the last 40,000 years. Key case-study chapters examine Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Classical, Medieval, Early Modern and Modern bodies. What emerges is not merely a history of different understandings of the body, but a history of the different human bodies that have existed. Furthermore, the book argues, these bodies are not merely the product of historical circumstance, but are themselves key elements in shaping the changes that have swept across Europe since the arrival of modern humans.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 237-258) and index.