Book Reviews

Anthropological Genetics: Theory, Methods and Appli-cations. Edited by Michael Crawford. x 1 476 pp.New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. 2007.$135.00 (cloth), $65.00 (paper).

For one so thoroughly associated with anthropologicalgenetics, some may be surprised that Michael Crawforddid not actually coin the term. In the introductory chapterof his latest edited volume on anthropological genetics henotes that that honor rightly goes to Derek Roberts. Overthe last three and a half decades, however, Crawford hasbeen the most vociferous proponent of anthropologicalgenetics. This current volume is the fifth in a series thatbegan in 1973 with Methods and Theories of Anthropo-logical Genetics (Crawford and Workman, 1973). Thatoriginal volume sprang from a School of AmericanResearch symposium on anthropological genetics held in1970, with participants that included such luminaries asJames Spuhler, Gabriel W. Lasker, William W. Howells,Derek F. Roberts, Frank Livingstone, and others whosework in the preceding decades had laid the intellectualfoundations for the field of study henceforth to be knownas anthropological genetics. Anthropological geneticresearch proceeded apace, and in the early 1980s threerelated volumes on anthropological genetics followedeach other in quick succession (see Crawford, 1984;Crawford and Mielke, 1982; Mielke and Crawford, 1980).In 1988 Crawford began a 10-year stint as editor of thejournal Human Biology, which subsequently became theofficial journal of the American Association of Anthropo-logical Genetics.

But, the field had undergone tremendous changes sinceits founding, and it was time for an update on how an-thropological genetics could benefit from new technologyand methods in molecular and statistical genetics. Thestudy of population structure, the primary focus of muchearly work in anthropological genetics, remains an inte-gral part of anthropological genetic research, but it is nolonger the sole endpoint in the postgenomic era. Thequest now increasingly includes that of identifying spe-cific functional genetic polymorphisms that lead to dis-ease, that contribute to the broad expanse of normalhuman variation, and that may have contributed to, orbeen shaped by, the evolutionary history of humans andthe nonhuman primates. In 2000 a highly cited specialissue of Human Biology (vol. 72, issue 1) began with a pa-per by Crawford titled, ‘‘Anthropological Genetics in the21st Century.’’ The success of that issue motivated thepublication of this volume, and it is an outstanding andtimely compendium providing a convenient ‘‘stand alone’’update of anthropological genetic inquiry. The contribut-ing authors are among the most respected and knowl-edgeable in their respective areas of specialization, asevident in the high quality of every chapter; none arerewrites of previous works, but are well-documented cur-rent expositions.

The volume begins with a chapter by Crawford titled,‘‘Foundations of Anthropological Genetics’’ that providesan excellent summary of the history of the field. The re-mainder of the volume is divided into four parts: Theory,Methods, General Applications, and The Human Dias-pora. Two chapters comprise the ‘‘Theory’’ section. Madri-

gal and Barbujani discuss the concept of race and includein their conclusion one line that succinctly sums up theview held by most anthropological geneticists, ‘‘If we areto understand human diversity, and if we are to exploitthe potential represented by the ever-increasing genomicdata, race is neither an accurate nor useful concept . . ..’’(p. 32). Terwilliger and Lee follow with a very nice over-view of the nature of complex traits and how the field ofgenetic epidemiology attempts studies that complexityusing both designed experiments and, of particular inter-est to anthropological geneticists, ‘‘natural experiments.’’They highlight the exciting interplay between genetic epi-demiology, medical genetics, and anthropological geneticswhen such natural experiments are exploited, as exempli-fied by studies of rare monogenic disorders in Finland andgene-environment interaction in ethnic Koreans inKazakhstan.

Five chapters comprise the ‘‘Methods’’ section. Craw-ford first discusses the importance of field research andprovides several examples from his 37 years of field expe-rience. Field work is the heart and soul of anthropologicalinquiry, but is often complicated by politics, conflict, andbureaucracies both at home (e.g., IRBs) and abroad (e.g.,host governments). And, study populations understand-ably want to know how they will benefit from theresearch. Crawford does an excellent job of discussingthese matters and makes his own opinions amusinglyclear as when he asks the reader to consider, ‘‘Are youplanning to conduct research within a team framework orare you going to follow anthropological ‘tradition’ as a soli-tary researcher relishing the exposure to culture shockwhile languishing in a community for a prolonged periodof time?’’ (p. 80). Next, Mielke and Fix discuss the impor-tant interface between anthropological genetics anddemography. The genetic structure of a group (e.g., allelicfrequencies, distribution of genotypes, etc.) is determinedto a large degree by its population structure (e.g., size, ageand sex distributions, patterns of migration, etc.). Thiscan especially be the case in populations of traditional in-terest to anthropologists. Rubicz, Melton, and Crawfordthen provide a comprehensive chapter on different typesof molecular markers, the analysis of molecular markerdistributions, and specific examples of how molecularmarkers are used in anthropological genetic studies.Developments in molecular genetics now make it possibleto type thousands, and even tens and hundreds of thou-sands, of genetic markers quickly and at relatively lowcost. Marker data can be used in linkage analyses, ge-nome-wide association analyses, and for depiction of popu-lation structure and history. Nothing is more quintessen-tially physical anthropological than morphometry, and inhis chapter Relethford makes the case that anthropo-metrics, osteometrics, odontometrics, craniometrics, etc.,continue to provide valuable information in areas of tradi-tional interest to anthropological geneticists such as eluci-dating the population structure of past and presentgroups. One thing might be added, and that is that under-standing genetic influences on normal variation in quan-titative traits such as body mass, blood pressure, bonedensity and the like is very much a part of modern geneticepidemiology, and anthropological geneticists, with train-ing in how to view and analyze quantitative measures ofhuman variation, have much to contribute. Finally, an-cient DNA (aDNA) is now also used to examine aspects ofhuman history and evolution. O’Rourke’s concludes this

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section with an excellent primer that covers the essentialsof aDNA research, including key considerations of how todeal with contamination of aDNA samples with DNA fromother sources and the fragmentary nature of aDNA due todegradation. He also discusses recent work examining theplace of the Neandertals in human evolution through theanalysis of aDNA; for now it doesn’t look like Neandertalsmade any significant contribution to the modern humangene pool.

Three chapters comprise the ‘‘Applications’’ section. Itis now routine to use DNA evidence to help solve variouscrimes, including horrific acts of genocide, and Schanfieldpresents a very accessible and detailed discussion of theuse of molecular genetic methods in modern forensic sci-ence. The increasingly sophisticated technologies of for-ensic molecular genetics have also contributed in variousways to anthropological genetic research. Devor then dis-cusses advances in the use of fluorescence in moleculargenetics. Fluorescently labeled DNA has made high-throughput genotyping of DNA markers possible, both inever-increasing numbers and at ever-reducing costs.Anthropological geneticists should be familiar with thistechnology because it now makes it possible to collectextensive genetic marker information from study sub-jects even on relatively restricted research budgets.Blangero, Williams, Almasy, and Williams-Blangero con-clude this section with a chapter on advances in statisti-cal genetic methods and their application in the mappingof genes influencing quantitative trait variation. Advan-ces in molecular and statistical genetics have gone hand-in-hand over the last two decades, and Blangero and col-leagues have been at the forefront in not only developingnew analytic methods to better model complex trait vari-ation, but also in making such analytic methods freelyand readily available through their sequential oligogeniclinkage analysis routines (SOLAR) software platform.SOLAR is used by some 2,000 researchers around theworld, and has significantly contributed to the dramaticincrease in linkage analysis-based studies of quantitativetraits of biomedical and anthropological genetic rele-vance.

Finally, the fourth section of the volume is entitled,‘‘The Human Diaspora.’’ Paleoanthropology has tradition-ally informed our understanding of human evolution andpopulation history, but the recent genomic revolution hascontributed to this discussion. Tishkoff and Gonder beginthis section with a chapter on human origins in and out ofAfrica. They include discussion of different models (e.g.,‘‘Multiregional Origins’’ vs. ‘‘Recent African Origins’’), andcompeting models are supported by the amount and pat-terning of human genetic variation as revealed by analy-sis of mitochondrial DNA, x- and y-chromosome markers,and autosomal chromosomal variation. The preponder-ance of evidence points to a Recent African Origins model,but various other migration events have left their markon genetic variation in modern populations, and furtheranalyses using more markers may help to better clarifythese models. Arredi, Poloni, and Tyler-Smith thenaddress the history of the peopling of Europe as revealedby data from a variety of sources, including those from pa-leontology, archaeology, climatology, linguistics, andgenetics. Ideally, conclusions from these independent datasets will be generally congruent, but this is not always thecase. There is consensus that archaic humans contributedlittle to the modern European gene pool, but the contribu-

tion made by other migrant populations is still debated.Matisoo-Smith next discusses the peopling of Oceania. Shenotes the peopling of the Pacific includes both the settle-ment of Australia and New Guinea, one of the earliestmajor migrations by modern humans, and the settling ofPolynesia, one of the latest series of migrations by mod-ern humans that entailed crossing upwards of thousandsof miles of ocean in very small craft. A variety of differenttypes of data are used to provide insights on the Pacificmigrations, as well as the earliest colonization(s) of theAmericas, the topic of the following chapter by Salzano.Recent genetic analyses have identified the ancestralAsian roots of the early immigrants, and Salzano con-cludes that a synthesis of all available information pointsto the Americas first being entered via the Bering LandBridge around 15,000 years ago by groups originating insouthern Siberia, and who subsequently traveled downthe Pacific coast; less clear are the number of waves ofmigration, and the nature of internal migrations ofgroups once in the Americas.

In the final chapter of the volume, Harpending cau-tions us not to uncritically accept the neutral theory ofevolution in reconstructing population history, and thattoo little attention is being paid to ongoing natural selec-tion and the implications that has both scientifically andpolitically. These collegial admonishments are a goodway to end a volume that has shown us how far anthro-pological genetics has come, and how much further itneeds to go.

A major challenge in the coming years will be for an-thropological genetics to maintain its identity as a dis-tinctive field crossing human genetics and anthropology.Many practitioners of anthropological genetics (mostwith Ph.D.s in anthropology) are not based in anthropol-ogy departments. Anthropological geneticists outside ofanthropology departments may lose touch over timewith their anthropological roots, and anthropology stu-dents may not get an accurate picture of the breadth andscope of anthropological genetically related research andjob opportunities outside of anthropology departments.The field of anthropological genetics has benefitted fromthe dozens of anthropology Ph.D.s who have chosen tostay active in anthropology while working in schools ofmedicine and dentistry, and increasingly in the privatesector. And, it also has benefitted from attracting anthro-pologically minded investigators with backgrounds inother disciplines (e.g., Almasy, Terwilliger, Lee, andothers in this volume). Michael Crawford is to beapplauded for his central role in fostering and maintain-ing these connections over the last 35 years. With Craw-ford asserting that this is his last edited volume on an-thropological genetics, it will be up to newer generationsof anthropological geneticists to carry on these cross-dis-ciplinary efforts. They will be wise to follow Crawford’slead and continue to champion the value of field work,graduate and postgraduate training in molecular andstatistical genetics, and maintaining a collaborative andinternational approach to anthropological genetic in-quiry.

LITERATURE CITED

Crawford MH. 1984. Current Developments in Anthropological Genetics,Vol. 3: Black Caribs, A Case Study in Biocultural Adaptation. New York:Plenum Press.

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Crawford MH. 2000. Anthropological genetics in the 21st century: Intro-duction. Hum Biol 72:3–13.

Crawford MH, Mielke JH, editors. 1982. Current Developments in Anthro-pological Genetics, Vol. 2: Ecology and Population Structure. New York:Plenum Press.

Crawford MH, Workman PL, editors. 1973. Methods and Theories ofAnthropological Genetics. Albuquerque: University of New MexicoPress.

Mielke JH, Crawford MH, editors. 1980. Current Developments in An-thropological Genetics, Vol. 1: Theory and Methods. New York: PlenumPress.

BRADFORD TOWNE

Departments of Community Health and PediatricsWright State University Boonshoft School of MedicineKettering, Ohio

DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.20800Published online 19 May 2008 in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.

wiley.com).

Evolutionary Medicine and Health: New Perspectives.Edited by Wenda R. Trevathan, E. O. Smith, andJames J. McKenna. xii 1 532 pp. New York, NY:Oxford University Press. 2008. $80.00 (cloth),$45.00 (paper).

The 1991 publication of The Dawn of Darwinian Medi-cine (Williams and Nesse, 1991) united scholars world-wide who had been applying evolutionary perspectives tounderstand biomedical phenomena. We now had a field tocall our own: Darwinian Medicine. But the interdiscipli-nary nature of this field draws from a breadth of tradi-tional disciplines, including biological anthropology, biol-ogy, psychology, geography, and medicine. The greatestcontribution of Trevathan, Smith and McKenna’s editedvolumes—both the original 1999 and this newly released2008 volume—is that they compile the work of scholarsfrom all these disciplines, spanning years of work, in con-cise, theory- and data-packed chapters that summarizethe state of the field. Together, these two volumes chartthe progress of the field.

Evolutionary Medicine and Health comprises 23 chap-ters by over 40 preeminent scholars. It is geared toward‘‘educated generalists and students at the advancedundergraduate and graduate levels’’ (p. ix). It is a compan-ion to the previous volume, because its chapters provideoriginal material (Trevathan et al., 1999). The clearlystated goal of the editors is to promote the idea that

Evolutionary ways of thinking and doing researchmay lead to new ways of treating and preventingdiseases and disorders, potentially saving lives or, atthe very least, improving the quality of life for thosewhose conditions compromise health or lead to earlydeath (p. x).

An additional benefit of the volume is that even novicesin evolutionary thinking will soon see clear patternsemerging from the chapters, allowing them to begingenerating their own evolutionary ideas and hypothesesabout why various biomedical diseases and disorders arethe way they are, and why humans are the way they are

in their current environments. It contains a wealth ofdata and also presents evolutionary theorizing and model-ing in case after case, giving readers practice in how tothink like evolutionists, construct and apply evolutionaryarguments, and test evolutionary hypotheses on a vastarray of topics.

The chapters are divided into five sections. Part 1(Background) contains a comprehensive introduction andoverview. It begins with a brief discussion of the evolutionof humans and the concomitant changes in physical, envi-ronmental, and lifestyle factors as well as the epidemio-logical transitions. A particularly important discussion ofthe inappropriateness of the concept of ‘‘believing (or not)in evolution’’ follows. The history of evolution in medicineis covered. Finally, the fundamentals of evolutionary med-icine are described, including discussions of the three pre-requisites for evolution (variation, heredity, and differen-tial reproduction), the meaning of ‘‘adaptation,’’ and thedistinction between proximate and ultimate explanations.From here, the chapter launches into a lengthy overviewof the rest of the volume, including topics in infectious dis-ease, nutrition, reproductive health, chronic disease, andpsychiatric disorders. It may be useful to have studentsread these sections in tandem with the correspondingchapters or sections of the volume rather than havestudents attempt to digest this vast array of informationall at once.

Part 2 covers ‘‘Politics, Nutrition, and Diet.’’ Itincludes chapters on the changes in the human diet andoverabundance of food in modern society, the obesityand diabetes pandemics, a critique of Norwegiannational dietary guidelines, and a discussion of the evo-lution of lactose tolerance.

Part 3 includes coverage of topics related to ‘‘Sex,Reproduction, and Health.’’ Chapters include discussionsof the effects of psychosocial stress on first reproduction,early life effects on reproductive function, impaired repro-ductive function in western women, arguments about pos-sible infectious causation of premenstrual syndrome, andeclampsia and pre-eclampsia in evolution. Particularlyexciting is Leidy Sievert’s chapter on evolutionary per-spectives on menstruation-stopping oral contraceptives.This timely discussion focuses on whether menstruation-stopping oral contraceptives create a debatably-healthierhormonal milieu comparable to that of our hominin ances-tors; the answer is a resounding ‘‘No!’’

Part 4, ‘‘Environments, Normality, and LifetimeHealth,’’ examines the effects of physical, cultural, andsocial environments on health and includes chapters onbreastfeeding and cosleeping; interactions between socialrelationships, stress and health; mountain sickness; andthe ecology of human sleep. Lende’s chapter on addictionis the most wholistic and logical treatment of the subjectto date, and is likely to open new avenues to understand-ing this previously intractable topic.

Part 5 covers ‘‘Chronic Diseases, Old Treatments, andMore Misunderstanding.’’ Chapters in this section investi-gate body composition and obesity, the effects of fetal envi-ronments on later health, multiple causation of chronicdiseases (infectious, environmental, and genetic), diseasesusceptibility and geographic ancestry, and congestiveheart failure.

The final two chapters of the final section bring thereader back to conceptual issues: the intersection of biol-ogy and medicine (Lewis) and the importance of evolution

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for medicine (Nesse). These two chapters deal with thenature of evolutionary medicine: its goals, its purpose, itspitfalls, and its promise. They could equally well be usedas an introduction to the text as a conclusion, and theideas presented in them should be revisited throughoutone’s journey through the rest of the volume.

There are few books specifically covering evolutionaryapproaches to health or medicine; I count a scant 13 withthis volume and the 12 listed in the Literature Cited later(Boaz, 2002; Bribiescas, 2006; Ellison, 2001; Ellison, edi-tor, 2001; Ewald, 1994, 2002; Frank, 2002; Moalem andPrince, 2007; Nesse and Williams, 1994; Stearns, 1999;Trevathan et al., 1999; Williams and Nesse, 1991). Thissimply should not be for a field with such potential, andsuch a tremendous amount of ongoing basic scientificresearch. Trevathan et al.’s earlier volume (1999) sur-veyed the state of the field, and the current volume bringsus up-to-date with much of what has been learned since.In this regard, Trevathan et al. provide a great service tothe field. Evolutionary Medicine and Health is a compre-hensive and balanced overview of a wide variety of topicsand issues that concern scientists in the field. It is theoret-ically rigorous and rich in data. What could be more im-portant than trying to understand why we are the way weare in an age when we still struggle to define ‘‘health’’ in asatisfactory manner? The evolutionary perspective hasimmense power to begin providing answers, and this vol-ume compiles much of what has been learned to date.Bravo!

LITERATURE CITED

Boaz NT. 2002. Evolving Health: The Origins of Illness and How theModern World Is Making Us Sick. New York, NY: Wiley.

Bribiescas RG. 2006. Men: Evolutionary and Life History. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press.

Ellison PT. 2001. On Fertile Ground: A Natural History of Human Repro-duction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Ellison PT, editor. 2001. Reproductive Ecology and Human Evolution. NewYork, NY: Aldine de Gruyter.

Ewald PW. 1994. Evolution of Infectious Disease. New York, NY: OxfordUniversity Press.

Ewald PW. 2002. Plague Time: The New Germ Theory of Disease. NewYork, NY: Anchor Books.

Frank SA. 2002. Immunology and Evolution of Infectious Disease. Prince-ton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Moalem S, Prince J. 2007. Survival of the Sickest: A Medical Maverick Dis-covers Why We Need Disease. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

Nesse RM, Williams GC. 1994. Why We Get Sick. New York, NY: RandomHouse, Vintage Books.

Stearns SC, editor. 1999. Evolution in Health and Disease. New York, NY:Oxford University Press.

Trevathan WR, Smith EO, McKenna JJ, editors. 1999. EvolutionaryMedicine. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Williams GC, Nesse RM. 1991. The dawn of Darwinian medicine. Q RevBiol 66(1):1–22.

CHRIS REIBER

Department of AnthropologyGraduate Program in Biomedical AnthropologyBinghamton University (SUNY)Binghamton, New York

DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.20801Published online 19 May 2008 in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.

wiley.com).

Forensic Anthropology: Contemporary Theory andPractice. By Debra A. Komar and Jane E. Buikstra.xviii 1 362 pp. New York, NY: Oxford UniversityPress. 2008. $69.95 (cloth).

The field of forensic anthropology has seen a recentinflux of new volumes focusing on different aspects, suchas the effects of cremation (e.g., Fairgrieve, 2007; Schmidtand Symes, 2008), the recovery of victims of mass disas-ters (e.g., Gould, 2007; Okoye and Wecht, 2007), or inter-pretation of trauma (e.g., Kimmerle and Baraybar, 2008).Broader volumes providing a comprehensive overview ofthe discipline are scarce and, amazingly, the most avail-able textbooks are not written by those who are regularpractitioners in the field. The new publication, ForensicAnthropology: Contemporary Theory and Practice, standsapart in both, providing a discussion of the full scope ofour work and being authored by respected members of theforensic community with active case experience.

The major step taken by this book is setting apart thetraining and practice of forensic anthropology as separatefrom skeletal analysis as applied in other settings such asarcheological recovery. Komar and Buikstra identify howand why training of forensic anthropologists must bedeeply embedded in an understanding of the legal frame-work in which we operate. The first 40% of the book isdevoted to this context, the historical practice, and crimerecovery responsibilities and authorities. Only then do theauthors address the more usual topics of biological profile,trauma analysis, taphonomy, and individual identifica-tion. In these latter areas, however, the aim is not to pro-vide step-by-step instructions of various techniques but todiscuss how and when these techniques can be appliedgiven the legal requirements of admissible evidence. Theability of techniques to withstand the rigor of the Daubertcriteria is a primary consideration in this section. Thework concludes with discussion of new areas in which for-ensic anthropology plays a role: human rights violationsand anthropological analyses of significant historicalfigures.

A second strength of the work is the introduction ofclearly stated definitions, not only terms used in skeletalanalysis but also the legal terminology which constrainsus. One could quibble over some of the definitions, such as‘‘forensic’’ the definition of which extends beyond ques-tions in a court of law to those debated in public discus-sion, but the overall theme of discrete and limited defini-tions is extremely helpful. More important, it spells outhow dangerous it can be to move into this realm of workcasually, because a slight misuse of a word can have seri-ous repercussions on the witness stand.

The third strength is the frequent inclusion of actualcase experience. Sometimes this appears as a specific‘‘case study,’’ but more often as an explanatory remark ina discussion of terminology. Most texts rely heavily on‘‘typical cases,’’ ones that clearly follow the principlesbeing presented. Once one starts to get some exposure toactual casework, however, it is quickly apparent that nocase is typical. Each case presents something new,whether in the biological profile, the estimation of timesince death or in the evaluation of the defects, and anoma-lies in the bone. By sprinkling cases into the text, theauthors begin to show how one takes the principles anduses this understanding to interpret new data.

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In reading this work, I had hoped to find an explorationof the theoretical underpinnings of forensic anthropol-ogy—one that was embedded in an understanding ofhuman variation and one that was self-reflexive, address-ing the underlying assumptions behind many of our tech-niques. That work is yet to be written. However, the cur-rent volume is a significant contribution to the discipline.It is less suitable as an introductory text, but it would behighly appropriate at an advanced undergraduate or be-ginning graduate student level.

LITERATURE CITED

Brogdon BG, Vogel H, McDowell JD. 2003. A radiographic atlas of abuse,torture, terrorism and inflicted trauma. New York, NY: Routledge Press(Taylor & Francis Group).

Fairgrieve SI. 2007. Forensic cremation recovery and analysis. BocaRaton, FL: CRC Press (Taylor & Francis group).

Gould RA. 2007. Disaster archaeology. Salt Lake City, UT: University ofUtah Press.

Kimmerle EH, Baraybar JP. 2008. Skeletal trauma: identification of inju-ries resulting from human rights abuse and armed conflict. Boca Raton,FL: CRC Press (Taylor & Francis Group).

Okoye M, Wecht C. 2007. Forensic investigation and management of massdisasters. Tucson, AZ: Lawyers and Judges Publishing Company.

Schmidt CW, Symes SA, editors. 2008. The analysis of burned humanremains. Bridgewater, NJ: Elsevier.

ALLISON GALLOWAY

Academic Affairs and Department of AnthropologyUniversity of CaliforniaSanta Cruz, California

DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.20802Published online 19 May 2008 in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.

wiley.com).

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