A publication of the Archaeological Institute of America
Conversations: Bone Reader Volume 58 Number 5, September/October
2005  A bioarchaeology pioneer on the hidden truths in our
skeletons   For more than 30 years, Jane Buikstra has been at
the forefront of bioarchaeology, a disclipline that mines bone
for data on age, health, diet, disease, and genetic
relationships. Now the director of the new Center for Biological
Research at Arizona State University, Buikstra spoke with
ARCHAEOLOGY about teeth, tuberculosis, and showing medical
examiners a thing or two.  (Photo by Jason King)  You're
credited with coining the term "bioarchaeology." Well, in 1976 I
tossed it off at a conference. Recently I had to be reminded it
was me. I called a former student to ask her who had coined it,
and she said, "As far as I know, you did."  What are some of the
questions bioarchaeology can answer? One that is fairly central
to our field right now is, how long did people live? For a long
time, our picture has been that many peo