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As a biological, cultural, and social entity, the human fetus is a multifaceted subject which calls for equally diverse perspectives to fully understand. Anthropology of the Fetus seeks to achieve this by bringing together specialists in biological anthropology, archaeology, and cultural anthropology. Contributors draw on research in prehistoric, historic, and contemporary sites in Europe, Asia, North Africa, and North America to explore the biological and cultural phenomenon of the fetus, raising methodological and theoretical concerns with the ultimate goal of developing a holistic anthropology of the fetus.
“This volume, offering a breadth of perspectives on the human foetus, appears at an important time. As the editors compellingly show in rich and complex detail, foetuses cannot exist apart from maternal bodies, and efforts to separate the two are further manifestations of the perennial struggle over who controls human reproduction.” • Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (JRAI)
“This rich collection of work demonstrates that constructs surrounding the beginnings of life are deeply embedded within a specific historical and cultural context. There is no one truth about the foetus or its development, personhood or place in the world. Indeed, it is when we focus on the foetus that our long-held constructs regarding personhood, the life course and the body start to appear shaky, prompting a reconfiguration of the current edifice.” • Childhood in the Past. An International Journal
“The Anthropology of the Fetus is a rich and ambitious volume. The contributors draw on cutting-edge research and deep knowledge of their fields to further our understanding of the complex and liminal beings we call fetuses (the definitional subtleties of which are discussed throughout). Needless to say, the volume’s interdisciplinary breadth makes it a valuable resource for both teachers and researchers.” • Medical Anthropology Quarterly
“The volume’s contribution to scholarship and methods about fetuses and reproduction is first-rate.” • Anthropos
“This is an outstanding collection of articles, all based on original research, giving the volume a fresh feel.” • Eugenia Georges, Rice University
Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Foreword: How/Shall We Consider the Fetus?
Rayna Rapp
Introduction: Conceiving the Anthropology of the Fetus: An Introduction
Sallie Han, Tracy K. Betsinger, and Amy B. Scott
PART I: THE FETUS IN BIOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE
Chapter 1. The Borderless Fetus: Temporal Complexity of the Lived Fetal Experience
Julienne Rutherford
Chapter 2. The Biology of the Fetal Period: Interpreting Life from Fetal Skeletal Remains
Kathleen Ann Satterlee Blake
Chapter 3. Pregnant with Ideas: Concepts of the Fetus in the Twenty-First Century United States
Sallie Han
PART II: FINDING FETUSES IN THE PAST: ARCHAEOLOGY AND BIOARCHAEOLOGY
Chapter 4. The Bioarchaeology of Fetuses
Siân E. Halcrow, Nancy Tayles, and Gail E. Elliott
Chapter 5. Fetal Paleopathology: An Impossible Discipline?
Mary E. Lewis
Chapter 6. The Neolithic Infant Cemetery at Gebel Ramlah in Egypt’s Western Desert
Jacek Kabaciński, Agnieszka Czekaj-Zastawny, and Joel D. Irish
Chapter 7. Excavating Identity: Burial Context and Fetal Identity in Post-Medieval Poland
Amy B. Scott and Tracy K. Betsinger
PART III: THE ONCE AND FUTURE FETUS: SOCIOCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Chapter 8. Waiting: The Redemption of Frozen Embryos through Embryo Adoption and Stem Cell Research in the United States
Risa D. Cromer
Chapter 9. Deploying the Fetus: Constructing Pregnancy and Abortion in Morocco
Jessica Marie Newman
Chapter 10. Beyond Life Itself: The Embedded Fetuses of Russian Orthodox Anti-Abortion Activism
Sonja Luehrmann
Chapter 11. The “Sound” of Life: Or How Should We Hear a Fetal “Voice”?
Rebecca Howes-Mischel
Conclusion
Tracy K. Betsinger, Amy B. Scott, and Sallie Han
Glossary
Index