Research on human skeletal biology in East Asia: a historical overview

Abstract

In East Asia, interest in variation in human health and use of the human body as a source of knowledge on the human condition dates back to the earliest written texts. This chapter provides a particularly detailed overview of relevant research on human skeletal research starting from the end of the 19th century, emphasizing the role of interaction between different academic schools of thought for the development of physical anthropology in East Asia. The literature reviewed in this chapter illustrates a rich tradition of using the human skeleton to reconstruct the human past in East Asia.