Starred Review This unusual volume, suggested to Walker by a scientist at the Smithsonian Institution, dips into American history to introduce the work of forensic anthropologists. Focusing on colonial-era sites in the Chesapeake Bay region, the large-format book provides detailed discussions and intriguing close-up views of the grave excavations at Jamestown, Virginia, as well as in three Maryland locations: Providence, St. Mary's City, and Harleigh Knoll. With precision of her own,Walker describes the meticulous work of the archaeologists and other scientists who study skeletal remains, using physical clues as indicators of a skeleton's sex, age, birthplace, station in society, and length of time in the colonies. They combine trained observation, background knowledge, and scientific expertise with detective skills to illuminate facets of our history; the final chapter discusses how forensic anthropology has contributed to historians' understanding of colonial times. Nearly every page carries at least one illustration, usually a color photo but sometimes a helpful diagram, a map, or a period document or print. Back matter includes source notes, a source bibliography, a time line, and lists of recommended books and Internet sites. The reading level is relatively high and the quantity of detailed information is not for everyone, but those intrigued by forensics and history will find this absolutely fascinating.

Gr 6-9 Walker takes readers on an archaeological investigation of human and material remains from 17th- and 18th-century Jamestown and colonial Maryland, while addressing relevant topics in forensic anthropology, history, and archaeology. The excavations encompass burial sites of colonists from various backgrounds, including a teenage indentured servant hastily buried in a trash pit, a grouping of prominent colonists laid to rest in lead coffins, and a woman of African heritage who likely toiled as a slave. Answers concerning the identity and fate of the uncovered remains are realized only after various specialists combine their findings to re-create relevant historical circumstances. In one instance, anthropologists provide anatomical details of a recovered skull to artists, who then use the data to produce the first sculpture of an American colonist of African ancestry. The text succinctly explains complex forensic concepts, such as determining the gender and age of a skeleton, or whether a skull represents a person originating from Europe or Africa. Captioned, full-color photographs of skeletal, dental, and artifactual remains shed light on colonial life. Historical documents, illustrated maps, and anatomical drawings complement images of various specialists at work in the field. Photographs of reenactors performing period tasks, such as grinding corn, provide insight into the daily life of the recovered individuals. Though other recent volumes discuss forensic anthropology, such as James M. Deem's Bodies from the Ice (Houghton, 2008), Written in Bone casts a magnifying glass on the hardships and realities of colonial life so often romanticized in American lore. Jeff Meyer, Slater Public Library, IA

With precise detail and meticulous description, Walker follows a forensic anthropologist and his team of scientists, historians, and archaeologists as they uncover human remains and other artifacts. Their excavations take them through a cross-section of people, from wealthy colonial leaders to indentured servants and African slaves. The book design is unified in its thoughtful use of layout, color, illustrations, and fonts. Timeline. Bib., ind.

Walker ( Secrets of a Civil War Submarine , 2006 Sibert Award) places dedicated young CSI fans right at the elbows of forensic archeologists studying colonial-era burials in the Chesapeake Bay area. Focusing on nine graves, she explains in precise detail how scientists can draw sometimes-surprising conclusions about what these early settlers ate, where they came from and when, their age and sex, how they lived and died—all from subtle clues in the bones, the teeth, the surrounding dirt and, rarely, the sketchy historical evidence that survives. Her examples were all European except for one of African descent and range from a prominent relative of Maryland's founder ceremoniously interred to a teenager who seems to have been hastily buried in a cellar after being beaten to death. Readers will be enticed by both the scientific detective work and by the tantalizing mysteries that remain. Based on interviews and published sources and profusely illustrated with photos of skulls and skeletons, this makes a riveting companion to Karen Lange's 1607: A New Look at Jamestown (2007). (maps, timeline, resource lists) (Nonfiction. 12-15)

What was the lifestyle of colonial settlers during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries? Walker and many other archaeologists report their findings of the past through skeletal remains. The book begins with the discovery of a boyÆs grave in the Chesapeake Bay region, which includes the modern states of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. The author takes the reader systematically through how the graves were discovered and the process of recovering the remains. Although many of the bones were badly decomposed, scientists were able to pinpoint when the boy died, how he died, his age, and more incredibly his name. Many more bodies were discovered in the area, including that of Philip Calvert, who was the half-brother of the founder of the Maryland colony. The subject matter in this book has a lot of scientific processes that are very well explained. The author does a good job of being neither too technical nor so juvenile that the reader will lose interest. There are beautiful photographs of the different processes in excavating the remains, as well as useful maps and time lines. The subject matter is truly fascinating. Teen readers who enjoy history will be enthralled with the detail that is given to each body that is found.ùRobyn Guedel.