摘要：In this second edition, the author has retained the appealing title, Skeleton Keys, as well as the subtitle—An Introduction to Human Skeletal Morphology, Development and Analysis—from the first edition (Schwartz, 1995). It is somewhat revised and updated from the first edition but most of the figures, content, and style have not been significantly modified. Much of the data in the appendices in the first edition now has been integrated within the chapters in the new edition. This textbook, an important source of reference for osteological research, comprises ten chapters, two appendices, a glossary, a reference list, and an index. Most of the tables are restricted to glossaries, tips to siding certain bones, and formulae for estimating stature in specific ethnic groups. The author makes it clear in the preface that “This is not your usual textbook on how to analyze the human skeleton.” and “sees this book as a primer for individuals to develop their own idea as much as a textbook whose content is perceived as the last word” (p. xiii). Also in the preface, Schwartz highlights the contents of the CD, which contains hundreds of black-and-white and color images of photographs used in the book as well as additional ones including those of: 1) individuals that range in age from fetus to adult; 2) females and males; 3) degrees of individual variation; 4) different diseases; and, 5) the effects of ante- versus post-mortem insults to bone. The CD operates on an html format and uses Internet Explorer for systematically browsing through the figures.These are conveniently organized in an outline that corresponds with the topics in the book.
