Review: Written in Bone

Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland
Sally M. Walker
2009; Carolrhoda Books; 978-0-8225-7135-3 (hardcover)

Summary: When there's no books, no written records of a place or time, how do we learn about the people that lived then? During the earliest history of America, we don't always have the information we need to answer our questions about that time. But thanks to the graves that are left behind, modern scientists and historians can form a picture of the past.

In an immensely readable book, Sally M. Walker explores how remains tell us about colonial lives. Mixing modern scientific techniques with historical knowledge, forensic anthropologists are able to determine many facts from graves and their contents. Colorful pictures and flowing prose explains the process of excavating and studying a grave site, and explains how the details observed and analyzed tells us about life in colonial Virginia and Maryland. Walker, a Sibert winner for Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving the Mysteries of the H.L. Hunley, has crafted a compelling narrative in this nonfiction book. Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland will appeal to both historical fiction readers and to CSI fans.