Past peoples inhaled, ingested, or were exposed to a range of hazardous and toxic substances. Bioarchaeological studies have identified and examined the effects of mercury, arsenic, lead, and manganese, among others, using varied methods (e.g., isotopic and trace element analysis, spectrometry). Some contacts with hazards and toxins were inadvertent, an outcome of proximity to naturally occurring phenomena. In other instances, cultural practices and beliefs exacerbated uptake; occupational activities, ceremonial rituals, medicinal or healing practices, or social norms around consumption rationalized or justified exposure. Bioarchaeological data have also provided information about the origins and effects of contact with hazardous and toxic substances, foci which provide a springboard for discussion of mobility, migration, and health and disease.

In this research topic, we invite contributions from bioarchaeologists who investigate hazardous substances and toxicity in the past, though we do see interdisciplinary conversations with (archaeo)chemists, (eco)toxicologists, earth scientists, etc. as valuable. What methodologies prove effective for or have the potential to innovate investigations? What are the observable markers of humans’ encounters with hazards and toxins? Which past groups or individuals were at risk to exposure? How did cultures make sense of these risks and their effects? How do encounters with hazardous and toxic substances in ancient and historic contexts depart from (or are consistent with) today? Ultimately, we see contributions as advancing a historic understanding of anthropogenic pollution.

We encourage submissions of Original Research, Reviews, Methods, and Perspectives papers addressing themes including, but not limited to:

- Methodology: Explanations of methods used to detect and identify toxins, their challenges or confounders, and innovations.
- Signatures: Biochemical or physical signatures of toxicity.
- Determinants: Analysis of the social, economic, and/or political conditions that contributed to or exacerbated exposure to toxins.
- Consequences: Inferences drawn about health or socioeconomic outcomes following from the embodiment of hazardous substances and toxins.
- Case studies: Culture-historical case studies that explore emic understandings of embodied toxicity or substances regarded as toxic today.
- Comparatives: Relational assessments of exposure over time and between different cultural or geographical contexts.

Are you interested in contributing a manuscript to this Research Topic?

Pick Your Poison: The Bioarchaeology of Hazardous And Toxic Substances