Skeleton matter(s): Reframing current approaches in bioarchaeology towards a more inclusive future

Over the last two decades, bioarchaeologists have developed more nuanced theoretical approaches to the study of past bodies. Nevertheless, much of our work continues to be rooted in a dichotomous biocultural paradigm that often does not adequately account for the complexity of the bioarchaeological evidence. Rooted in dualisms (e.g. biology/culture, body/society), our work can also unconsciously perpetuate practices that continue to enact exclusions, biases and harms. This discussion highlights the utility of Posthumanism and New Materialism for reframing theory and practice in bioarchaeology and palaeopathology. The central tenets of these theoretical perspectives include a shift away from dichotomised constructs, the decentring of humans, and an emphasis on matter (e.g. the body) as relational and 'in process'. Here, I will focus on the highly influential work of physicist and feminist scholar Karen Barad and apply their concepts of 'intra-action' and 'agential realism' to the bioarchaeological evidence. To illustrate and translate the benefits of these theoretical approaches, wide ranging examples and applications have been provided, including: One Paleopathology, the developmental origins of health and disease, power and structural inequality, and decolonising bioarchaeology. The reconfiguration of the body as physiologically and chronologically unbounded, and the skeleton as matter that is co-constituted with other relational entities (e.g. plants, care, animals, kinship, climate, geology) can help us reframe our approaches and yield new insights and questions. An approach that draws upon some of the conceptual resources of New Materialism may help us address some of the current biases and deficiencies in our discipline and shift us towards more authentically inclusive practices.