The textbook Osteoarchaeology: A Guide to the Macroscopic Study of Human Skeletal Remains (Elsevier/Academic Press, 2017) by STARC Assistant Professor Efthymia Nikita, received an Honourable Mention at the 2018 American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence.

This important distinction was awarded at the PROSE Awards, during the 2018 Professional and Scholarly Publishing Annual Conference in Washington, DC. Judged by peer publishers, librarians, and medical professionals since 1976, the PROSE Awards recognize the very best in professional and scholarly publishing, and honour authors and publishers for their commitment to pioneering works of research and for contributing to the conception, production, and design of landmark works in their fields. 

The book by Dr. Nikita covers nearly every aspect of human osteological macroscopic analysis, namely the identification of bones and teeth, taphonomy, sex, ancestry assessment, age estimation, the analysis of biodistances, growth patterns and activity markers, and paleopathology.

What makes it stand out is that it is the first textbook in the field to provide detailed instructions so that the reader can apply a broad range of macroscopic osteological methods with varying degree of difficulty without further assistance. The methods presented include techniques, the practical implementation of which has not been published before, such as methods for processing landmark coordinates and construction of periosteal molds for assessing cross-sectional geometric properties. Macros that facilitate data processing and analysis are given as online material, along with pedagogical features such as ample illustrations, case study material, revision exercises, and a glossary with anatomical and technical terms.

For a full list of the 2018 PROSE winners, please visit https://proseawards.com/winners/2018-award-winners/