Oct. 30, 2009

Ronald Beckett
Jerry Conlogue

Professors Ronald Beckett and Jerry Conlogue, executive co-directors of the Bioanthropology Research Institute, recently published a book a lifetime in the making.

"Paleoimaging: Field Applications for Cultural Remains and Artifacts" is a compilation of Beckett and Conlogue's experiences traveling the globe together for the past 14 years and scanning thousands of mummies and other historic artifacts dating back as far as 7,000 years.

The textbook, released on Sept. 21, by CRC press, explains in accessible terms how to image remains or artifacts, including mummies and priceless pieces of art in the field.

The book, which took more than a year to write, is particularly beneficial to anthropologists, archeologists and radiographers, Conlogue said. However, there are concepts throughout the book that would be of interest to anyone interested in understanding past cultures, said Beckett, a professor emeritus.

"We took a whole lot of time to put our knowledge into words that are tangible," he said. "We reference a ton of cases we have worked on. It's almost entirely our own first-hand knowledge."

Included with the book is a DVD with more than 200 images of mummies, artifacts, pots and paintings that Beckett and Conlogue have encountered over the last 23 years in 16 countries.

"We took all of our data and made it simple enough for other people to understand it," Conlogue said. "It is not nearly as complicated as something you would see in a scientific journal."

"We have a passion and an understanding of cultures around the world," Beckett said. "And I think the people we visit in these remote cultures appreciate that."