Human Osteology

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This lab-intensive course will explore the methods used in biological anthropology for studying individual human remains, as well as those employed to establish biocultural connections at the population level. The three objectives of the class are: 1) develop and expand your skills in the identification of human skeletal remains (bones, landmarks, forensic methods); 2) develop an understanding of how skeletal remains can be used to reconstruct past patterns of adaptation and biocultural evolution; 3) Produce a piece of original research related to one of the skeletal collections curated in the BioArchaeology Lab. During the course of the semester, you will learn the bones, as well as the major landmarks for each. You will be able to side bones, determine age & sex, reconstruct stature, and identify trauma & disease. You will also learn how these features are used for evolutionary, bioarchaeological, and comparative anatomical studies. And, you will be introduced to the potential of the integrative nature of osteological analyses through the ‘6Ds of bioarchaeology’ – Demography, Diet, Disease, Daily activities, Death, bioDistance. Ultimately, you will be able to identify fragmentary skeletal material typical of those found in many archaeological settings, and, using independent lines of evidence, establish a biocultural framework for ancient populations.