Module overview
The first portion of the module comprises the learning of the basics of human osteology and palaeopathology. The second portion is more theoretically driven and integrates bioarchaeology with skeletal analysis, including topics such as age, gender, ethnicity and activity patterning. The module will start by detailing the skeletal anatomy of the human body. In this part of the module, you will learn detailed skeletal human bioarchaeology. In the later part of the module, you will start to implement more interpretative aspects, such as assigning age, sex and stature to skeletons. Aspects of health and disease, and the identification of palaleopathology, will be developed and considered. You will also study aspects of funerary archaeology and its integration with skeletal studies and taphonomy to develop archaeologies of death and burial.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- the ethical issues surrounding working with human remains
- the use of human skeletal remains as a resource for studying past variability in diet and subsistence, health and disease, social structure and organisation, and population history and migration
- varying approaches to the analysis of human skeletal remains
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- observe and visually identify human bones
- present information clearly and concisely
- evaluate and critique the methods and results of bioarchaeological analyses and studies
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- evaluate and critique arguments and material
- select appropriate means for recording and analysing data
- write clear and concise reports
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- undertake and report basic osteological analysis of human skeletons
- identify and sort fragments of human bone
Syllabus
The module syllabus will typically include the following components:
- The nature of bone & outline of the human skeleton: this will encompass briefly considering the construction of bone and the organisation of the human skeleton.
- Skulls & axial skeleton: the skeletal anatomy of the head, vertebrae, pelvis, scapulae, clavicles and sternum
- Limbs, long bones, hands and feet: skeletal anatomy of the arms and legs, distinguishing hands from feet
- Teeth, dentitions and dental health: or… why you should remember to brush your teeth
- Estimating age and sex: children, the differences between social, chronological and biological ages, and between sex and gender
- Stature and body size: reconstructing adult height
- Trauma, battlefields and bodies: breaking bones, weaponry and bodily protection
- Palaeopathology, disease and infection, including study of syphilis, TB, and leprosy
- Metrics, non-metrics, biodistance and ethnicity, including critique of whether race exists
- Taphonomy, burial ritual and funerary archaeology: how can we get an identity from bioarchaeology?
- Migration, mobility & chemical analyses (aDNA, isotopes): where do these people come from and what did they eat?
- Ethics of working with human remains: what are the ethical considerations of study, curation and repatriation?
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods include
- Lecture detailing aspects of skeletal identification or methodology
- Short student presentations on key bioarchaeology texts
- Practical work developing bioarchaeological identification and analysis skills
Learning activities include
- Practical work
- Summative bone fragment tests
- Role play
- Peer review of bone report in advance of submission
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Seminar | 5 |
| Lecture | 11 |
| Practical classes and workshops | 32 |
| Wider reading or practice | 50 |
| Completion of assessment task | 52 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Journal Articles
Brickley, M. and McKinley, J.I. (2004). Guidelines to the Standards for Recording Human Remains. IFA Paper, 7.
Textbooks
White, T.D. & Folkens, P.A. (2005). The Human Bone Manual. London: Academic Press.
Roberts, C. (2009). Human Remains in Archaeology: A Handbook. London: Council for British Archaeology.
Buikstra, J and Ubelaker, D. (1994). Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains. Fayetteville: Arkansas Archaeological Survey.
Buikstra, J. E. and Beck, L.A. (eds.) (2006). Bioarchaeology. London: Academic Press.
Pinhasi, R. and Mays, S. (2008). Advances in Human Palaeopathology. Chichester: John Wiley.
Roberts, C. and Manchester, K. (2010). The Archaeology of Disease. London: History Press.
Brothwell, D. (1987). Digging Up Bones. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Agarwal, S.C. and Glencross, B.A. (eds.) (2011). Social Bioarchaeology. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Larsen, C.S. (1997). Bioarchaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
White, T.D.; Black, M.T. and Folkens, P.A. (2012). Human Osteology. London: Academic Press.
Bass, W. (1987). Human Osteology. Missouri Archaeological Society.
Iscan, M.Y. and Kennedy, K.A.R. (eds.) (1989). Reconstruction of Life from the Skeleton. New York: Alan R. Liss.
Mays, S. (1993). The Archaeology of Human Bones. London: Routledge.
Hillson, S. (1997). Dental Anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Katzenberg, M.A. and Saunders, S.R. (eds) (2008). Biological Anthropology of the Human Skeleton. New York: Wiley-Liss.
Ortner, D. and Putschar, W. (1985). Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains. Washington: Smithsonian University Press.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Bone tests | 40% |
| Report | 60% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Report | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal