ANTH 480CBioarchaeology

Catalog

Bioarchaeology is the study of the human biological component of the archaeological record; namely, human skeletal remains. In this course we will explore the discipline's formal beginnings involving simplistic description of skeletons and the diseases that affected them, and move forward in time to how contemporary bioarchaeology probes more sophisticated questions such as how social status or migration affect a person's "health" or well-being, and how exploration of such questions are relevant for modern society. We will read literature about skeletal analysis and interpretation from several continents and prehistorical as well as historical time periods to enable a comprehensive understanding of how skeletal analysis can provide unique answers that are otherwise unknowable, such as how children were treated in a particular society in the past, how anatomically-impaired individuals fared, or how poverty biologically affects people; and what such knowledge means for our understanding of past societies as well as what meaning it can hold for us today. Biological anthro course. 4 credits. Prerequisite: Anthro 168 or equivalent.