Human and Animal Osteology

Catalog description

The course integrates practical study of human and animal bones with discussions of age, sex, disease, diet, and burial context. Students will learn to distinguish human and animal bone remains, and identify the different skeletal parts. They will learn how to estimate gender, ancestry, height, certain diseases, etc. from the study of human remains (physical anthropology). The course will also explore the identification of animal remains from archaeological sites (zooarchaeology), a skill required to distinguish human remains from animal remains recovered from burial contexts. This course uses both practical lab sessions and lectures to develop the students’ knowledge of human and non-human skeletons.