Module overview
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- varying approaches to the analysis of human skeletal 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
- the ethical issues surrounding working with human remains
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- write clear and concise reports
- select appropriate means for recording and analysing data
- evaluate and critique arguments and material
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- present information clearly and concisely
- observe and visually identify human bones
- evaluate and critique the methods and results of bioarchaeological analyses and studies
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- identify and sort fragments of human bone
- undertake and report basic osteological analysis of human skeletons
Syllabus
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Completion of assessment task | 52 |
| Lecture | 11 |
| Seminar | 5 |
| Practical classes and workshops | 32 |
| Wider reading or practice | 50 |
| 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
Agarwal, S.C. and Glencross, B.A. (eds.) (2011). Social Bioarchaeology. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Buikstra, J and Ubelaker, D. (1994). Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains. Fayetteville: Arkansas Archaeological Survey.
Roberts, C. (2009). Human Remains in Archaeology: A Handbook. London: Council for British Archaeology.
Buikstra, J. E. and Beck, L.A. (eds.) (2006). Bioarchaeology. London: Academic Press.
White, T.D. & Folkens, P.A. (2005). The Human Bone Manual. London: Academic Press.
Ortner, D. and Putschar, W. (1985). Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains. Washington: Smithsonian University Press.
Katzenberg, M.A. and Saunders, S.R. (eds) (2008). Biological Anthropology of the Human Skeleton. New York: Wiley-Liss.
Brothwell, D. (1987). Digging Up Bones. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Hillson, S. (1997). Dental Anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
White, T.D.; Black, M.T. and Folkens, P.A. (2012). Human Osteology. London: Academic Press.
Roberts, C. and Manchester, K. (2010). The Archaeology of Disease. London: History Press.
Pinhasi, R. and Mays, S. (2008). Advances in Human Palaeopathology. Chichester: John Wiley.
Iscan, M.Y. and Kennedy, K.A.R. (eds.) (1989). Reconstruction of Life from the Skeleton. New York: Alan R. Liss.
Larsen, C.S. (1997). Bioarchaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mays, S. (1993). The Archaeology of Human Bones. London: Routledge.
Bass, W. (1987). Human Osteology. Missouri Archaeological Society.
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