Module overview
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- select appropriate means for recording and analysing data
- write clear and concise reports
- evaluate and critique arguments and material
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- evaluate and critique the methods and results of bioarchaeological analyses and studies
- present information clearly and concisely
- observe and visually identify human bones
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
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- 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
- the ethical issues surrounding working with human remains
Syllabus
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Wider reading or practice | 50 |
| Practical classes and workshops | 32 |
| Lecture | 11 |
| Completion of assessment task | 52 |
| Seminar | 5 |
| 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.
Ortner, D. and Putschar, W. (1985). Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains. Washington: Smithsonian University Press.
White, T.D. & Folkens, P.A. (2005). The Human Bone Manual. London: Academic Press.
Mays, S. (1993). The Archaeology of Human Bones. London: Routledge.
White, T.D.; Black, M.T. and Folkens, P.A. (2012). Human Osteology. London: Academic Press.
Buikstra, J. E. and Beck, L.A. (eds.) (2006). Bioarchaeology. London: Academic Press.
Iscan, M.Y. and Kennedy, K.A.R. (eds.) (1989). Reconstruction of Life from the Skeleton. New York: Alan R. Liss.
Hillson, S. (1997). Dental Anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bass, W. (1987). Human Osteology. Missouri Archaeological Society.
Buikstra, J and Ubelaker, D. (1994). Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains. Fayetteville: Arkansas Archaeological Survey.
Pinhasi, R. and Mays, S. (2008). Advances in Human Palaeopathology. Chichester: John Wiley.
Roberts, C. (2009). Human Remains in Archaeology: A Handbook. London: Council for British Archaeology.
Larsen, C.S. (1997). Bioarchaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Katzenberg, M.A. and Saunders, S.R. (eds) (2008). Biological Anthropology of the Human Skeleton. New York: Wiley-Liss.
Roberts, C. and Manchester, K. (2010). The Archaeology of Disease. London: History Press.
Brothwell, D. (1987). Digging Up Bones. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Report | 60% |
| Bone tests | 40% |
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