Course Description
Bioarchaeology is the study of human remains in archaeological contexts. The skeleton is a dynamic structure that responds to stressors in the natural and built environments, offering insights on health, human-environment interactions, and social processes in the past. This course covers basics in bioarchaeology and paleopathology from a biocultural perspective.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will explore bioarchaeological topics and
methods in greater depth through writing. Students taking the
course for graduate study will have a choice of the following,
depending on their interests and progress in the graduate
program: 1) complete a comprehensive literature review on a
method (or suite of methods) and/or bioarchaeological research
and biocultural context of human health and diversity in a
region, 2) conduct novel research pertinent to their thesis
research and produce a publishable-quality paper, or 3) prepare
a grant proposal for bioarchaeological research in the format
of a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation
Improvement Grant proposal.
Athena Title
Bioarchaeology
Prerequisite
ANTH 1102 or ANTH 2120H
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
1. Identify bones of the human skeleton. 2. Identify skeletal stress markers on human skeletal remains. 3. Explain how the human skeleton is a dynamic (plastic) structure. 4. Describe skeletal evidence for the effects of major demographic phenomena (e.g., agriculture; colonization; urbanization) on human health in the past. 5. Compare and contrast the historical, current and emerging intellectual contexts of the field of bioarchaeology.
Topical Outline
1. Brief history of bioarchaeology 2. Ethics in bioarchaeology 3. Bioarchaeological theory: What are we really studying? 4. Bone biology 5. Osteology 6. Paleodemography 7. Growth and developmental stress 8. Oral health and dental anthropology 9. Infectious diseases 10. Skeletal trauma 11. Activity patterns and occupational stress 12. Stable isotopes and trace elements 13. Craniofacial and dental adaptation 14. Variation and biodistance 15. Biomolecular anthropology
Syllabus