Human Osteology

Who should attend?

This short course is designed for archaeology students or those working in a field to which human osteology is pertinent.

Consultants, members of police and armed forces and academics have previously undertaken this short course. This is an introductory short course with no prior knowledge assumed.

Course content

This intensive short course provides participants with a detailed introduction to the human skeleton.

In addition to the identification of all components of the skeleton, participants will learn the range of biological and chemical information that is recorded in the human skeleton.

In relation to archaeology and forensic science, the topic provides knowledge regarding the location, identification, recovery and analysis of human remains occurring in field contexts.

Key information regarding biological age, sex, stature, geographic origin, behavioural attributes, and chronometric dating are addressed. Workshops provide the essential hands-on practical component of teaching and learning in human osteology.

The below are topics included in the course (these are subject to change):

• Introduction to the human skeleton
• The vertebrate skeleton: animal vs. human
• Analysis of human remains: age at death determination
• Analysis of human remains: sex and ancestry determination2020 short course
• Analysis of human skeletal remains: metric and non-metric
• Analysis of human skeletal remains: paleopathology
• Forensic anthropology and identification from human remains

Learning outcomes

It is expected that on completion of this short course, participants will have:

• Developed a basic understanding of the structure and function of the human skeleton
• Obtained insight to the methods involved with the location, identification and recovery of human remains occurring in field situations
• Gained an understanding of the methods employed to determine biological age, biological sex, geographic origin, basic pathology, and behavioural attributes from the analysis of human skeletal remains.

Assessment

On the final day of the five-day intensive, all participants will undertake a practical quiz. This practical forms 100 per cent of the assessment.

Credit

Upon successful completion of this short course, all participants who are not enrolled in a Flinders University program, will receive a Certificate of Achievement which states that this short course is equivalent to completion of the Flinders University topic ARCH8408.

By completing this short course you may be eligible to negotiate credit at another tertiary institution. We encourage participants to check with the other institution in regards to their credit arrangements prior to registering for this short course.