ANTH 414
HUMAN OSTEOLOGY
Tues/Thurs 2 - 4:45 pm
Alumni 404
Instructor: Kristina Killgrove
E-mail: killgrove@unc.edu
Office: Alumni 211-A
Hours: Wed 2-3pm
IM Screen Name: KKillgrove
IM Hours: Wed 8-9pm
Course Website: http://www.unc.edu/~killgrov/ANTH414/
Course Description: The discipline of anthropology has shown us that humans are naturally
curious about themselves and the world around them. From prehistoric cave art to modern
biochemistry, people have sought to describe human anatomy and physiology in a variety of
ways. This course specifically covers human osteology, or the study of the human skeleton. The
majority of the course will cover skeletal morphology in both lecture and laboratory settings.
Students will learn: 1) how to identify skeletal elements, both whole and fragmentary; 2) how to
estimate age, sex, ancestry, and stature of an individual; 3) laboratory analysis and imaging
techniques; and 4) how to reconstruct populations, particularly in terms of diet and disease. The
other component of the course is more broadly anthropological in nature. In a series of field trips
and projects, students will also examine scientific, artistic, and literary representations of the
human body, with a view to understanding the changing perception of the body through time.
Texts:
Required – Human Bone Manual or Human Osteology by T.D. White and P.A. Folkens
Human Osteology: A Laboratory and Field Manual by W.M. Bass
Recommended – Dental Morphology by G.C. van Beek
Requirements:
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Quizzes (40%) – There will be nine (9) quizzes throughout the course of the semester.
Quizzes will always be given on Thursday at the beginning of class (2pm sharp). You will
have 20 stations at which you will have to identify bone, side, and/or landmark. Quizzes are
designed to take about 20 minutes, 1 minute for each station. There will be no make-ups for
quizzes, but I will drop your lowest quiz grade. Each quiz will have an extra credit question.
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Midterm and Final (30%) – The midterm and final will also consist primarily of
identification and/or analysis of bones (side, landmarks, age, sex, pathology). The midterm is
worth 10% of your grade. The final, which will also include some short-answer questions,
will be worth 20% of your grade. If the entire class is unanimous, we can consider moving
the final exam to the last day of class.
Y Projects (30%) – Throughout the semester, you will be working on group and individual
projects in class. There are three projects, each worth 10% of your grade. They break down
as follows:
1) Notebook. Purchase a 3-ring notebook for this course. This notebook will hold your
drawings of bones, your responses and reactions to various field trips, and your answers to lab
projects on age, sex, and stature. Your notebook will be graded during lab. See handout.
2) 3D Bone Graphic. In small groups, you will work with me or another archaeologist in
the RLA to digitize one bone or skull of your choice. The end product will be a graphic that
can be rotated from a variety of angles. You will present your graphic to the class. More
information will be given towards the end of the semester.
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3) Skeletal Analysis. Individually, you will work with a skeleton different from the one
you were assigned at the beginning of the semester. In a 5-page (approx.) report, you will
identify the bones present and report on the skeleton’s age, sex, stature, and pathological
conditions. More information will be given after the midterm.
In addition to the above, you are required to register for lab and to attend at least one hour of lab
each week, on either Tuesday or Thursday after lecture. You will find during the semester that
you need more than one hour of lab in order to study or work on your projects. Lab will be open
from at least 3:15 until 4:30 on Tuesday and Thursday. If at least four students wish to attend lab
on Wednesday, this can be arranged on a per-week basis. Attendance is required at lecture, lab,
and field trips. More than two unexcused absences will result in a lower course grade.
Course Outline:
Date
Topic
Reading/Assignments Due
UNIT 1
Introduction to Osteology
8/24
What is Human Osteology?
Course Guidelines
White Ch. 1
8/29
Structure of Bone, Laboratory Rules
Skeletal Terminology
White Chs. 4 & 6
Bass Ch. 1 (pp. 1-8)
UNIT 2
8/31
The Human Skeleton
Cranium, Skeleton Assignments
White Ch. 7, Bass Ch. 2 (pp. 31-61)
9/5
Cranium and Articulated Teeth
Bass p. 273 (diagram of teeth)
9/7
Field Trip to Rare Books Collection
QUIZ 1 – Cranium and Teeth
9/12
Vertebral Column
White Ch. 9, Bass Ch. 3 (pp. 91-105)
9/14
Ethics in Osteology
QUIZ 2 – Vertebral Column
Deloria article, White Ch. 3, NAGPRA,
AAPA statement on race
9/19
Pelvis
White Ch. 14,
Bass Ch. 3 (pp. 106-9, 192-8)
9/21
Field Trip to Ackland
QUIZ 3 – Pelvis
9/26
Shoulder Girdle, Thoracic Cavity
White Chs. 10 & 11,
Bass Ch. 3 (pp.110-144)
9/28
Arms
QUIZ 4 – Thoracic Cavity, Shoulder Girdle
White Ch. 12, Bass Ch. 3 (pp. 144-175)
10/3
Hands
White Ch. 13, Bass Ch. 3 (pp. 175-192)
10/5
Legs
QUIZ 5 – Arms and Hands
White Ch. 15, Bass Ch. 3 (pp. 218-258)
Sat - 10/7
Field Trip to Dr. Moray’s Office
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10/10
Feet
White Ch. 16, Bass Ch. 3 (pp. 258-270)
10/12
Animal Bones
Bass Ch. 5
10/17
Midterm
MIDTERM – Includes Legs and Feet
10/19
NO CLASS – Fall Break
10/24
Adult Dentition
White Ch. 8, Bass Ch. 4,
van Beek Section 2
10/26
Subadult Dentition
QUIZ 6 – Adult Dentition
van Beek Section 1
UNIT 3
10/31
Identifying Individuals
Cranial Landmarks and Measurements
11/2
Adult Sex Estimation
QUIZ 7 – Subadult Dentition
Bass Ch. 1 (pp. 19-21),
White Ch. 19 (pp. 385-397)
11/7
Adult Age Estimation
Bass Ch. 1 (pp. 12-19),
White Ch. 19 (pp. 363-384)
11/9
Laboratory Recording Techniques
3D Bone project
QUIZ 8 – All Bones
White Ch. 18
11/14
Postcranial Measurements and Stature
White Ch. 19 (pp. 398-9),
Bass Ch. 1 (pp. 21-28)
UNIT 4
11/16
Population Thinking
Reconstructing Diet and Disease
11/21
Field Trip to Isotope Lab (tentative)
11/23
QUIZ 9 – All Bones
White Ch. 17; skim White Ch. 5
Schoeninger 1995
NO CLASS – Thanksgiving
UNIT 5
11/28
Presentations and Projects
Presentation of 3D Bone projects
11/30
Work on projects
12/5
Work on projects
12/11
Bass Ch. 2 (pp. 63-92)
FINAL EXAM – 4pm
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Skeletal Identification Project Due
Bibliography
Additional Required Readings: (online and on reserve in 404)
American Association of Physical Anthropologists 1996. “AAPA statement on biological
aspects of race.” American Journal of Physical Anthropology 101:569-70.
Deloria, Vine Jr. 1992. “Indians, archaeologists, and the future.” American Antiquity
57(4):595-8.
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) 1990.
Schoeninger, MJ. 1995. “Stable isotope studies in human evolution.” Evolutionary
Anthropology 4:83-98.
Books on Reserve at the UL: (for projects and further information)
Aufderheide, AC and C Rodríguez-Martín. 1998. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human
Paleopathology. Cambridge University Press.
Baker, BJ, TL Dupras, and MW Tocheri. 2005. The Osteology of Children and Infants. Texas
A&M University Press.
Bass, WM. 1987. Human Osteology: A Laboratory and Field Manual. Missouri
Archaeological Society.
Cox, M and S Mays. 2000. Human Osteology in Archaeology and Forensic Science.
Greenwich Medical Media, Ltd.
Grauer, AL and P Stuart-Macadam. 1998. Sex and Gender in Paleopathological Perspective.
Cambridge University Press.
İşcan, MY and KAR Kennedy. 1989. Reconstruction of Life from the Skeleton. Wiley-Liss.
Katzenberg, MA and SR Saunders. 2000. Biological Anthropology of the Human Skeleton.
Wiley.
Larsen, CS. 1997. Bioarchaeology: Interpreting Behavior from the Human Skeleton.
Cambridge University Press.
Mays, S. 1998. The Archaeology of Human Bones. Routledge.
Parker Pearson, M. 1999. The Archaeology of Death and Burial. Texas A&M University
Press.
Reichs, K, ed. 1986. Forensic Osteology: Advances in the Identification of Human Remains.
Thomas.
Ubelaker, DH. 1989. Human Skeletal Remains: Excavation, Analysis, Interpretation.
Taraxacum.
White, TD and PA Folkens. 2000. Human Osteology, 2nd Edition. Academic Press.
White, TD and PA Folkens. 2005. The Human Bone Manual. Academic Press.
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