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Introduction
This handbook contains the basic information about the content and administration of the course. Additional subject-specific
reading lists and individual session handouts will be given out at appropriate points in the course. If you have queries about
the objectives, structure, content, assessment or organisation of the course, please consult the Course Co-ordinator.
Further important information, relating to all courses at the Institute of Archaeology, is to be found at
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/handbook/common/ and in the general MA/MSc handbook. It is your responsibility to read
and act on it. It includes information about originality, submission and grading of coursework, disabilities, communication,
attendance, and feedback.
Aims
This module is intended to give students a detailed introduction to the methodology used in the study of human remains in
archaeology, and the issues raised. It is assumed that students are taking the other three specialist half-unit modules in
human remains – MG143 Morphology and palaeopathology of the human skeleton, MG144 Variation and evolution of the
human skull and MG145 Dental anthropology. The course introduces standards for the recording of human remains,
procedures for excavating them, and provides an opportunity to apply these methods to a small group of previously excavated
skeletons. It also introduces some basic epidemiological concepts to enable student to understand the principles that underlie
basic epidemiological investigations.
Objectives
No masters level course can provide a full professional training that would allow a student to operate independently on
graduation. It is intended, however, that this course will provide students with the skills required to produce a basic report on a
small collection of human remains, or plan a limited research project, under the supervision of a more experienced researcher.
With this in mind, when they have successfully completed the course, students should:
• be able to make a standard record of the elements present, metrical and nonmetrical variation, and pathology
• have a sound understanding of the methods used to estimate age and sex in the individual, and an appreciation of the
limitations
• be able to discuss the way in which studies of human remains fit within a broader context of archaeological research
objectives
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• understand the methods used to excavate, recover, clean and conserve human remains
• be able to write a basic report on a small collection of human remains.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the course students should be able to demonstrate general skills of observation and inference,
critical reflection and application of acquired knowledge.
Teaching methods
The course is taught by a mixture of lectures, seminars, practicals and directed practical work in your own time. You will also
be asked to sign-up on a list of times when room 308 is available for your own work on the collections. The room is heavily
used for teaching, but we have made sure that adequate time is available for you to book during the day and evening.
Workload
There will be 10 hours of seminars/lectures and 20 hours of practical sessions for this course. In addition, it is anticipated that
you will require approximately 75 hours of private reading, 15 hours producing written coursework and 45 hours on
independent practical work. This adds up to a total workload of some 165 hours for the course.
Method of assessment
The course is assessed by coursework only: one Report of approximately 5000 words. The report must be handed in no later
than the evening of the first Friday of the third term (6 May 2016). Remember the drastic penalties for late submission.
Libraries and other resources
In addition to the Library of the Institute of Archaeology, other libraries in UCL with holdings of particular relevance to this
degree are the Science Library and Cruciform Library. Libraries outside UCL which have holdings that may also be relevant to
this degree include Kings College London and Senate House. See also the online journal and database resources provided in
the UCL library website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Library/.
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Teaching schedule
Formal classes take place in room 308 on Thursdays of Term 2. This contains the teaching collections of bones and teeth,
and the pathology collection. The time will be used flexibly for seminars and practicals, depending on the topic for the week.
Course timetable
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Introduction to class recording scheme
Examination of human remains 1.
Examination of human remains 3.
Taking x-rays (Sandra Bond)
Examination of human remains 5.
Reading week
Palaeoepidemiology
Legal and Ethical issues relating to human remains*
Cremations and how to deal with them*
The concept of race in anthropology*
Concepts of health and disease*
Ageing and sexing revision
Examination of human remains 2.
Examination of human remains 4.
Taking x-rays (Sandra Bond)
Examination of human remains 6.
Examination of human remains 7.
Examination of human remains 8.
Palaeoepidemiology practical
Report writing
Revision and discussion of report writing
* Reading list provided and students will be expected to lead the discussion
Student appraisal forms distributed, completed and collected in Week 10
Review of course appraisal at start of class in Week 11
Core texts
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Bass, W.M., (1979). Human osteology, a laboratory and field manual of the human skeleton.
Columbia : Missouri
Archaeological Society. Institute of Archaeology Library BB 2 BAS
Brothwell, D.R., (1981). Digging up bones.
London & Oxford : British Museum & Oxford University Press. Institute of
Archaeology Library BB2 BRO
Buikstra, J.E. and Ubelaker, D.H., Ed. (1994). Standards for data collection from human skeletal remains. Arkansas
Archeological Survey Research Series No 44. Fayetteville : Arkansas Archeological Survey. pages 40-44.
Ortner, D.J. (2003). Identification of pathological conditions in human skeletal remains. 2nd Edition. Amsterdam, London:
Academic Press. Institute of Archaeology Library JF ORT.
Waldron, T. (2007). Palaeoepidemiology. The measure of disease in the human past. Walnut Creek, Left Coast Press.
Waldron, T. (2009). Palaeopathology, Cambridge, CUP.
Lecture summary and reading list for main topics covered
Introduction to class recording system
The requirements for recording the skeleton will be outlined and the various recording sheets explained and illustrated.
Buikstra, J,E, and Ubelaker, D.H. Ed. (1994). Standards for data collection from human skeletal remains. Arkansas
Archeological Survey Research Series No 44. Fayetteville : Arkansas Archeological Survey.
Skeletal Osteology Database manual
Hillson, S.W. (2001). Recording dental caries in archaeological human remains. International Journal of
Osteoarchaeology,11, pp 249-289.
Hillson, S.W. (2000). Dental pathology. In (M.A. Katzenberg & S.R. Saunders, Ed.) Biological anthropology of the human
skeleton. New York : Wiley-Liss, pp. 249-287.
Roberts, C & McKinley, J. (1993). Excavation and post-excavation treatment of cremated and inhumed human remains.
Institute of Field Archaeology Technical Paper 13, Oxford.
Rogers J. & Waldron T. 1995 A field guide to joint disease in archaeology, Chichester: Wiley
Turner, C.G., Nichol, C.R. and Scott, G.R.. Scoring procedures for key morphological traits of the permanent dentition: the
Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System. In: Advances in Dental Anthropology, edited by M. A. Kelley and C. S.
Larsen, New York: Wiley-Liss, 1991, p. 13-31.
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Review of ageing and sexing methods
This will provide an account of the principal means used to age and sex the remains of both juveniles and adults.
Bass, W.M., (1979). Human osteology, a laboratory and field manual of the human skeleton.
Columbia : Missouri
Archaeological Society. Institute of Archaeology Library BB 2 BAS
Brothwell, D.R., (1981). Digging up bones.
London & Oxford : British Museum & Oxford University Press. Institute of
Archaeology Library BB2 BRO
Taking x-rays
A short introduction to the principals of radiography will be given and the students will be shown how to operate the x-ray
equipment in the basement of the Institute and how to develop x-ray film.
Palaeoepidemiology
The basic principles of reporting the frequency of disease will be discussed, including so-called denominator free methods. An
account will also be given of analytic epidemiology. There will be a practical session during which students will be given a
series of epidemiological problems to solve.
Waldron, T. (2007). Palaeoepidemiology. The measure of disease in the human past. Walnut Creek, Left Coast Press.
How to deal with cremations
W Bass and RL Jantz, Cremation weights in east Tennessee, Journal of Forensic Science, 2004, 49, 901 – 904.
C Roberts and J McKinley, Excavation and post-excavation treatment of cremated and inhumed human remains, Oxford,
Institute of Field Archaeology Technical Paper 13, 1993.
JI McKinley, Bone fragment size and weight of bone from modern British cremations and the implications for the interpretation
of archaeological cremations, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 1993, 3, 282 – 287.
JI McKinley, The Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Spong Hill, North Elmham. Part VIII: The cremations. East Anglian Archaeology
Report No 69, Dereham, Field Archaeology Division, Norfolk Museums Service, 1994.
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N von Wurmb-Schwark, A Ringleb, M Gebuhr and E Simeoni, Genetic analysis of modern and historical burned human
remains, Anthropologischer Anzeiger, 2005, 63, 1 – 12.
MW Warren, AB Falsetti, WF Hamilton and LJ Levine, Evidence of arteriosclerosis in cremated remains, American Journal of
Forensic Medicine and Pathology, 1999, 20, 277 – 280.
C Wells, A study of cremation, Antiquity, 1960, 34, 29 – 37.
Legal and ethical issues relating to human remains
Guidance for best practice for treatment of human remains from Christian burial grounds in England, English Heritage and
Church of England, 2005.
Guidance for the care of human remains in museums, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2003.
Learning from Bristol: the report of the public inquiry into children's heart surgery at the Bristol Royal Infirmary 1984 -1995
Command Paper: CM 5207, London, TSO, 2001.
The Royal Liverpool Children’s Inquiry, Report, London, TSO, 2001.
Human Tissue Act 2004, London, TSO.
The human remains crisis, World Archaeology, November/December 2010, 34 – 35.
Statement on burial law and archaeology, Coroners Unit, Ministry of Justice, 2008 (www.justice.gov.uk)
The concept of race in anthropology
GJ Armegalagos and AH Goodman, Race, racism and anthropology, In: Building a new biocultural synthesis: politicaleconomic perspectives on human biology (ed AH Goodman and TL Leatherman), Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press,
1998, pp 359 – 378.
GJ Armegalgos and DP Van Gerven, A century of skeletal biology and paleopathology: contrasts, contradictions, and conflicts,
American Anthropologist, 2003, 105, 53 – 64.
M Cartmill, The status of the race concept in physical anthropology, American Anthropologist, 1998, 100, 651 – 660.
M Cartmill and K Brown, Survey the race concept: a reply to Lieberman, Kirk and Littlefield, American Anthropologist, 2003,
105, 114 – 115.
E Giles, Sex determination by discriminant function analysis of the mandible, American Journal of Physical Anthropology,
1964, 22, 129 – 136.
A Hrdlicka, The old Americans, Baltimore, Williams and Wilkins, 1925.
L Lieberman, RC Kirk and A Littlefield, Perishing paradigm: race, American Anthropologist, 2003, 105, 110 – 113.
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LE St Hoyme, The earliest use of indices for sexing pelves, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 1957, 15, 537 –
546.LE St Hoyme and MY Iscan, Determination of sex and race: accuracy and assumptions, In: Reconstruction of life from the
skeleton (ed MY Iscan and KAR Kennedy), New York, Alan Liss, 1989, pp 53 – 93.
S Ousley and RL Jantz, The forensic data-bank: documenting skeletal trends in the United States, In: Forensic osteology (ed
K Reichs), Springfield, CC Thomas, 1997, pp 297 – 315.
Concepts of health and disease
C. Boorse, Health as a theoretical concept, Philosophy of Science, 1977, 44, 542 – 573.
EJM Campbell, JG Scaddings and RS Roberts, The concept of disease, British Medical Journal, 1979, 2, 757 – 762.
R Gillon, On sickness and on health, British Medical Journal, 1986, 292, 318 – 320.
RM Hare, Health, Journal of Medical Ethics, 1986, 12, 174 – 181.
I Kennedy, The unmasking of medicine, London, Paladin, 1983, pp 1 – 24.
G Khushf, An agenda for future debates on concepts of health and disease, Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 2007, 10,
19 – 27.
E Kingma, What is it to be healthy? Analysis, 2007, 67, 128 – 133.
J Novacs, The concept of health and disease, Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 1998, 1, 31 – 39.
L Nordenfelt, The concepts of health and disease revisited, Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 2007, 10, 5 – 10.
JG Scadding, Health and disease: what can medicine do for philosophy? Journal of Medical Ethics, 1988, 14, 118 – 124.
T Scramme, A qualified defence of a naturalist theory of health, Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 2007, 10, 11 – 17.
WE Stempseym, A pathological view of disease, Theoretical Medicine, 2000, 21, 321 – 330.
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Assessments
The course is assessed by a the presentation of a bone report based on the examination of small assemblage of eight
skeletons of which at least two (and no more than four) should be juveniles. The report should be no longer than about 5,000
words and may include table and illustrations (including x-rays) which will not count towards the word length. The report must
include suitable references, especially to indicate the methods used for ageing and sexing, and diagnosing any pathology
present. References will not count towards the word length. The original bone sheets for all the skeletons mentioned in the
report should be included in the report as an appendix.
Presentation. The report must be word-processed (unless otherwise specified) and should be printed on one side of the
paper, using 1.5-line spacing. Adequate margins should be left for written comments by the examiner. Tables and illustrations
should be clearly referred to at the appropriate point in the text, and if derived from another source, this must be clearly
acknowledged. Students should adhere to the word limit which is intended to help ensure equality of workloads between
courses as well as to encourage the useful transferable skills of clearly structured argumentation and succinct writing.
Deadlines for coursework. The planned deadline for submitting the report is at the end of Week 1 in Term 3.
Submission of coursework. You must fill out a ‘Blue form’ cover sheet which you can obtain from the Institute of
Archaeology Library or from the rack outside Room 411A. The name of the Course-coordinator should be included on this
cover sheet. Try to staple the report but if it is too bulky, please secure it in a binder or wallet of some sort. It is very important
that the sheets of the report are not put loose in a binder or wallet as this is an almost certain way to make sure that some are
lost. You must keep a copy of your report for yourself. The report should then be handed it by 5 pm on the first Friday of
Term 3 at the Institute of Archaeology Reception Desk, in the foyer near the main entrance door. Late submission will be
penalised unless permission has been granted and an Extension Request Form (ERF) completed. Please see the Coursework
Guidelines documented at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/handbook/common (or you MA/MSc handbook) for further details
of the required procedure.
Submission of coursework to ‘Turnitin’. In addition to In addition to submitting your coursework as described above, it is
now a requirement that you submit it electronically to the Turnitin system. You will be provided with the necessary code for
submitting your work for this course.
Students who fail to submit their coursework to Turnitin will not receive the mark for the work in question until they have done
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so (although they will receive written feedback in the usual way). The maximum mark for work that has not been submitted to
Turnitin prior to the meeting of the Board of Examiners will be a bare pass.
In advance of submitting your coursework for marking you may, if you wish, run your work through the system in order to
obtain a report on the originality of the wording and then make any necessary adjustments prior to final submission. Turnitin
advisors will be available to help you at specified times if you need help generating or interpreting the reports.
It is important to recognise that the final decision about whether work contains plagiarism rests with academic staff.
Consequently, the presence or absence of matches in a Turnitin report does not, by itself, provide a guarantee that the work in
question either contains or is free from plagiarism.
Detailed instructions on the use of the system will be supplied separately.