Tag: bones
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Archaeology – An Overview
For my final four-field overview post, I want to talk a little bit about archaeology. You can find some more specific information about bioarchaeology in my previous posts, but there’s far more to archaeology than just the bones! First and foremost, let’s clarify, archaeology is not the study of dinosaur fossils. That would be paleontology,…
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Who were the Neanderthals?
After several weeks of eager anticipation, yesterday was finally the day. Yesterday I received my results for 23andMe, the DNA analysis programme that gives you the lowdown on your ancestry and any genetic health risk factors you may carry. And while my results were pretty much as I suspected, I found out something pretty cool.…
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Question re: Sticks and Stones
A good friend of mine, Nicole, has asked a great question about the post Sticks and Stones: Basics of Skeletal Trauma. She says: “Love this! Also if this is the superior view would you say that the trauma occurred along any suture lines? Also out of curiosity, which bone of the skull is pictured?” Thanks for…
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Sticks and Stones: Basics of Skeletal Trauma
What you’re looking at above is the superior aspect of a human cranium, i.e. the top of someone’s head. If your first thought was ‘holy hell, what happened to that poor guy?’ well done. You have the makings of a human osteologist. The answer is what forensic anthropologists and bioarchaeologists call sharp force trauma, or when a…
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Forensic Anthropology – An Overview
The research I’m doing for my doctoral thesis falls under Forensic Anthropology, which means I specialise in the analysis of the human skeleton and I apply this in a legal context. The human skeleton can tell us a lot, but more often than not skeletal evidence leaves us with many unanswered questions. Forensic anthropology is a science of…
Anthropology and Me 