Undergraduate students are able to take modules in various aspects of Biological Anthropology throughout their degree course. In addition, many students volunteer in the BARC, assisting Jo Buckberry with the curation of the BARC collection.
Teaching in the Keith Manchester Lab.
At present there are several modules available to undergraduate students that cover the study of human skeletal remains and associated areas. Students on undergraduate degrees in Archaeological Sciences can take:
Chemical and Forensic Sciences students can take the following modules:
The course provides an up-to-date introduction to Human Evolution as well as developing a critical appreciation of how we know what we think we know, and how understanding changes with new techniques and discoveries. The module is compulsory for all undergraduates enrolled on undergraduate degrees in Archaeology and Archaeological Sciences.
This module provides the student with an understanding of the analysis of human skeletal remains from archaeological sites through an appreciation of the theoretical and practical issues involved. It covers a wide range of topics, including age estimation, sex assessment, analysis of cremations, metrical analysis and palaeopathology, and includes weekly laboratory sessions.
This module introduces the interdisciplinary study of forensic archaeology and its application, including forensic taphonomy (the decay of death scene materials); crime scene management; the application of geophysics to forensic search; the location and recovery of human remains; establishing identity; case studies; and establishing time interval since death.
This module provides students with a basic level of knowledge and practical skills used in the identification of victims of crime, mass disasters, and other types of casualties, including age estimation, sex and ancestry assessment, and evidence of trauma and pathology.
An introduction to a broad range of topics and applications in the chemical analysis of human remains with reference to taphonomic aspects. Specific topics include: taphonomy of inhumation burials, chemistry, structure and diagenesis of bone, trace element analysis, stable isotope analysis and DNA analysis.
During term time, undergraduate students can gain experience of handling human skeletal remains by joining a BARC volunteer session. At present, we are busy marking skeletons from Hereford Cathedral, to ensure that skeletal elements do not become disassociated from the remainder of the skeleton, hence the sessions are often referred to by students as "bone marking sessions".
Students are asked to commit one half day a week (times of sessions will change depending of staff and student availability). Interested students should email Jo Buckberry stating their degree programme, year of study, and when they might be available to volunteer.
Many BARC volunteers have taken placements in the BARC, and have found the experience gained while working as a volunteer useful for their placement, and also in preparing them for more advanced study of human remains.
388 skeletons marked, 795 to go...
Last Updated:23 June 2008