Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology

Syllabus

• Week 1

  Introduction to Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology

  • Introduction

    Isn't archaeology about the past and not the present? Good question! Here we define and discuss the relevance and application of archaeology and anthropology to forensic science.

  • What is Forensic Archaeology and Forensic Anthropology

    Here we provide an introduction to the principal differences between these two disciplines.

  • Summary, Quiz and Discussion

    Here we provide a brief summary of the key learning and provide a short quiz to test your new knowledge! We will discuss the following week's content involving body location and excavation.

• Week 2

  Bodily Decomposition, Locating Graves and Excavation

  • What Happens to Human Bodies in the Ground

    In Week 1 we briefly described what happens to a body after death. Here we will expand on this to look at the wide variety of factors affecting the body and its state of preservation once it is buried in the ground.

  • Body Location

    Locating the body or grave is a critical step in forensic analysis. We'll discuss a number of strategies that you can use to help locate and identify a grave site.

  • Excavation

    Once the likely grave site has been identified, the surrounding vegetation should be investigated for possible associated items (e.g personal effects, bullets, weapons) and then cleared to expose the edges of the grave cut.

  • 3D Scanning and Documentation

    The latest research is exploring how methods of 3D scanning can support the work of forensic archaeologists and anthropologists.

  • Summary and quiz

    Summary and quiz

• Week 3

  In the Lab: Creating an Osteological Profile

  • The Human Bone Lab

    Now that we've excavated the skeleton we need to take it to the lab and construct an osteoprofile.

  • Determining the Sex of Adult Skeletons

    Determining sex from human skeletal remains is a crucial component of the osteoprofile. Here we discuss several methods to assess sex from adult skeletons.

  • Estimating Age-at-Death of Infants and Juveniles

    Methods for estimating the age-at-death of children are different from those used for adults. Here several methods for assessing age-at-death in non-adult skeletal remains are discussed.

  • Estimating Age-at-Death and Stature in Adults

    Age-at-death and stature are two aspects of identity that can be generated from adult skeletal remains. Work your way with through this activity to find out how.

  • Quiz and Summary

    Be sure you've learned everything you need to about sex, age-at-death and stature estimation before moving on. Review this summary and take a short quiz to test your knowledge.

• Week 4

  Disease and Trauma: Identification of Pathological Lesions

  • Introduction to Trauma and Pathology

    Evidence of pathology and/or trauma on the skeleton are important to record, both in terms of identifying the deceased and providing possible evidence of the circumstances or cause of death.

  • Recording Pathology

    Recording pathology from the skeleton requires an excellent knowledge of normal bone anatomy and variation. The type of pathology must be considered, where new bone is forming or bone is being destroyed.

  • Trauma

    Analysing a skeleton for signs of trauma is an important component of forensic practice.

  • Forensic Odontology

    The teeth survive well in the ground, even in conditions which destroy the rest of the skeleton. Teeth can be a quick and useful way of establishing identity.

  • Quiz and Summary

    Quiz and Summary

• Week 5

  Biomolecular Techniques of Identification

  • DNA

    DNA is an increasingly used and important part of forensic investigation. Read here to learn about the basic principles behind DNA analysis and how this type of investigation can be applied in forensic anthropology.

  • Stable Isotopes

    Learn about stable isotopes and the different ways in which scientists analyse them to find out about people in the past and the present.

  • Sex determination from the teeth

    Here we will discuss a new technique which analyses the peptides in dental enamel to determine sex. This method can be used on even degraded and fragmentary remains.

  • Quiz and Summary

    Test your new knowledge with a quiz and then we provide a brief summary of the key points of the week.

• Week 6

  Challenging Contexts

  • Burned Bodies

    What happens to the human body when it is burned and how does this affect anthropological analysis.

  • Commingled Contexts

    This activity explains what commingled contexts are and the challenges they pose for forensic anthropologists and archaeologists.

  • Humanitarian Forensic Action

    When people die during war, disaster or migration, their bodies must be handled respectfully and with dignity. This humanitarian work includes forensic expertise - we will cover this here.

  • The Refugee 'Crisis'

    One of the biggest challenges facing governments today is the large number of people fleeing from dangerous regions and crossing into new countries. Here we will look at the contribution of forensic archaeology and anthropology.

  • Summary and Next Steps

    Here we provide a brief summary of the key learning and provide a short quiz to test your new knowledge! We will also think about what you can do next.

  • End of Course Test

    Test you knowledge from the last 6 weeks.

Who will you learn with?