Read Bethany’s blogpost about the return of the Archaeology department’s osteology field school earlier this summer.
By Bethany Wallace
This summer the osteology field school run by Dr. Jenefer Metcalfe and Alexandra Warwick returned with great success. The course equipped eleven budding archaeology students with the osteology experience necessary for dissertations, commercial archaeology, master’s applications and more.
Situated in the Stopford building, just across the road from the archaeology labs, the Biomedical Egyptology department is home to a collection of skeletal and mummified remains. Much of the collection is from Egypt and Sudan and features many interesting examples of pathology and trauma, such as tuberculosis and osteoarthritis.
I was introduced to osteoarchaeology in the first year of my Ancient History and Archaeology undergrad. I was fascinated by what archaeologists can learn from studying skeletons; their age, their diet, where they came from, and even their lifestyles. However, what I found most interesting was the study of ancient diseases. My own genetic skeletal dysplasia sparked my curiosity about what osteoarchaeology can reveal about past social dynamics concerning illness and disability.
The field school was a crash course into the world of osteology. We started by covering all the basics of skeletal anatomy, including the skull, teeth, long bones and vertebrae. However, soon we were able to complete our own full skeletal inventory. This put all our osteology skills to the test, from ageing and sexing, to identifying disease and trauma. My favourite part of the course was engaging in thought-provoking discussions on the ethics of studying skeletons and displaying mummies in museum exhibits. It was also a unique opportunity to learn more about identifying pathology and trauma in skeletal remains and handle real examples of illness, infection and injury.
Though the training at times was challenging it was incredibly rewarding when it clicked. For example, I initially struggled when identifying left and right bones, but by the end of the week my group were even siding small fragments of bone. Overall, I really enjoyed every aspect of the field school; from challenging myself to develop new skills, to meeting other passionate archaeology students.
The field school has opened my eyes to many possibilities available to me after I finish my degree. The course has prepared me with many skills, not just relevant to osteoarchaeology; teamwork, problem solving, handling experience and more. I am looking forward to returning to the department in September to develop my osteology skills and volunteer in the archives.
