Forensic anthropologists analyze human skeletal remains from medico-legal contexts and bioarchaeologists analyze human skeletal remains from archaeological sites. Both fields use methods derived from biological anthropology. This course introduces students to the basic methods of these disciplines, including assessing the age, sex, ancestry, and stature of an individual using their bones. Recognition of skeletal anomalies can also reveal past health conditions and the cause and manner of death. This course will also introduce the ongoing disciplinary debate concerning the ethical implications of using skeletal remains to assess ancestry within forensic anthropology. The final project for this course will involve reconstructing the biological profile for an individual of unknown origin.

Undergraduate course taught at Vassar College in Spring 2021.