ANTH3018

This course will introduce students to the field of bioarchaeology, the scientific study of human remains in their archaeological context to understand human behavior in the past. Students will learn about the troubled history and ethics of studying the dead as well as current best practices in the field. They will learn about the many ways in which diverse human societies have disposed of their dead and how the physical traces of these mortuary rites inform our knowledge of past societies’ social structures and cosmologies. Finally, students will center the materiality of the dead body itself to understand how bioarchaeologists can reconstruct past peoples’ lives and behavior through the scientific study of their physical remains. Over the course of the semester, students will develop and practice inductive reasoning, evaluating how bioarchaeologists move from observation of specific data to broader interpretations of human behavior.

A-F - A-F Grade Basis

03295

No

Every Spring