Friday, July 11, 2008
Today I am writing the journal as this
was the last day of the camp!
Assessing ancestry and sex from skulls.
Measuring long bones to assess stature.
Professors Pinto
and McCormick led the students through basic osteology, forensic
anthropology, and case studies. Finally, the students analyzed the
osteological profile of the body they had excavated yesterday, working
out the probable age, sex, ancestry and stature of the remains. They
paired this information with a list of the clothing and evidence they
had excavated, and then searched a book of missing persons posters for a
good match. Each team picked the correct missing person to finish up
the camp.
Measuring long bones to assess stature.
I hope that the
experience of ‘matching’ their remains to a real missing person
made the work that they had completed relevant and valid in the real
world, and helped ground the fun of the camp in the real life work that
forensic anthropologists and archaeologists actually do.
 "
The students learn various techniques for
assessing human bones and creating an osteological profile of a victim.
The students did
very well at the camp and I hope they had a great time. Thank you
Jules Angel
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