This course is about what we can learn from examining the human skeleton, and how we can use this knowledge to reconstruct the lives of people who lived in the past. In archaeology and anthropology, human skeletal remains can provide unique insights into the past and the present; insights that cannot be gained otherwise. These insights are explored in five main themes spread out over five weeks of learning. First, it is shown how age-at-death, sex and stature can be estimated by the close examination of (archaeological) skeletal remains. In subsequent modules it is shown how human bones can provide information about the diseases and injuries that people suffered from and what they ate. Also, it is shown how the human skeleton provides information about the kinds of activities that people engaged in and about how they migrated and moved around their landscapes. In this course, you will examine all aspects of the human skeleton that can provide us with information about these different facets of life. Together we will explore the scientific field that is known as human osteoarchaeology. - Human, because it is about us and our ancestors, - Osteo, because it is about our bones, - Archaeology, because we use this information to better understand the behaviors and events experienced by past people. During the course, you will decipher the clues left behind in the skeletons of past peoples with the methods and techniques that are presented. You may also discover some clues hidden in your own skeleton and what they reveal about the life that you are living. Want to know more? You can take a look at the course trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJi22TxzpRw
Course Set-Up
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來自 Universiteit Leiden 的課程
Osteoarchaeology: The Truth in Our Bones
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從本節課中
Introduction to the course
Hello and welcome to this course, Osteoarchaeology, the Truth in Our Bones. In this first, introductory module, you will learn about what this course is about and how it is set up. Watch the first three lectures to learn more about what Osteoarchaeology is, and the topics that you will be exploring each week. Read the course documents to find out more about how you will be graded and the tests you will be taking in each module. You will also find some documents that will help you to get the most out of this MOOC. Good luck!
與講師見面
Andrea Waters-RistAssistant Professor
Faculty of Archaeology
Hello again, so in regards to what you will learn in this course and
how it is set up, let's proceed.
In this course, we will not run the full gamut of topics
that can be studied under the umbrella of human osteoarcheology.
Because to do so would take far too long and
require a fair bit of pre-knowledge on your part.
Rather, in each of the five weeks, called modules, we will use case studies,
case studies drawn from different parts of the world and different time periods
in order to showcase both innovative methods and interesting research.
Our examples will be drawn from the more recent human past going back in time as
much as about 10,000 years ago to as recently as about 100 years ago.
We will explore past hunter gatherer and
agriculturalist populations from all over the world as depicted here.
And as we are in the Netherlands there will be a lot of Dutch examples.
Here is how the course will proceed.
In week 1, we'll introduce you in something called Osteobiography.
You heard this mentioned in regards to your final assignment in the last video.
And quite simply it's the basic biographical information we can
determine about a person, based on their skeleton.
Including how old they were when they died.
Whether they were male or female and how tall they were.
If we can gather this kind of information for many skeletons, say 50,
100 even better several hundred.
We can then say something about the populations demography.
In Week 2,
we enter the field of paleopathology, typically a favorite of the students.
Here we will explore how some injuries and
diseases leave their marks on our bones and teeth.
Specifically you will see case studies about Leprosy,
Vitamin D Deficiency resulting in rickets and Bone Fractures.
In Week 3, we enter the field known as the Paleodiet, a favorite topic of mine.
And we'll explore how its possible to determine
what foods people used to commonly eat.
And also if they experienced food shortages.
Specifically you'll see case studies about a chemical method that is now
commonly used to reconstruct a person's diet called stable isotope analysis.
How dental diseases like cavities can reveal a fair bit about what someone ate,
and how the teeth fact in one tooth in animal called enamel hypoplasia
can grow when people experience starvation.
In Week 4, we will explore research that reconstruct the types of jobs and
activities that people commonly engaged in.
In the first case study, it's how muscles leave marks on bone where they
originate and insert and these muscle markings will change in size and shape
depending upon the regularity and the intensity with which the muscle was used.
The second case study is also about how activity affects the bone,
but this time via pathological lesion called osteoarthritis.
Where cartilage gets worn down in joints,
eventually leading to bone on bone contact.
The third case study is about evidence for activity we can see in your teeth.
Think about how often you use your mouth or your teeth as a third hand.
And how often people in the past might have done so.
And then in Week 5, we enter the field of paleomobility and paleomigration and
we start with the case study that looks at how the amount as well as the type of
terrain that one regularly traverses will lead to differently shaped leg bones.
Next, we come back to stable isotope analysis.
But this time as it can be used to trace the migration of people
especially to see if a person moved between their childhood and adult home.
And finally, our last case study is about ancient DNA.
And how, when we can successfully extract ancient DNA from skeletons,
it can tell us a lot about what population and geographic area that person belongs to.
Information which on a larger scale can be used to understand
how past populations moved and interacted.
As we go through the course, there will be online activities for
you to complete called e-tivities.
These include participating in the online forum, and
engaging in solve the mystery exercises.
At the end of each weekly module, there will be a multiple choice quiz.
And of course,
you'll recall the auto osteobiography assignment that I already mentioned.
Now, let's meet the team.
This course is the work product of many people.
You've met me Dr. Andrea Waters-Rist, I'm from Canada and
did my PhD at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.
Many of the team are behind the scenes or behind the camera.
And on camera beside me, you'll regularly also see the two teaching assistants for
this course, both from the Netherlands.
I'd like you to meet Christine Erkolitz, Anne-Marijn Snayer, Anne-Marijn and
Christine are research masters students in the human osteoarchaeology program at
Leiden University and will be helping me with this course.
>> You will see both of us regularly especially in extra instructional
tutorials and we will also be a major presence on the online forum.
>> On the online forums set up for this course, you will also meet some of Dr.
Waters-Rist's current and former graduate students in the capacity of moderator.
>> The functions of the moderators include facilitating
the introduction of participants in the forum, answering your questions,
encouraging robust and relevant discussion of the topics.
And maintaining order and a respectful discourse.
During this course you'll also meet several osteoarchaeology researchers and
experts whom we'll interview.
In summary and once again, we welcome you to the course.
The Truth in Our Bones.
You will learn all about the ways that osteoarchaeologists can reconstruct
someone’s life from the clues left in their skeleton.
We look forward to taking this journey together.
And the next video, we will teach you how to estimate the age of death of
someone based upon their skeletal remains.
See you there.
