Human Osteology/Dental Anthropology
The study of human and animal bones and teeth is a major focus of many School of Human Evolution and Social Change faculty members and graduate students. Human osteology is integral to research in bioarchaeology, functional anatomy and morphology, paleoanthropology, paleopathology and forensic anthropology. At ASU, courses in human osteology are offered at the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as during the summer field school program in Illinois. ASU holds significant educational and research collections of human skeletal remains and dental casts. These include the largest extant collection of dental casts, human skeletal remains from North America, India and Africa and the Ragsdale Pathology Collection. Large collections are also available at the Illinois field station.
Brenda Baker’s research focuses on human skeletal remains in North America, Egypt, Sudan and Cyprus. Her book, The Osteology of Infants and Children, helps ensure that children are not overlooked in analyses of health and demography in past populations. Jane Buikstra conducts osteological research in North America, Mesoamerica and the Andes. Her topics of interest range from paleopathology and paleodiet to funerary archaeology. Kelly Knudson’s work with archaeological human remains centers on reconstructing residential mobility and paleodiet using biogeochemistry. Rachel Scott’s research employs a variety of osteological data to investigate aspects of social identity in medieval Ireland, such as the inference of gender roles from osteoarthritis patterning.
School faculty and staff with active interests in human osteology, dental anthropology and skeletal biology include:
