Museum News: Osteoarchaeological Project – Human Skeletal Workshop

Interested in learning more about human remains: the bones of the body, identifying sex, age, and illnesses on individuals from past populations? As part of the 26th Festival of Archaeology, North Hertfordshire Museum is hosting a one-day hands-on human remains workshop as part of a project to further our understanding of health in and around Baldock, Hertfordshire, the site of small Roman town.

The course takes place on Saturday 9 July 2016, from 10 am to 5 pm, in the Learning Centre of the new North Hertfordshire Museum, Brand Street, Hitchin SG5 1JE.

Course Flyer

It will allow people the opportunity to directly analyse human remains from the Roman and Medieval periods. This is an ideal opportunity for members of the general public, undergraduates and graduates in archaeology and forensics, medical professionals, museum staff, local archaeologists from societies as well as anyone who wants to know more about osteology and what human remains can tell you and how to handle and curate them. It is a great way to gain hands-on experience of human remains in a museum environment and learn about the past from people who lived through it.

Classes are limited to twelve students to ensure maximum access to the remains and guidance from a trained osteoarchaeologist with experience on hundreds of skeletal remains. This is a general course suitable for anyone and the day revolves around handling skeletal remains. The day will include:

• Training in how to identify different bones and layout a human skeleton
• Determining sex, age, and height of individuals
• Identifying different pathologies and the health of a person at death
• Using skeletal remains and other evidence to reconstruct life in different periods
• Reviewing the different stages of skeletal remains from burial, archaeological excavation, osteological study, curation or reburial
• Learning how to curate and record remains

Cost £55, including tea, coffee and course materials.

Booking form: Adobe PDF or MS Word document formats.

Contact: Dr David Klingle, Osteoarchaeologist, Osteoachaeology Initiatives, 46 High Street, Chesterton, Cambridge CB4 1NG, mob 07578 323410, email david.klingle@cantab.net or david.klingle@yahoo.co.uk. Please book directly with Dr Klingle, not through North Hertfordshire Museum.