16 July 2021
Health, Disease, and Lifestyle in the Past
Introduction to scientific methodologies in osteoarchaeology (the scientific study of skeletal material excavated at archaeological sites) to answer questions about our health, disease, and lifestyle in the past. In order to answer such questions, skills to identify skeletal material are required. The course will therefore focus on both human and animal remains. The scientific investigation of human skeletal remains gives unique insights into human history, demographic shifts, environmental changes, living conditions, migrations, pathologies, and the spread of diseases, as these all leave traces on the skeleton
Course leader
Anne Birgitte Gotfredsen, Luise Ørsted Brandt and Marie Louise Schjellerup Jørkov
Target group
Master
Course aim
Knowledge:
-Demonstrate an overview of the skeletal anatomy of mammals (human and animal) with insights into morphological adaptations and species-specific characters
-Be able to describe osteoarchaeological methods and analyses of disease and causes of disease
-Have theoretical knowledge of the advantages and pitfalls in the use of different biomolecular approaches to species identification and identification of pathogens
Skills:
-Be able to carry out species identification of the most common mammalian domesticates
-Can produce biological profile of human remains and identify skeletal pathologies
-Can critically evaluate new methodologies within the areas of osteoarchaeology and archaeological sciences
-Be able to critically evaluate osteoarchaeological questions and argue for the best possible set of methods
Fee info
DKK 8000: EU/EEA citizens
DKK 12500: Non-EU/EEA citizens