BIO A 469
Applied Human and Comparative Osteology
Course Co-Requisite: BIO A 487
Course Description: In this course you will learn all about bones: what they look like, how they can vary, and what we can discern about the individual from whom they came, including both how they lived and died. You will specifically learn to apply the anatomical knowledge learned in BIOA 487 to the identification and interpretation of fragmental skeletal material. Although this class will focus on the bones of the derived (i.e., fully modern) human skeleton, we may also compare our skeleton to that of our closest relatives (i.e., primates and fossil hominins) and/or other mammals. The human skeleton is one component of the amazing machine that is the human body, and I hope that through this class you will develop an excitement to learn all that you can about it.
Learning Objectives: By the end of this course, you should be able to do the following:
- Be fluent in the terminology used to describe the human skeleton.
- Identify the bones of the human skeleton (both whole bones and bone fragments) and their associated features.
- Collect linear measurements on skeletal material.
- Be able to discuss ethical considerations regarding the use of human remains in teaching and research.
Course Structure and Learning Osteology: This course will meet weekly. During each section you will have the opportunity to practice identifying the skeletal material and its features and look at human variation. You should be aware that, to do well in this course, you must spend time in the lab studying the bones. There is no way to learn osteology except by studying the bones in person, handling the material, and speaking with your fellow students about them. As such, attendance and active participation is strongly encouraged as missed days cannot be easily made up.
Grading and Assignments: There will be an assignment for each session that you will be expected to complete. The activities will serve as tangible evidence of engagement with the material and give you the opportunity to have guided practice identifying and describing bones and concepts. This work will include activities such as landmark identification, listing articulations, and determining which side of the body (i.e., right or left) the skeletal element is from. One assignment will be dropped at the end of the quarter. Because this is built-in to the course there is no need to contact the instructor if you need to miss class unless a situation arises that will require a student to miss more than one assignment. The assignments will be due at the end of the day of the associated class period (11:59pm pacific time). The assignments may be turned in to the instructor on paper (at the end of class) or uploaded to Canvas as either a scanned hand-written document or typed document. In order to earn full points on the lab assignment you have to have been in attendance at that days lab. If you have to miss that day's lab, you may still submit the assignment for a maximum score of 50% of earned points.
Late Policy & Missed Work: Late assignments will be accepted for up to three days after their due date for 50% of their earned points. Anything submitted after this three-day late period will not be accepted.
Ethics and Rules of Engagement:
In my experience, individuals differ in their thoughts and feelings regarding human remains, by which I explicitly mean the physical parts that remain when the body ceases to function. These different beliefs may stem from group traditions or individual experiences. Regardless of your personal ideas about human remains, you will treat the bones with the utmost respect and acknowledge the privilege that being able to work with human bones allows you. It is your job to honor those remains as if they were the remains of someone you care about. In addition, you will uphold the following rules regarding working with the human remains:
- Do not take any videos or photographs of the bones. You may, however, sketch them.
- Do not post anything about working with the skeletal material on social media.
- Do not have any food or drinks near the lab tables.
- Always place the bones carefully on the mats on the tables. If you need to move a bone from one table to another use both hands.
The Department has followed all applicable federal and state laws regarding the curation of the human remains in our care and we remain engaged with ongoing conversations about the appropriate treatment of human remains. Of equal importance, we are also committed to training the next generation of scientists in ethics, as well as science. We will be discussing the ethical use of human remains in teaching and research in depth in BIOA 487. For more details: https://anthropology.washington.edu/collection-ethics