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
Osteoarchaeology: The Truth in Our Bones
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Lehrplan - Was Sie in diesem Kurs lernen werden
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!
Bones to Biography & Demography
Welcome to the first content module of this course! This week is all about introducing you to the primary things that we can learn from nearly all human skeletons. Who are the people who lived in the past? Are they men, women or children? How old did they become, and how tall did they get? We can answer these questions by studying a range of bones contained in the human skeleton. Here, we will be showing you exactly how to do that, and hope you will learn a lot!
Bones to Biography & Demography: Lesson Choices
Choose one mystery which you will be solving, little by little, throughout the course. This week study the clues to find out if this individual was a man or a woman, and how old and how tall he or she was.
Bones to Disease and Trauma
Welcome to the second module! This week is all about disease in the past. How healthy were people really, and what diseases did they suffer from? We will show you how to answer these questions by studying the diseases that can be detected in human skeletal remains. We specifically focus on trauma including bone fractures, but also the diseases rickets and leprosy.
Bones to Disease and Trauma: Lesson Choices
Please continue solving the Mystery that you started in week one. Look at the bony lesions and study them carefully to find out what disease(s) this individual had, and what they were caused by.
Bones to Diet
Welcome to the third module! This week is all about diet in the past. What did people eat in the past and in what proportions? Did different groups of people eat different things, and did their diet change throughout time? This week we will show you how to answer such questions by studying the human skeleton. We will be focussing on the analysis of stable isotopes like Carbon and Nitrogen that can be found in human bones and teeth.
Bones to Diet : Lesson Choices
Continue analyzing the skeleton that you chose in week one. Study the values, tables and pictures provided to find out more about the foods that this individual ate and how it affected the composition and appearance of their skeleton.
Bones to Activity
Welcome to module four! This week is all about activity. What activities did people perform in the past? How did they move about, and how much? We will be answering these questions by studying many different aspects of the skeleton, like long bones, joints, the spine, and even teeth. We will be showing you what all these marks mean, and what they can tell us today about activities performed in the past.
Bones to Activity: Lesson Choices
Continue solving the Mystery you chose in week one. Study the marks left on the skeleton as a result of activity and you will find out more about what activities this individual performed and the impact it had on their body.
Top reviews from Osteoarchaeology: The Truth in Our Bones
Very informative, a good grounding in the subject, I really felt like I gained a lot of valuable knowledge on the subject that will help me in future endeavors. Very well put-together and organized.
I took this course to find out what osteoarchaeology was all about. Excellent, excellent course! Well planned, laid out and , and very interesting. I have learned a lot. Thank you!!!
Dozent
Andrea Waters-Rist
Assistant ProfessorÜber Universiteit Leiden
Häufig gestellte Fragen
Wann erhalte ich Zugang zu den Vorträgen und Aufgaben?
Sobald Sie sich für ein Zertifikat angemeldet haben, haben Sie Zugriff auf alle Videos, Quizspiele und Programmieraufgaben (falls zutreffend). Aufgaben, die von anderen Kursteilnehmern bewertet werden, können erst dann eingereicht und überprüft werden, wenn Ihr Unterricht begonnen hat. Wenn Sie sich den Kurs anschauen möchten, ohne ihn zu kaufen, können Sie womöglich auf bestimmte Aufgaben nicht zugreifen.
Was bekomme ich, wenn ich das Zertifikat erwerbe?
Wenn Sie ein Zertifikat erwerben, erhalten Sie Zugriff auf alle Kursmaterialien, einschließlich bewerteter Aufgaben. Nach Abschluss des Kurses wird Ihr elektronisches Zertifikat zu Ihrer Seite „Errungenschaften“ hinzugefügt – von dort können Sie Ihr Zertifikat ausdrucken oder es zu Ihrem LinkedIn Profil hinzufügen. Wenn Sie nur lesen und den Inhalt des Kurses anzeigen möchten, können Sie kostenlos als Gast an dem Kurs teilnehmen.
Wie erfolgen Rückerstattungen?
Ist finanzielle Unterstützung möglich?
What does the course syllabus look like?
The course consists of five weeks, each week dealing with a different aspect of what we can learn from the human skeleton in an archaeological context.
Each week is concluded with a multiple choice quiz about that week's subject, as well as a "Solve the Mystery" exercise that involves students analyzing a fictional skeleton using the knowledge they have gained in that week. The final course grade is based on a combination of the grades received for these two exercises each week.
Course Content
Week 1 The Osteobiography. Estimating age in adults and subadults, estimation of sex and stature.
Week 2 Paleopathology. Different types of disease and trauma that can be detected in the human skeleton.
Week 3 Paleodiet. Using stable isotope analysis and dental disease to reconstruct diet in the past.
Week 4 Activity Reconstruction. Using entheseal change, joint degeneration and teeth to reconstruct activity in the past.
Week 5 Mobility and Migration. Using long bone morphology, Strontium isotopes and ancient DNA to reconstruct mobility and migration.
Do I need to buy any books to complete the course?
No, that is not necessary. All the study materials needed to complete this course, are provided during the MOOC.
Of course, if you want to learn more, you can always look for more (free) information online, or even buy a book on a particular subject.
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