The skeleton is a dynamic system, which forms, grows and repairs itself throughout life, both following its genetic programming and responding to the effects of environment. When something goes wrong — whether this is internal, due to genetic errors, or external, caused by such things as infection or trauma — the skeleton responds with changes which can be preserved after death; in unusual conditions soft tissues also might be preserved and these add more information to that of the skeleton. The study of such changes in ancient human remains is the province of palaeopathology.
Some disorders are common and leave evidence on the skeleton even today: fractures, dental disease, arthritis. Some are, or appear, less common, because they were caused by conditions in the past that are absent or rare today, or because they are easily treated and eradicated by modern medicine. So the prevalence, distribution and severity of ancient diseases can shed light on ancient societies and lifestyles.
This course will teach the methods of examining and recording pathological changes on bones, the systems of classifying these changes and the consideration of differential diagnoses. These can be used at the individual level, to tell the story of a particular individual and their life, or they can be pooled to consider the health and living circumstances of a population, and compared synchronically (across space over the same time period) or diachronically (at the same place but through time). Debates about the history of certain diseases and the concepts of ‘health’ and ‘adaptation’ will also be discussed.
Each class includes a lecture followed by a practical session, when the participants will work with real human bone from teaching collections and archaeological sites.
