Lesson plan
Osteometry
Osteometry is the study and measurement of the human or animal skeleton, especially in an anthropological or archaeological context. In archaeology it has been used to various ends in the subdisciplines of zooarchaeology and bioarchaeology. In zooarchaeology the main goal of osteometry is taxonomic determination and, to a lesser extent, determination of sex. The most useful elements to measure in sex determination are the pelvis and cranium. Usually it is very difficult to discriminate between different species of the same genus or family (e.g., South American camelids), and the statistical analysis of osteometric parameters is quite useful. In bioarchaeology, osteometry is useful to help answer many anthropological questions about past human populations. For example, it may be used to determine kinship, sex, the degree of sexual dimorphism (which may be used to answer questions related to lack of nutrition), and to some extent ethnicity. Osteometry is also used in the identification of human remains, particularly in commingled assemblages. It is used in addition to DNA analysis for individual identification. There are many problems around the interpretation of osteometric data: loose replicability of the measurements, problems relative to the phenotypic variations between subpopulations of one species, and others.
Article summary
Osteometry is the study and measurement of the human or animal skeleton, especially in an anthropological or archaeological context. In archaeology it has been used to various ends in the subdisciplines of zooarchaeology and bioarchaeology. In zooarchaeology the main goal of osteometry is taxonomic determination and, to a lesser extent, determination of sex. The most useful elements to measure in sex determination are the pelvis and cranium. Usually it is very difficult to discriminate between different species of the same genus or family (e.g., South American camelids), and the statistical analysis of osteometric parameters is quite useful. In bioarchaeology, osteometry is useful to help answer many anthropological questions about past human populations. For example, it may be used to determine kinship, sex, the degree of sexual dimorphism (which may be used to answer questions related to lack of nutrition), and to some extent ethnicity. Osteometry is also used in the identification of human remains, particularly in commingled assemblages. It is used in addition to DNA analysis for individual identification. There are many problems around the interpretation of osteometric data: loose replicability of the measurements, problems relative to the phenotypic variations between subpopulations of one species, and others.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.