Zooarchaeology and Human Osteology are core areas of archaeological science, and areas in which the Institute of Archaeology has historic strengths, with comprehensive osteological comparative collections.
The zooarchaeology and human remains laboratory is one of the most heavily used practical teaching rooms in the Institute of Archaeology and contains over 5000 specimens.
Most of the skeletal collection has been prepared from modern animals and is organised by anatomical element. The bird, fish and small mammal collections are stored separately as complete disarticulated skeletons.
The electronic training resource, Boneview, provides interactive content of zooarchaeological forms, with sections on dental development and ageing, bone modification, bone fusion and
The facility was refurbished in 2007 and new storage racking installed providing students with easy-access to the reference material. In addition the department has an X-ray cabinet, cameras, microscopes, calipers and osteometric boards for recording archaeological material. The collection also contains examples of pathology and taphonomy, identification atlases, related software including Fordisc 3 and forensic cast material.
Enquries: Sandra Bond