The simplest way to put it is that osteology is the study of skeletal anatomy, whether it be specific to the human skeletal anatomy or any other animal’s skeletal system. It deals in anything having to do with bones: structure, function, growth, pathology, decay, trauma and healing, individual bones, the evolution of bones, et cetera. That means that, while it really is a subset of the overall study of anatomy, osteology really can be considered a subfield of many disciplines, depending on why you’re studying it.

Osteology can be considered a subfield of anthropology, if one is studying the human (as well as nonhuman primate and/or hominid) skeleton for the purposes of archaeology or palaeoanthropology. I plan to go into bioarchaeology and am very interested in how the health and nutrition of an individual is detailed in their bones, so I should be quite comfortable with the human musculoskeletal system. I need to know how to determine other factors like age, growth as they aged, and any history of disease or trauma to the bones. I will also need to know how to re-articulate (or, put back together) a skeleton, because bones can get quite jumbled up over time, especially when they’re just hanging out underground.

In forensic science and bioarchaeology, it is important to look at human remains with both the naked eye and under the microscope in order to determine things like biological sex (not gender, though that can be inferred through a variety of ways), age, cause of death, and how old the bones themselves are. 

Human skeletons are studied for the medical practice of orthopedics, which is the basically osteology in action with live patients. An orthopedic surgeon deals with a wide range of things, from knee arthroplasty (replacement) to congenital bone disorders like osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease).

Osteology is studied for a variety of things, like archaeology, forensic science, and medicine, but it’s also studied for things like biophysics, fine arts (for drawing human and animal forms), osteopathy, kinesiology, massage therapy, evolutionary biology, developmental biology, and a bunch of other stuff. It’s a study with a multitude of applications.

Some resources:

• eSkeletons is a really cool comparative anatomy site from the University of Texas at Austin, where you can look at individual bones from a variety of human and nonhuman primate specimen from various angles. It’s got a glossary and other stuff to mess around with!
• The Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma (which I wish to visit one day- the only thing that could coax me into visiting Oklahoma) features a wide collection of skeletons, both human and nonhuman animals. Skulls Unlimited, an affiliated specimen supplier, sells prepared articulated (connected) and disarticulated (disconnected) bones and casts for a wide variety of scientific, forensic, and medical pursuits
• Alexandra, is selling a few skulls (as well as minerals) for some pretty reasonable prices for an individual supplier or animal skulls (I’m too broke to buy one right now, but maybe all y’all are interested)

theolduvaigorge:

Selected Images from The Munro Lectures on Anthropology and Prehistoric Archaeology in Connection with the University of Edinburgh, 1912

• by Robert Munro

Part I: Anthropology;Palaeolithic Man in Europe with Supplementary Chapter on the Transition Period

Part II: Archaeology; Terramare, and their Relation to Lacustrine Pile-Structures

The lectures were scanned in their entirety and made into a PDF. Click through for early 20th century anthropology and its concomitant subtle and not-so-subtle racism and Eurocentrism.

Excerpt:

“Huxley concludes his description with the following words:—“It is in fact a fair average human skull, which might have belonged to a philosopher or might have contained the thoughtless brains of a savage” ” (read more).

(Source: Internet Archive; via @jorios on Twitter) 

Michael Peter Edson tweets the best parts of “Smithsonian in 3D” [x]

If I made a twitter account where advice for participating in archaeological excavations was in all caps (so that you would imagine it being shouted), would you follow it? Well then.

theolduvaigorge:

Selected Images from The Munro Lectures on Anthropology and Prehistoric Archaeology in Connection with the University of Edinburgh, 1912

• by Robert Munro

Part I: Anthropology;Palaeolithic Man in Europe with Supplementary Chapter on the Transition Period

Part II: Archaeology; Terramare, and their Relation to Lacustrine Pile-Structures

The lectures were scanned in their entirety and made into a PDF. Click through for early 20th century anthropology and its concomitant subtle and not-so-subtle racism and Eurocentrism.

Excerpt:

“Huxley concludes his description with the following words:—“It is in fact a fair average human skull, which might have belonged to a philosopher or might have contained the thoughtless brains of a savage” ” (read more).

(Source: Internet Archive; via @jorios on Twitter) 

Elaine Morgan is a great communicator and she’s done a remarkable job of delivering the AAH to a wide audience, but I have concerns that the packaging is more impressive than the contents, from a scientific perspective.

In the video Elaine does a cracking job of setting up the AAH in opposition to the more established Savanna Hypothesis (SavH), which suggests that humans diverged from other primates as a result of exploiting more arid environments. She then suggests that the SavH has been discounted on the basis of palaeoenvironmental data, leaving a paradigm gap that should (she suggests) be filled by the AAH.

But of course, a paradigm gap should only be filled by a robust theory and when it comes to plotting evolutionary trajectories there is not solid theoretical foundation on how to do it, beyond relying on the physical evidence provided by the fossil record.

In this case that would require fossils of human ancestors to be found in primarily aquatic deposits, something which we do not see, which is surprising, since aquatic environments are usually far better for fossil preservation than terrestrial environments. In fact, taphonomy suggests that early hominid fossils would be more common if the individuals were living and dying in water with any frequency. [read more]

Anthropology is a subject that has attracted its fair share of anti-intellectual theorists before. These anti-intellectuals are scientists from other areas of scientific inquiry that attempt to propose their own theories about who we are and where we came from despite having no formal anthropological training. Consequently, these people are usually a massive headache because they have no idea what they are talking about. Dr. Jonathan Marks did a great job elucidating why anthropology may attract this type of anti-intellectualism in a recent podcast I did with him.

Either way, I woke up yesterday to an infuriating article published in the Guardian: Big brains, no fur, sinuses… are these clues to our ancestors’ lives as ‘aquatic apes’? The article gave an international platform to several scientists that support the Aquatic Ape Hypothesis/Theory (AAH/T). This hypothesis proposes that there was a, as yet unidentified, aquatic phase of human evolution causing our ancestors to develop bipedalism, big brains, subcutaneous fat, sinuses, and lack of fur. Supporters of the AAH believe that these features are all indicative of an ancestral past spent living primarily in deep creeks, river banks, and the sea.

But there is one major problem: there is no evidence to support it. No evidence is usually a problem in science. No ancestral hominids have ever been found that lived in an aquatic environment. [read more]

slothisticated:

anthrocentric:

A COMIC! ABOUT PRIMATOLOGISTS! MORE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT JANE GOODALL, DIAN FOSSEY, AND BIRUTÉ GALDIKAS!!! AND OF COURSE LOUIS LEAKEY WILL BE IN IT TOO. 

Jim Ottaviani returns with an action-packed account of the three greatest primatologists of the last century: Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas. These three ground-breaking researchers were all students of the great Louis Leakey, and each made profound contributions to primatology — and to our own understanding of ourselves.

Tackling Goodall, Fossey, and Galdikas in turn, and covering the highlights of their respective careers,Primates is an accessible, entertaining, and informative look at the field of primatology and at the lives of three of the most remarkable women scientists of the twentieth century. Thanks to the charming and inviting illustrations by Maris Wicks, this is a nonfiction graphic novel with broad appeal.

Just pre-ordered myself the hardcover. So excited!

For those interested, the comic can be bought here.

mucholderthen:

CUEVA DE LAS MAN0S
SOUTH AMERICAN PALEOLITHIC CAVE ART
Santa Cruz province, Argentina  [Patagonia]

This archaeological site in the canyon of Río Pinturas contains an exceptional amount of cave art, created between 13,000 and 9,500 years ago.  

The name - “cave of the hands” - derives from the countless stenciled outlines of human hands in the cave, but there are also many depictions of animals, as well as hunting scenes, and geometric designs.

The people responsible for the paintings may have been the ancestors of the historic hunter-gatherer communities of Patagonia found by European settlers in the 19th century.

( x )  and ( x )
[source of images]
See also wikipedia.

theolduvaigorge:

“I had no power to say ‘that’s not okay:’” Reports of harassment and abuse in the field

• By Kate Clancy 

“It was getting late, the student center all but deserted. My old friend and I had a table to ourselves, awkwardly wedged among the chairs that had been set in a circle for an invited talk I had just given to some undergraduates about issues for women in science.

My friend alluded to having a challenging field site. Her face, which was usually open and bright, with a smile so infectious and delighted and thoroughly optimistic you couldn’t help but love her, was subdued, careful. She talked around it for a while. Then she told me of her sexual assault in the field.

The table felt too big. I can’t remember if I actually reached across it to take her hand or not, because suddenly the distance between us seemed so great. I was at a loss to know how to help or support my friend.

Another day, another story. Again I’m out of town to give a talk, and an acquaintance and I are borrowing someone’s office for a meeting. This person is eager to meet, bright and interesting and motivated to do her research. There is a shift in her research trajectory, and I ask about it. Without skipping a beat, she explains the systematic sexual harassment she experienced at her field site, and the ways in which her lack of complicity led to her not being welcome there. There were obvious ways in which her departure from this field site has hurt her career. I was struck by her furious, fiery expression.

You know these women, because they have shared their stories on my blog. Since then, my blog comment thread, email inbox, my office and several conferences became spaces where I was bombarded with these stories. These women almost never named names, just rushed through their story as quickly as possible in a torrent of words, each story horrifying in its own way. Some were angry, some were devastated. Some were just numb, not meeting my eyes, telling the story in a monotone. These were fresh encounters from just the last field season, or had happened years ago. Each one felt like a new physical hurt when I heard them.

From there, Heather Shattuck-Heidorn and M. Elle Saine invited me to participate in an American Association of Physical Anthropology symposium on ethics. They wanted me to put together a talk on ethics in field site management, as my blog posts had opened a bit of a can of worms in the field. Yet I struggled to figure out how to speak to my colleagues about the chilly climate at field sites when all I had were confidential anecdotes and two blog posts.

Biological anthropology has a long, feminist tradition of women and men interrogating sexism in the workplace, as well as researching and prioritizing female behaviors and friendships and reproductive strategies in human evolution. If there is any field-based science that has the tools to look at the chilly climate at field sites, it is us” (read more).

***I took part in one of these interviews. My interviewer was a lovely and professional woman. I hope their research helps make the field a better place for everyone.

See also:

• John Hawk’s weblog. 2013. “AAPA hears about ongoing abuse of students at field sites”.

(Source: Scientific American)

What Careers can an Anthropology Degree Give You Access To? 

anthropologyoutlook:

        Receiving a degree in anthropology supplies a college graduate with skills that can be applied to many career fields including health, business, nutrition and education. Below is a list that contains a substantial number of traditional jobs for any anthropologist. However, no anthropologist should feel constrained to finding a job in one of the listed areas. Instead, one should consider this list and also consider the subjects listed below where applied anthropologists have used their anthropological knowledge to help solve and provide a new perspective to real world problems.

• Archaeology
• Cultural Resource Management (CRM)
• Museum/Curation/Project Design
• Advocacy
• Human/Social Services
• Government and Administration
• Housing
• Human Rights, Racism, and Genocide
• Academia
• Tourism and Heritage

     The above information was accessed from the American Anthropological Association Website.

      Health

      According to Satish Kedia and John van Willigen, authors of Applied Anthropology: Domains of Application, if one decides to go into Medical Anthropology one can, “Examine differences in birth practices, exploring how gender, socioeconomic status, class and ethnicity impact health status and the public health” (24). Applied Medical Anthropology  is one domain of practice that allows an anthropologist to use anthropological skills when examining real word problems. They examine culture, ethnicity, and socio-economic class, and use the  information of other cultures to compare and contrast. This helps Medical Anthropologist draw conclusions that help them implement and better plan health programs not only in the United States but all over the wold.

   Nutrition

   Nutrition is another area where anthropological knowledge and skills can be applied. Kedia and van Willigen explain that this is because, “biological and sociocultural factors influence food selection and consumption in human societies, anthropologists’ expertise in both areas makes them uniquely valuable” (24).Anthropologist can be found the world over planning and implementing better nutritional practices affecting varying communities. In her book Dancing Skeletons, Katherine Dettwyler takes an in depth look at malnourishment in West African communities. Dettwyler combines her anthropological and nutritional knowledge to help educate families on the best nutritional practice to help combat malnourishment and in turn, child mortality.

    Business

You may initially look at look at business and anthropology as being on two completely different sides of the career spectrum. However, Kedia and van Willigen demonstrate how the ability of anthropologists to objectively observe and interpret the workings of other cultures is directly applicable to the business world. Kedia and van Willigen go on to say, “These skills are especially useful in a transnational economy that requires contemporary business professionals to have cross-cultural competency” (26). The knowledge an anthropologist can provide is especially useful when working with a client whose cultural workings are not synonymous with that of your own.

    Education

When you traditionally think of anthropology in the education field you might think of a professor teaching at the college level. This is true and what many view as the traditional area an anthropology major will go into.  However according to Applied Anthropology: Context for Domains of Application, an anthropologist in the education profession may examine, “how humans acquire knowledge deemed important” and also the, “informal means by which children and and youth acquire knowledge beyond the boundaries of school” (28). This information gained from this type of research can be applied to school and community programs to perfect the system in which tomorrow’s generation is educated.

alphacaeli:

theladygoogle requested this to be rebloggable.

Thank you!

zomganthro:

mandatorymanda:

Check out this video of me (mandatorymanda) being interviewed about being a cultural anthropology student.

Of course, I wish I had said some things differently and elaborated on others, but overall I’m satisfied and I think the information is useful.

There are a bunch of these, so I’ll queue them up and post them in the next few days.