Poster Session 4, 2:15 PM - 3:00 PM: Room 163 [C23]

Providing Identities For Forgotten Human Skeletal Collections

Presenter: Mel Lothian

Faculty Sponsor: Ellen Ingmanson

School: Bridgewater State University

Research Area: Anthropology

ABSTRACT

Many private collections are in possession of human remains categorized as ‘legacy skeletal material’; remains with unknown backgrounds or missing provenance. Identification allows for students and researchers to recognize the humanity of these neglected classroom materials. Anthropometric measurements (quantitative and qualitative) were collected for two nearly complete human skeletons that are part of BSU’s Department of Anthropology collection. These findings have been used to piece together possible identification for their sex, ancestry, and age at time of death. Signs of disease and environmental conditions as evidence of living conditions were also observed. It was determined that both skeletons were males of Eurasian or Indo-European descent, and both individuals appear to have died around age 50 (40-65) based on cranial sutures, dental wear, and sternal rib ends. Both skeletons show many pathologies, including signs of post-mortem de-fleshing, arthritis, non-fused sacral vertebrae, enlarged cranial vault, nutrient deficiencies, and rounded rib cage producing a barrel chested appearance. The results of ancestral identification on the two skeletons are consistent with the origins of many teaching skeletons acquired in the early part of the 20th century.  The pathologies reflect environmental conditions, strenuous physical labor, and possible post-mortem cultural patterns. Human remains deserve to be handled with care, empathy, and respect. The goal is to build demographics for the legacy skeletons housed by the Anthropology Dept. at BSU in hopes of reinstating the identities of people that have been lost due to historical negligence.

RELATED ABSTRACTS