Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 13.15
Light microscope.
CASE STUDIES: BONE HISTOLOGY
Case Study 1
I (LHT) did my Master's research on differentiating human and nonhuman bone micro-
structure. Therefore, when I first began in the doctoral program at the University of Tennes-
see in biological anthropology, I welcomed the opportunity to histologically examine
fragmentary remains discovered under various circumstances.
A professor approached me one day with a question that led to the development of my
dissertation. He handed me three small, flat bony fragments and asked: “Is this human?”
Based on my background in osteology and zooarchaeology, I was able to confidently say
yes and identify the remains as human cranial bone. However, his next question was
“Well
what else can you tell me from this?” Because of my previous research and course-
work in bone histology, I knew that at the microscopic level I could discern answers to ques-
tions concerning numerous interests of the skeletal biologist, namely, estimating aspects of
the biological profile.
The majority of relevant histological research that discusses estimating age-at-death is
focused on numerous bones, including the ribs, clavicles, and mandible, but the primary
focus is the long bones. The discovery of fragmentary cranial remains made me consider
the possibility of using the microstructure of these elements to estimate age-at-death. After
an extensive literature review, I learned that the neurocranium has not often been employed
in histological age research and only a few studies have attempted to quantify microscopic
.
