Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
disciplines. What new inventions within engineering, physics, chemistry, geology, and the
biomedical sciences can be applied to the study of the human skeleton to automate research
protocols, facilitate nondestructive and robust analyses, or provide digital archives of human
skeletal remains? What secular changes can be detected in human populations that affect
forensic or bioarchaeological analyses? How can current theory in archaeology and other
disciplines be applied to emerging questions surrounding gender, agency, and identity in
the bioarchaeological record? How can we communicate effectively with the public about
the effects of the social race concept while simultaneously improving our ability to identify
individuals? The investigation of these questions, among others, will help you shape the
future of the discipline.
As a graduate student you will be required to take a qualifying or comprehensive exam
most likely at the end of your first year. A question on one of our qualifying exams queried,
“Just what can anthropologists learn from those old bones and teeth, anyway?” We hope that
this volume has presented tools that will enable you to begin to answer that question for
yourself through the development of your own research program in human skeletal biology.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Drs. Maria Smith and Jonathan Bethard for their helpful suggestions during the
preparation of this conclusion.
REFERENCES
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