Books for Bioarchaeologists

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dead-men-talking asked: Hi, can you point to a source about Ortner's death? I'm not finding anything through Google. A loss indeed! :(

I got this information from a student of Dr. Della C. Cook. 

Donald J. Ortner has died.

Today is a very sad day in biological anthropology and paleopathology. Dr. Ortner has passed away. His contributions to biological anthropology and paleopathology were immense. His intelligence and wit will be missed by us all. Dr. Donald Ortner’s work can be found here.

iaccidentallyintomordor asked: I own the 2nd ed. of White's Osteology textbook. Do you think it would be sufficient, even though it's 13 years old? I haven't seen inside the 3rd. edition so I'm not sure what the differences are and if they will hinder my studies. Also, in order to be placed in the intermediate or advanced track, do you have to have an Osteology course on your transcripts? I'm pretty familiar with the skeleton (barring working with human reamins), but my department does not offer an Osteology course.

I used White’s 2nd ed. while I was there and it worked fine, but I’m not a fan of how the features are labeled by letters, which you then have to track down in the book. The 3rd ed. has all of the features labeled in the picture. I forgot to include the osteometrics lab which you will also be doing, and the 3rd edition contains the areas for measurements for each bone in that particular sections. It also contains larger aging/sexing and paleopath sections, and I got it for around $50 on amazon. That being said, Buikstra’s standards also has all of that info as well. I think having other sources to look at when my brain freezes up helps. The Human Osteology Field Manual by White is also something I highly recommend bringing as well. If you can’t get the 3rd ed., this one is about half the price and can be easier to understand. 

As far as how you will be placed, the Sunday night before classes start everyone sits in a circle and talks about what you’re there for (arch or bioarch), what classes you have taken, and what experience you have outside the classroom. I think one of the reasons I was the only advanced was because I (if I remember correctly) was the only one that had worked with human remains both in and outside of a class. The next day Dr. B. will tell you where she thinks you would be best and asks you if that is okay with you. If you want to do the advanced track and she says intermediate, I would just ask to do the advanced track. It shows you’re there for a challenge and ready to kick some ass. Just make sure not to kill yourself for the advanced thing. More experience? Yes. Do you go crazier than the others? Definitely. 

Were you planning on trying to go advanced? I do know she asked a few people to switch to advanced about half way through, they both said no. So if you’re put in intermediate and want to move up at some point in time, just ask. Dr. B. may seem intimidating, but she’s human and your professor. Also the lab TAs are always nice, and Jason, the head Field supervisor is cool. He’ll probably act like a badass, but he’s really nice. 

iaccidentallyintomordor asked: Hi! I read on your blog earlier that you participated in ASU's Kampsville Field School for bioarchaeology. I'm participating this summer and I'm wondering what I should expect and what to pack and be prepared for. Thanks in an advance for any advice you can give me.

That’s awesome! Now I will warn you ahead of time, it is going to be hard, and you’re not going to get a lot of sleep. That being said, I would start studying the basics NOW. I don’t know how advanced your knowledge of osteology is, but people are put into three categories: beginner- aka you don’t know anything about bones, intermediate: you’ve taken an osteology/forensic anthro class, and advanced- you seem to know the skeleton fairly well, may have done independent work with human remains, can side bones, etc. I was the only advanced student my year (pros and cons to that one). 

When I was there the weeks went like this:

Monday-Friday: You leave for breakfast at 6:30 am. You can’t skip breakfast. Lecture starts at 8. Break at 10. Lecture/study time until lunch at noon. Work until 2 (break), then work until you leave for dinner at 4:30. Get back around 5:30, night lecture from 7-9. Saturdays: The morning is the same but you only work til noon. Then you’re on your own. Sunday there are no lectures. 

Things to buy/bring:

Buikstra’s Standards book. 

Every osteo/paleopathology book you own/can afford to buy, especially White’s osteo field manual and 3rd edition human osteology book. There are books there but they can get hogged pretty easily.

Laptop, music, maybe a book to read before bed if you have the time, things to keep you sane. Internet was hit and miss when I was there, but I think it has improved in the computer lab. I doubt they have internet in the lab, it would be too distracting.

Printer paper

notebooks (so many notes!)

Warmish clothes- the lab can get cold

geologists loop- helps when looking at pathology, but not absolutely necessary

If you drink coffee, bring some. They had one coffee pot there (which may have broken by now) but I brought my own and we used both of them multiple times a day. 

Food- if you are driving, bring stuff from home. You do get fed monday-sat breakfast, but you are probably going to want snacks. They do a Walmart/laundry mat run every saturday, so you can buy snacks and caffeine there if you are flying.  Also, it would be good to bring quarters. I think the quarter machine was broke at least one time at the laundry mat. Saturday night and Sunday you are on your own for food. There is a restaurant in town that has good food. If you eat at the restaurant attached to the gas station, I would stay away from the burgers and be cautious of the fried food. The pizza is delicious though. We didn’t go to Walmart before the first week, so you might want to bring some stacks/caffeine to hold you over. 

We didn’t have a/c in the dorms, so bring some cooler clothes to sleep in. Also, you will probably have a roommate. 

Sun screen and cooler clothes for day trips to Cahokia and places like that (yes, they’re going to make you venture out into the public looking very sleep deprived). 

There is lecture pretty much everyday until the final week when you are working on the final project. Night lectures range from osteology lectures to lecturers coming in and giving presentations. 

You will be doing one lab each week on the following topics: adult aging, adult sexing, juvenile aging, biometrics, paleopathology, and the final project. My final project was looking at the difference between scurvy and iron deficiency anemia in 40 sub-adults. The number is so high because I was advanced. Intermediate individuals looked at 10-15 individuals on various topics, and beginners worked with 2, indicating age/sex/path/etc. For the other labs, beginners worked with 2 skeletons, intermediates 4, and advanced students worked with 8. 

I highly, highly, HIGHLY suggest to start studying aging and sexing methods now. What to look for, technical terms, using the scoring sheets in Standards, etc. 

You will have bone quizzes starting end of first week/beginning of second week until the final project begins. They’re about every other day, and you will be tested on very small pieces of bone. Start studying features on bones, learning distinctive things to side bones. The only bones you will not be subject to side are hand/foot phalanges (but you will have to be able to tell if they’re proximal, intermediate, and distal, and if they are hand or foot (The distal portion of a foot phalanx looks like a pigs nose, just a helpful hint), and small cranial elements like the vomer. Nasal bones you will have to side, along with the occipital, frontal, and sphenoid (in both adults and subadults). You will be learning adult and subadult bones. 

The quizzes consist of a mix of adult, subadult, and non-human bones. They won’t tell you which ones aren’t human, and they’re not on every test, so if something looks like it doesn’t fit with what you have been studying, good chances it is non-human. I remember a primate mandible frag and a turtle bone being on the quiz at some point in time. 

So, my advice to you would be to start studying now. Work on being able to side bones, learn the major features on the bones. You don’t have to dedicate all your time, but I feel becoming as familiar as possible now will help you feel less stressed when you jump into week one (which was the pelvis for me).

This experience will no doubt significantly change your academic world. I know it did for me. 

If you have anymore questions, feel free to email me. I am always willing to help students survive Kampsville! 

-Ashley