Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology

Learn the science behind the exhumation and identification of skeletal remains

The location, exhumation and identification of the dead requires highly specialised expertise. On this course, you’ll learn the latest scientific techniques for body location, recovery and analysis.

Through a series of real-life case studies, video lab sessions, interactive 3D models, photographs and podcasts, you’ll explore key forensic techniques.

You’ll learn how to locate gravesites, excavate human remains, and determine factors like sex and age-at-death from the skeleton. You will also understand how to identify pathology on the skeleton, and be introduced to DNA analysis.

This course is suitable for anyone intrigued by forensic archaeology and anthropology.

The course is specifically designed for forensic, crime scene, and police practitioners who require training in anthropological and archaeological techniques.

It will be useful for undergraduate forensics students or those interested in studying forensic archaeology and anthropology at university.

It may also be useful to those working in legal and human rights contexts who require an understanding of forensic methods.

• Introduction to Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology
• Introduction
• What is Forensic Archaeology and Forensic Anthropology
• Summary, Quiz and Discussion
• Bodily Decomposition, Locating Graves and Excavation
• What Happens to Human Bodies in the Ground
• Body Location
• Excavation
• 3D Scanning and Documentation
• Summary and quiz
• In the Lab: Creating an Osteological Profile
• The Human Bone Lab
• Estimating the Sex of Adult Skeletons
• Estimating Age-at-Death of Infants and Juveniles
• Estimating Age-at-Death and Stature in Adults
• Quiz and Summary
• Disease and Trauma: Identification of Pathological Lesions
• Introduction to Trauma and Pathology
• Recording Pathology
• Trauma
• Forensic Odontology
• Quiz and Summary
• Biomolecular Techniques of Identification
• DNA
• Stable Isotopes
• Sex determination from the teeth
• Quiz and Summary
• Challenging Contexts
• Burned Bodies
• Commingled Contexts
• Humanitarian Forensic Action
• The Refugee 'Crisis'
• Summary and Next Steps
• End of Course Test