Postgraduate Course: Social Bioarchaeology: Archaeological Human Remains in their Social and Cultural Context (online) (PGHC11650)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | What was life like in the past? How can bioarchaeology - through the study of the human skeleton - help us understand the impact of social complexities on lifestyles, wellbeing and health in the past? These are some questions that will be discussed in this course, which focuses on current research topics in social bioarchaeology. |
| Course description |
This course will introduce students to current research topics in social bioarchaeology that focus on health and disease in the past and the application of social theory in bioarchaeology. Different themes will be explored, such as the current understanding of the impact of the introduction of agriculture and more sedimentary lifestyles, as well as work environment and general living condition to overall health in past societies. Similarly, the detrimental impact of social injustice, discrimination and racism on human well-being will be discussed.
Using archaeological and bioarchaeological sources, interpreted in an interdisciplinary setting, students will explore how people have responded or adjusted to these factors. They will learn how studies of burials and archaeological skeletons can give us an insight into how social relations were constructed and formed in the past. Other that discussing these topics in an archaeological and historical settings, students will be given the opportunity to reflect on factors that determines health in contemporary society today
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Archaeology courses at Grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Online Activities 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework:
1,500 word Annotated Bibliography - 7 sources (40%)
1,600 word Book Review - 1 monograph (60%) |
| Feedback |
Through class online discussions/forums pertaining to each seminar topic, and coursework feedback. Further feedback available with course organiser through email correspondence, or online meetings on Teams by appointment. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of how social conditions have affected health and wellbeing in the past.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of sociocultural factors on the human body, and how it can be studied through bioarchaeology
- Demonstrate ability to source research and study material using an interdisciplinary approach
- Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate and assess research and source materials pertaining to health in the archaeological, bioarchaeological and historical record
- Demonstrate means to integrate social theory into archaeological and bioarchaeological research
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Reading List
Agarwal, S. C. & Glencross, B. A. (Eds.) (2011), Social Bioarchaeology. Chicester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Buikstra, J. E and Bolhofner, K. L. 2019. Bioarchaeologists speak out: An introduction. In: Buikstra, J. E. (ed.), Bioarchaeologists speak out: Deep time perspectives on contemporary issues, pp. 1-18. Cham: Springer.
Cohen, M. N., & Armelagos, G. J. (Eds.) (2013). Paleopathology at the Origins of Agriculture (2nd ed.). Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida.
Elder Jr., G. H., Johnson, M. K. and Crosnoe, R. 2003. The Emergence and Development of Life Course Theory. In: Mortimer, J. T. and Shanahan, M. J. (eds.), Handbook of the Life Course, pp. 3-19. New York, NY: Kluwer Academic.
Geber, J. (2014). Skeletal manifestations of stress in child victims of the Great Irish Famine (1845-1852): Prevalence of enamel hypoplasia, Harris lines, and growth retardation. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 155(1), 149-161.
Geber, J. (2015). Victims of Ireland's Great Famine: The Bioarchaeology of Mass Burials at Kilkenny Union Workhouse. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida.
Geber, J., & O'Donnabhain, B. (2020). "Against shameless and systematic calumny": Strategies of domination and resistance and their impact on the bodies of the poor in nineteenth-century Ireland. Historical Archaeology, 54(1), 160-183.
Gowland, R. L. (2015). Entangled lives: Implications of the developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis for bioarchaeology and the life course. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 158(4), 530-540.
Hosek, L., & Robb, J. (2019). Osteobiography: A Platform for Bioarchaeology Research. Bioarchaeology International, 3, 1-15.
Hutchison, E. D. 2011. Life Course Theory. In: Levesque, R.J.R (ed.), Encyclopedia of Adolescence, pp. 1586-1594. New York, NY: Springer.
Mant, M., de la Cova, C., & Brickley, M. B. (2021). Intersectionality and trauma analysis in bioarchaeology. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 174, 583-594.
Robbins Schug, G., Halcrow, S. E., & de la Cova, C. (2025). They are people too: The ethics of curation and use of human skeletal remains for teaching and research. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 186,
Tilley, L. (2015). Theory and Practice in the Bioarchaeology of Care. New York, NY: Springer. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Critical reflection, sociocultural awareness, research skills, bioethics, interdisciplinarity |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Jonny Geber
Tel: (0131 6)50 3534
Email: jonny.geber@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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