Lab Quiz

Question 1

Human osteology

Answer 1

The study of human bones

Question 2

Physical anthropologists

Answer 2

Specialize in the study of human variation in terms of biology

Question 3

Why study osteology?

Answer 3

• evolution
• disease
• specific related activities
• ritual practice
• environmental conditions and stress
• nutrition
• population migration
• biological sex
• age
• crime

Question 4

Conditions best for preservation

Answer 4

• arid, waterlogged or frozen

Question 5

NAGPRA

Answer 5

• protection Native American remains; must consult

Question 6

Bone is composed of:

Answer 6

1. Organic collagen

2. Inorganic materials (calcium & phosphorus; about 2/3 of a bone)

Question 7

Human skeleton is composed of

Answer 7

206 bones

Question 8

Bones are divided into two main types:

Answer 8

1) axial - in line with vertical position of body; skull, ribs & vertebrae
2) appendicular - the limbs and other bones

Question 9

Bones are then subdivided into 4 classes

Answer 9

1. Long bones - fairly long and tubular; they act as levers and sustain weight
2. Short bones - tubular but shorter; compactness, elasticity and limited motion required
3. Flat bones - protection; wide areas of muscle attachment
4. Irregular bones

Question 10

Dentition

Answer 10

Adults: 32 permanent teeth
20 children
Adult dental formula: 2-1-2-3 (incisors, canine, premolars, molars)

Question 11

Aging

Answer 11

• dental eruption child
• fusion of bones : ends of bones (epiphyses) not fused to shafts of bones (diaphyses)
• ends of ribs & pubic symphysis

Question 12

Sexual dimorphism

Answer 12

Differences in sex

Question 13

Sexing

Answer 13

• males are more robust; muscles attachments bigger; orbital ridge more pronounced
• innominate bones of pelvis
• mastoid processes more pronounced or prominent

Question 14

Female pelvis

Answer 14

Sacrum tilted forward, ilia spread wider

Question 15

Another word for faunal analysis

Answer 15

Zoo archaeology

• study of animal remains, generally in the form of bone, antler, shell, ivory, or at arky sites
• usually preserves in hot dry environments

Question 16

Why study faunal analysis?

Answer 16

• important info for subsistence and diet, economy, trade, and the environment

Question 17

Two divisions within zooarky

Answer 17

1) cultural analysis

2) environmental analysis

Question 18

Cultural analysis

Answer 18

• function of a site and types of activities performed
• diet and subsistence
• whether or not animals were domesticated
• methods of hunting and butchering
• Seasonality

Question 19

Taphonomy

Answer 19

• study of the transition of faunal remains from their natural state to arky state (processes create/ alter arky record after deposition)
• weathered bone

Question 20

Awls

Answer 20

A long pointed tool for perforating

Question 21

Bone artifacts

Answer 21

Awls
Points &a harpoons 
Musical instruments 
Ornamentation spindle whorls
Fleshed

Question 22

Analysis

Answer 22

Examining, quantifying, and interpreting

Question 23

Factors that might bias ones sample

Answer 23

1) don’t recover all remains
2) # identifiable bone elements
3) differential bone preservation

Question 24

3 methods

Answer 24

NUmber of identified specimens
Bone meausremt
Bone weight
Minimum number individuals

Question 25

Types bone modification and taphonomy

Answer 25

• gnawing
• sawing
• drilling
• incising
• root etching