Author Archives: JB

Thumbs Up: The muscles that insert on the thumb

Posted on October 6, 2013 by JB

Bernard Wood recently came to give a talk at Michigan.  While he was discussing  the utility of the concept of genus for thinking about human evolution, he mentioned something I found interesting.  Wood referenced a research project on anatomical homologies … Continue reading →

Posted in Anatomy, Hand, Muscle Attachments | Tagged | 1 Comment

Orienting and Siding ‘Regular’ Ribs

Posted on September 24, 2013 by JB

I’ll begin by admitting that ribs are some of my least favorite bones to deal with. [Sidebar: I took a  week-long forensic anthropology overview course once (the 25th year of this), and I was astonished at the extent to which … Continue reading →

Posted in Fragmentary Remains, Osteology, Ribs, Siding Tricks | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Get a leg up on the competition: Tips for identifying femoral shaft fragments

Posted on September 10, 2013 by JB

September is always a time of flux for grad students. It doesn’t matter how many years you’ve been in the program – there’s always some stressor that crops up in tandem with the start of a new school year. You … Continue reading →

Posted in Fragmentary Remains, Long Bones, Osteology | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

How to set up a spreadsheet like a boss

Posted on September 5, 2013 by JB

When I was applying to graduate school, I wish that someone had told me that it helps to either: (a) have an extensive command of the intricacies of office software, or (b) have a close friend who is an office … Continue reading →

Posted in Data Collection, Dissertation, Equipment, Grad School, Impending Doom | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

OsteoMenagerie 6: Tips for Siding the Calcaneus

Posted on August 27, 2013 by JB

The calcaneus, often colloquially referred to as the ‘heel bone’, is the largest tarsal in the human foot. It preserves relatively well archaeologically speaking, appearing both in individual cemetery burials and in commingled graves. The photo below is of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Foot, Osteology, OsteoMenagerie, Siding Tricks, Tarsals, Test Your Skills | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Pack your bags: equipment you’ll need for bioarchaeology data collection

Posted on August 13, 2013 by JB

This past Friday I finished my preliminary season of dissertation data collection here in Jaén. After staggering, zombie-like, out of the museum, devouring a bocadillo that was approximately the size of my head and staring blankly at the wall for a few … Continue reading →

Posted in Data Collection, Dissertation, Equipment | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

OsteoMenagerie 5: The pisiform

Posted on August 2, 2013 by JB

The pisiform is one of the smallest bones you’re likely to come across when dealing with archaeological remains (though I once found one of the auditory ossicles when excavating a commingled burial site in Portugal – that was an exciting … Continue reading →

Posted in Carpals, Hand, Osteology, OsteoMenagerie | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Hazards of Dissertation Data Collection

Posted on July 26, 2013 by JB

I’m about to enter Week 10 of data collection here in Spain, and over the past month or so I’ve started to notice some unsettling trends. I wear variations on the same two “nice-ish” outfits to the museum every day, … Continue reading →

Posted in Dissertation, Grad School, Impending Doom | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

If you got a fragment, yo I’ll sort it

Posted on July 23, 2013 by JB

Apologies to Vanilla Ice. There are around 206 bones in the adult human body. However, one of the joys* of working with prehistoric human remains is that taphonomy, mortuary practices and several thousand years worth of soil pressure all unite … Continue reading →

Posted in Equipment, Fragmentary Remains | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

OsteoMenagerie 4: The Capitate

Posted on July 4, 2013 by JB

Like all carpals, the capitate possesses a distinctive, irregular shape that makes it easy to identify and side. Unlike the other carpals, however, the capitate happens to look like one of the most notorious villains in cinematic history: Lord Voldemort…Just checking that … Continue reading →

Posted in Carpals, Hand, OsteoMenagerie, Siding Tricks | Tagged , , | 6 Comments