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osteoarchaeology

Left Handers Day & Lefties: how can we identify handedness (or hand preference)?

Today is (apparently) International Left Handers Day.... There are few lefties among the Archaeology staff... Prof Jon Adams (our UG admissions tutor) for one - he is usually recognizable when diving as the only left handed underwater archaeologist (just see the films of the excavation and lifting of the Mary Rose). More famously (?) Leonardo da Vinci was a leftie. So why is this? Population-level right-handedness is a defining characteristic of being human. Continue reading →

Ancient skeleton shows leprosy may have spread to Britain from Scandinavia

An international team, including archaeologists from the University of Southampton, has found evidence suggesting leprosy may have spread to Britain from Scandinavia. The team, led by former Southampton PhD student Sarah Inskip, now at the University of Leiden, and including researchers from Historic England and the Universities of Southampton, Birmingham, Surrey, and Swansea, examined a 1500 year old male skeleton, excavated at Great Chesterford in Essex, England during the 1950s. Continue reading →

Bring Your Bones! Bones Identification Day 8th August

Osteologists Visit Basing House Do you have a mystery bone that you dug up in the garden or found whilst walking the dog? Would you like to find out more about how archaeologists identify bones? We have fantastic news for you! Some lovely skulls to whet your appetite! Can you identify all of these chaps? Bones Identification Day at Basing House 8th August 11am-4pm Ellie Williams and her team will be visiting Basing House on the 8th August to show a selection of bones from the University of... Continue reading →