If you have recently started looking into a career in archaeology and anthropology, you have seen discussions over skeletal identification and due diligence reports. You likely know that skeletal identification is necessary for the study of aboriginal history. What you may not know is what skeletal identification actually is and what information can be found from skeletal remains. Here are a few things you may not know about skeletal identification and what to know about each point.

Cultural Markers

One of the first things you may not know about skeletal identification is how it can tell scientists about the cultural markers of the time period. For example, the teeth can tell an archaeologist about the types of food that were eaten. If the teeth are worn down, it could indicate a diet that consisted of tough meat or foods that needed to be chewed more thoroughly. This could indicate the location of where the person lived and what their daily life was like compared to skeletal remains found in another area of the country.

Timestamp Markers

Due to previous skeletal identification and due diligence reporting by other consulting firms, archaeologists know what to look for in skeletal identification to determine the age of the skeleton. For example, certain markers of identification may show that a skeleton is from 1,000 years ago. This is based on teeth, bone density and even previous injuries and how they mended. Someone from 1,000 years ago with a broken bone may have a more obvious sign of where the bone mended over someone who had more modern methods, like casts, for broken bone mending.

Mortality Rate

If an archaeology consulting group finds a dig site that contains a burial site, they can use the skeletal identification to determine what the average age of the people buried there would be. This can be done through identification points of the soft spot of a child's head that shows the skull still growing and forming. The size of the bones can also show if the primary age was in the late teens, early 20s or later in life. This type of identification can give insight into the mortality rate and what contributing factors caused it to be younger or older.

These are only three of the things you may not know about skeletal identification and consulting. If you want to work more in the field of this form of identification and studies, contact your local consulting group. They can guide you to the internships and volunteer options available to you.