#osteology pictures

[er-cryptid]

View inside a bone

Human Body Museum Panama City Beach, Florida

[kattheerat]

Quick study!

I visited the Museum of Osteology on the weekend after my 21st birthday. So far i’ve doodled only 6 out of the One Million Billion photos i took, but i hope to do more

i’ve gotten pictures of plenty of non-mammals that i hope to study as well

[archaeologyprehistoricstones]

⚔ SOLDIER ~ TOWTON 25 ⚔

⚔ The largest and bloodiest battle on English soil, was the Battle of Towton.

It took place on 29th March 1461, between the Lancastrians and the Yorks during the Wars of the Roses.

⚔ In 1996, a mass grave unearthed near the battlefield of Towton, contained the skeletal remains of some of those men that were brutally cut down during the fighting.

These bones are now helping archaeologists research medieval battlefield injuries.

The location of the grave, is about a half a mile from the battlefield.

Carbon dating links the gravesite to the battle, and is the only mass grave of a known medieval battle found in England.

⚔ The exhumed bones tell the story of men who lived hard lives, and died in a grisly fight.

The remains of 38 individuals, including 28 complete skeletons, were recovered.

The bodies belonged to men who ranged in ages from 17 to 50 years old, and had heights that ranged from five feet to six feet, with the older men being the tallest.

⚔ Researchers from the University of Bradford believe these bones belong to members of the Lancastrian army, because the bodies were found in a mass grave and there were no grave goods.

Many of the skeletons had injuries that occurred around the time of death, and some had healed wounds from previous fights.

⚔ Most of the trauma was to the skulls.

There were 113 wounds on the 28 recovered skulls.

A total of 43 postcranial (the bones below the skull) injuries were found on all 38 bodies.

An osteological exam of the skull wounds suggest that 73 were caused by sharp force trauma, 28 were produced by blunt force trauma, and 12 were the result of puncture wounds.

Archaeologists believe that a weapon consistent with the poleaxe, could have easily made these injuries.

⚔ The injuries sustained by the soldiers were horrific, and demonstrated the ferocity of the combat.

The medieval weapons commonly used during the Wars of the Roses, such as swords, war hammers, poleaxes, and maces, were responsible for causing devastating wounds.

Skull fractures, severed limbs, and shattered bones were common findings, indicating the sheer force with which these weapons were wielded.

⚔ Dr Alan Ogden, a palaeopathologist, comments:

"The thing that shook us was that these people had been butchered.

The main thing is the sheer number of head injuries.

Perhaps the most spectacular ones are where people have basically had part of their head sliced off, or their head cut in half.

But what's interesting about Towton is that there's also evidence of mutilation.

Noses and ears were cut off."

⚔ The body with some of the most severe injuries is known as Towton 25.

Towton 25 got his nickname from the order in which his bones were removed from the grave.

Towton 25, was between 36 and 45 years old at the time of his death, and sustained eight wounds to his head.

Osteologists can recreate the order in which Towton 25 received his injuries, because of the direction and pattern of his skull fractures.

⚔ The first five blows to Towton 25, were by a bladed weapon to the left side of his head, yet surprisingly, these were not fatal.

The soldier then sustained another blow to the back of his head that opened a large horizontal gash, causing other radiating fractures down the base and sides of his skull.

Bone fragments from this injury would have likely embedded in his brain, and would have caused his death.

Towton 25 then received another wound that cut through his face from his left eye to the right side of his jaw.

⚔ The Towton Skeletal Collection, is now housed at the University of Bradford.

It's important to archaeologists because it is a good resource to study perimortem battlefield injuries, and the effects of medieval battle on the skeleton.

Maybe one day they can be all laid to a dignified rest....

The Tudor Intruders (and more)

⚔ Source - strangeremains/the-game-of-thrones-written-in-bones-the-battle-of-towton.

⚔ The Skull of Towton 25, showing some of his many battlefield injuries.

Picture credit - Blackgate. com

Source: Facebook

The Tudor Intruders

[polymeraze]

Behind the rough hands and fishy scent is a gentle soul. In his fantasies her silver back lightly touched the surface of the water and slipped away again and again, teasing him. With his heart eaten, he looked at the ripples, picturing the iridescent reflection of her scales.

Valentine for a Fisherman - a pendant made based on my installation with live maggots. Find them on my store

[the-casbah-way]

osteology lecturer puts massive picture of skeleton on the screen and goes "unfortunately this man is dead so we cannot ask him what happened here"

[gingerhotelsindia]

What Are The Best Places To Visit In Vadodra? Where To Stay?

Vadodara (previously Baroda) is Gujarat's third largest city, located on the banks of the Vishwamitri River to the south of Ahmedabad. The historic quarter of Vadodara is dominated by massive monuments, galleries, and lawns documenting Indian history.

Sayajirao III, a foresighted emperor who instituted free elementary education and laid the groundwork for great institutions like the Bank of Baroda, a railway system, and Maharaja Sayajirao University, envisioned the tinsel town. There are also many good options for accommodation in Vadodara.

Sayajirao Gaekwad III, the city's nominal ruler, is responsible for much of the city's splendors. He was a renowned modernizer who established Vadodara's modern status as Gujarat's cultural capital. Vadodara is now known around the world for its intoxicating blend of spectacular art, intriguing vistas, and active street life.

Even the suburbs of Vadodara are popular destinations for tourists. The old town of Champaner, also a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site, is only a few kilometers from Vadodara. Champaner, located in the foothills of Pavgadh, has a citadel, mosque, palaces, and tombs that are guarded by massive gateways.

Vadodara, Gujarat's cultural hub, has every reason on the planet to be on every tourist's travel bucket list.

Let’s see the best tourist places along with the best hotels in Vadodara Gujarat.

Laxmi Vilas Palace is the first. Laxmi Vilas Palace, one of India's most majestic monuments, exudes a distinct blend of grandeur and wealth. The palace was built in 1890 as the private home of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III.

The Indo-Saracenic-style palace incorporates Hindu, Neo-Mughal, Mughal-Gothic, and Indo-Gothic architectural features, including arches and domes. Laxmi Vilas Palace, one of Vadodara's most prominent landmarks, houses several buildings, including Makarpura Palace, the Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum, Moti Baug Palace, and Pratap Vilas Palace.

Sur Sagar Lake is yet another popular attraction in Vadodra. Sur Sagar Lake, located in the heart of the city, was once a tiny pond established by Shri Sureshwar Desai, and it was named after him. It is also in close proximity to hotels in Vadodara Gujarat.

This 18th-century lake, also known as Chandan Talav, features numerous underground valves to manage water if it overflows. Sur Sagar Lake, one of the top sites to visit in Baroda, is known for its 120-foot-tall statue of Lord Shiva amid the lake. This lake's cool ambiance and quiet beauty make it an ideal area for folks to sit and unwind.

The Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery is the next stunning location. The Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery, located in Sayaji Baug, was erected in 1887 by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad for the education of various topics and had items chosen by the King himself.

The Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery, one of the prominent Vadodara attractions, is a fusion of Maratha and European architectural styles. This museum's collection covers Geology, Geography, Palaeontology, Osteology, Anthropology, and other subjects. This museum's art exhibit also has works from Portuguese, British, Dutch, Spanish, and Italian schools, among others. It is also in close proximity to hotels in Vadodara Gujarat.

Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary is the final stop. The Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary, located approximately 70 kilometers from Vadodara, is one of the city's primary attractions. The refuge was founded in 1989, but it was designated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1990.

Currently, this wildlife refuge is home to around 17 different species of animals, such as the giant squirrel, Indian flying fox, rusty-spotted cat, and sloth bears. The Jambughoda Animal Sanctuary, one of Gujarat's top national parks, is a haven for nature and wildlife enthusiasts.

There is no shortage of ancient landmarks and other tourist attractions in Vadodara.

With so much to explore and discover, a well-timed trip is needed for sure. To increase the quality of your stay, good hotels in Vadodara Gujarat with excellent services are a must.

Vadodara, one of Gujarat's main cities, is an industrially important, commercial, and cultural center. It also contains the state's largest university, Maharaja Sayajirao University. Whether you are a business or leisure traveler, the hotel's central location gives convenient access to both the train station and the airport. The hotel has a banquet hall that can seat more than 300 people, as well as a multi-cuisine restaurant.

Ginger Hotels Vadodara is the ideal combination of a simple style and cutting-edge amenities complemented by exceptional service. For fantastic exercise, visit the in-house fitness center, which is outfitted with the latest machines. The hotel is about a 5-minute drive from the Baroda Junction Railway Station. A 5-minute walk from the hotel lies the popular Seven Seas Mall.

Why are Ginger hotels the best option for you when searching for accommodation in Vadodara? It is because of the hotel’s close proximity to other important locations. More than 100 travelers liked the property's location due to its proximity to the market.

[gunvewor]

Arm bones 123d models

#Arm bones 123d models portable

Clinical CTs produce a stack of images with a spatial resolution of maximal 0.5 mm. It allows one to investigate both internal and external structures of objects and, hence, is most useful for hidden and internal structures, such as bones in mummies, cremated remains in urns, trabecular bone structure, or endocranial morphology. Including metadata of the internal geometry of the camera used to take the pictures (focal length, focal ratio, lens distortion, etc.) helps to scale the model accurately.ĬT scanning is a method to produce volumetric data from X‐ray images taken from different angles. In contrast to 3D surface scanners, which are calibrated and provide both shape and size information of the object, most photogrammetric methods capture only shape information unless the mesh is manually calibrated based on a scale (e.g., measurement tape) placed next to the object (Gonzáles et al., 2015). Photogrammetry has been applied in several research fields, ranging from anthropology (e.g., Adams et al., 2015 Fourie et al., 2011 Geoghegan, 1953 Ghoddousi et al., 2007 Martin & Knußmann, 1988), archaeology (e.g., Bouby et al., 2013 Counts et al., 2016 Grosman et al., 2008 Haukaas & Hoddgetts, 2016 Porter et al., 2016), medicine (e.g., Aldridge et al., 2005 Grant et al., 2019 Jayaratne et al., 2009 Plooij et al., 2009), and geomorphology (e.g., Heritage et al., 1998 Lane et al., 1996 Nunez et al., 2013 Sapirstein, 2016 Verhoeven et al., 2012) to zoology (e.g., Breuer et al., 2007 Evin et al., 2016 Jaquet, 2006 Munoz‐Munoz et al., 2016 Shrader et al., 2006). Nowadays it is an accurate, precise, and cheap technique (Munoz‐Munoz et al., 2016). Since the beginning of digital photogrammetry, the processing algorithms have continuously improved and the resolution has increased from several millimeters (Faig, 1981 Lichti et al., 2002) to a few micrometers (Gonzáles et al., 2015 Rüther et al., 2012). Photogrammetry reconstructs the shape, color, and texture of the surface of objects from multiple pictures (Kraus, 2007) using a least‐squares algorithm (Evin et al., 2016 Rüther et al., 2012). Surface scanning has been successfully employed in osteology and anthropology (e.g., Hennessy & Stringer, 2002 Motani, 2005 Niven et al., 2009 Sholts et al., 2010 Tocheri et al., 2005 Windhager et al., 2019), medicine (e.g., Da Silveira et al., 2003 Kau et al., 2005 Kovacs et al., 2006 Toma et al., 2009 Yamada et al., 2002) and archaeology (e.g., Counts et al., 2016 Godin et al., 2002 Grosman et al., 2008 Kuzminsky & Gardiner, 2012 Wachowiak & Karas, 2009). Hair, reflective surfaces, sharp edges, small holes, and translucent materials as well as dark or black‐colored materials are also difficult to scan. Shaded areas, undercuts, and narrow structures that are outside the triangulation angle cannot be represented well in the 3D model (Friess, 2012). Most surface scanners utilize the principle of triangulation to estimate a point cloud and to calculate a polygon mesh.

#Arm bones 123d models portable

Many scanners are lightweight, handheld, and portable (Adams et al., 2015). Laser beams produce fewer errors in the surface mesh and are less problematic in daylight however, no texture information is collected (Friess, 2012). Light scanners provide colors and a sufficient resolution to measure distances or to place landmarks on human bones. Surface scanners emit laser or visible light to survey the surface of an object.

[strohller27]

OhohohohohgoHO does my uncle know me or does he KNOW me??)))

[capricornbones]

Macro of a fetal coyote pup mummy

[findangoh]

Presenting the best photoset of all time.

Featuring @swellerando and my girlfriends at the Osteology museum in Oklahoma.

[skeenee]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Skeenee (@skeenee.art)

Time-lapse of my hornbill skeleton painting.

[blueiscoool]

Mysterious Skull Implanted With Strange Metallic Object

An elongated, cone-shaped skull with a possible metal implant could represent some of the earliest evidence from Peru of an ancient surgical implant. Or it could be a modern-day fake.

The fact that the skull, which was donated to the Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma City, has a cone shape is nothing too unusual, as Peruvians during ancient times were known to squeeze children's heads with bands during development to achieve the distinctive shape.

However, the metal implant in this skull is highly unusual and, if authentic, would potentially be a unique find from the ancient Andean world.

In addition to this potential implant, the skull has a hole beneath the metal that was possibly created through trepanation. Trepanation is when a hole is inserted into a person's skull in an attempt to treat an injury or medical condition, and it was a common practice in the ancient world.

The Museum of Osteology, which has posted several pictures of this skull on its Facebook page, said its experts are not able to verify the authenticity of the metal implant at this time. A museum representative told Live Science that no carbon dating has been done and an archaeologist has yet to examine it up close.

Is the implant authentic?

Live Science talked to several scholars not affiliated with the museum to get their take on the implant's authenticity, and overall their opinion was mixed. Some were skeptical and suggested the implant is a forgery, while others suspect the implant could be the real deal.

Either way, several scientific tests will need to be done before a final determination can be made as to whether the implant is authentic, the scholars said.

"I'm quite dubious that this is anything authentic," John Verano, an anthropology professor at Tulane University in Louisiana, told Live Science in an email, referring to the metal implant possibly being a modern-day forgery even if the skull is legit.

"In a few words, I think this is something fabricated to make the skull a more valuable collectible," Verano said. This metal implant could have been inserted many decades ago, before either the museum or the donor owned it.

Verano has examined several Andean skulls that allegedly have metal implants and published a paper on the topic in 2010 in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology.

In the paper, Verano describes skulls that supposedly held metal implants, but they were either forgeries, or the metal was not a surgical implant at all but instead was used as a grave offering.

Other scholars told Live Science that it's possible the metal implant could be real, but it's too early to say for certain until further tests have been carried out.

"I've never seen anything like this before. Based on the pictures, it looks like the metal piece was thinly hammered into shape," Danielle Kurin, an anthropology professor at University of California, Santa Barbara, told Live Science in an email.

"Based on the fracture patterns, this individual – [who] looks to be an older male – suffered a massive blunt-force trauma to the right side of the head. The fact that the radiating and concentric fracture lines show signs of healing suggests this individual survived at least several weeks to months," Kurin added.

Since metallurgical technology varied across the Andes at the time, tests on the metal in the skull could help to shed light on where it was made, Kurin said.

"It would also be helpful to have the skull X-rayed to determine if the piece of metal is covering a trepanation hole and/or an open cranial fracture."

There are a few cases from past discoveries where, after a trepanation, a piece of the person's bone or a gourd was placed in the hole that was cut out, Kurin said.

Additionally, in a 2013 American Journal of Physical Anthropology article, Kurin reported on a case where a person who lived in Peru about 800 years ago wore a tight-fitting skull cap that had a metal cap stitched onto it. They wore the cap like a helmet, providing protection for the area carved out by trepanation.

Kent Johnson, an anthropology professor at SUNY Cortland, also said that the metal implant could be authentic but again said that tests need to be done. However, regardless of whether or not the implant is real, the person it was placed on did survive an awful injury.

"It is fair to describe this individual as a survivor. There is extensive trauma to the right side of the cranium affecting the frontal, temporal and right parietal bones," Johnson told Live Science in an email, noting that the person seems to have survived for a time after these injuries.

"There is evidence of healing where the edges of the fractured bones had sufficient time to grow back together."

It's not clear at the moment when tests on the skull will take place.

By Owen Jarus.

[chllengers]

shimizu is not concerned at all about how this birthday will pan out. never for a moment did she have any doubt in her mind about making the purchase for matsukawa-san’s birthday gift. not even when the bookstore owner looked at the book, then looked at her with a confused face as if he was questioning how such a pretty girl and a coffee table-sized book about human bones ( complete with illustrations ) were connected.

of course, they weren’t really. it’s matsukawa-san who likes bones, shimizu thinks. even if he doesn’t really like bones, the pictures in the book are interesting enough—it doesn’t feel like a reference book so much as it does a picture book or an art album. when she’d thumbed through it in the store, shimizu had even seen old pictures of medical drawings from medieval europe—worn from years of age and moth-eaten papyrus scrolls—but still interesting. she doesn’t think matsukawa-san needs to learn anything about bones. he can just look through the pictures like she did, if he wants.

the book is a hardcover. the front shows a perfectly-shaped human skull, and is covered with a protective glossy sheen. it’s so large that shimizu has to carry it with two hands, and she hides the front by pressing it against her chest when she approaches him. it takes some effort to flip around, with two hands that stumble from the size and the weight, but when she does, shimizu presents it to him with a proud look on her face. “ happy… bonesday. ” ( shes taking after him with the puns make it stop )

ISSEI’S fascination with Osteology can be stemmed back to his childhood. Being the curious child that he was, he’d gotten into his mother’s impressive collection of books ( most of which were scientific text ) where he found a book about anything and everything bones. At the time, most of the words were too long and complicated for him to understand, but the pictures were captivating enough to keep him engaged. It was when his mother found him that his interest in the topic was solidified, when she’d bundled him into his arms and interpreted the text for him in a way he’d understand. 

SEVERAL years later, he reflects back on the bonding moment he’d shared with his mother and how it had impacted his interests growing up. Issei’s fascination with bones would be strange or off-putting to most, evident by their bewildered reactions when he’d share this interest with them. So when he brought it up to Shimizu, he was pleasantly surprised when she didn’t recoil in disgust.

HE can’t help the snicker that escapes his lips, amused by her admirable pun. ‘ For me? ’ Issei takes the book ( now noticing how heavy it really was ) into his hands, running a thumb over image on the front. It’s by an author he doesn’t recognize ; the realization is exciting, as it means this was a book he’d never had the pleasure of flipping through before. It was a very thoughtful gift, he thinks to himself.

‘ Thank you, Shimizu. ’ He wants to look through it now, he thinks, but he wants to share the experience with her. So, he tilts his head in the direction of the kotatsu in their living room, inviting her to sit with him. ‘ Join me? ’

[kyidyl]

Kyidyl Explains Bone - Part 2

(these are collected under the KyidylBones tag bc I have the sense of humor of a 13 year old boy.) 

I decided to do this today since the other part was basically like boring intro stuff and that’s not really what you showed up for.  So today’s topic is: 

Human vs. Animal

Anthropology and archaeology departments the world over are often brought random bones people find to ID whether they’re human or animal, so you might be wondering how do we know the difference? Well...it takes practice.  And, honestly, if the pieces are too small we can’t tell without microscopic analysis of the bone structure, but most of the time we can tell.  

Human bone is very unique.  Our anatomy is unique because we’re the only living members of our genus Homo and the anatomical adaptations of Homo are unique among animals.  The weird combination of big brain, walks upright, fine motor control, and used to live in trees is just...weird.  Our internal microscopic structure is different than that of any other animal. We grow differently than any other animal because our young take so long to mature and are born so helpless.  So anatomically...we’re unique if you know what to look for, but fragmentary remains are super common so you can’t do it by anatomy alone.

One piece of info that’s important.  Bone is made of two components: collagen and minerals.  Squishy bits and crunchy bits respectively.  And, yes, if you’re wondering...scientists DO sometimes remove these bits for Reasons (TM).  

Context! 

Where did you find this thing? Was it a single bone in a patch of woods in your backyard? Probably animal, but not always.  In a pit at a dig with burned animal bones? Probably not a human because people don’t toss the remains of their friends and families in with dinner.  Across cultures people treat their own dead differently than their animal dead or their food.  So if you find it with the food? 99% chance it’s animal, even at a disturbed site (tho it’s not *impossible* to find people in with animal, especially in caves, very disturbed sites, or very old sites.  With very old sites you have to get comfortable with the idea that sometimes people were food and it wasn’t even that uncommon.)

Texture! 

I’m doing this one first bc I can’t give you pictures of texture so it can go outside the cut.  That microscopic structure I mentioned and differences in bone growth all lead to a different texture in human bone.  Now, I want to preface this by saying: this varies with the age of the bone and the age of the individual and the environment in which you found it.  But human bone tends to be a bit less....greasy than animal bone.  I don’t know how else to describe this, because understanding the difference in texture is literally something you can only do by handling them, but I’ll do my best.  

See, animal bone found in association with humans is normally put through some kind of alteration process.  Cooking, smoking, etc.  Human bone sometimes is - after all, people cremate their dead or dry them out or mummify them or eat them all the time - but buried bone tends to be drier in texture than animal bone.  Animal bone won’t leave greasy stains or residue, but it will feel smoother - less porous.  As humans (and animals) decay, the collagen goes first and leaves behind the minerals.  This happens at different rates for different organisms in different conditions, but human bone that has been buried will have a different texture than animal bone, and it will be slightly less smooth or greasy (listen bone grease isn’t GREASE grease it’s just like a way of talking about how dried out it is. Older = less grease.  New things will leave like food grease on your fingers.). But after you’ve felt it a few times - buried human bone has a different texture than animal bone.  

Color! 

Human bone is a different color from other kinds of bone.  It’s similar, but not the same.  And! Unless it has been bleached by the sun (something I’ll touch on more when I do the damage post.), it’s not white.  Not when it has been defleshed naturally.  So halloween decorations? Yeah, all the wrong color.  Anyway, this is where we start to get into images, so I’m going to start putting things behind the cut.  

Here is an image of mixed animal bone from my own collection: 

Ooooo so many cool things in this one picture.  There’s burned bone, small bone, big bone, MgO staining, teef!, moar different burned bone...and one of the things that gets mistaken as human most often: turtle shell.  It’s the piece that’s in the top row, fourth from the right.  It looks very much like human skull when it’s fragmentary and is easy to mistake it as such.  It’s flat and the lines look like sutures (place where the bones in the skull fused, and are now the markers of separate bones.), but they don’t go all the way through.  Anyway, this is a good depiction of the wide variety of colors animal bone comes in.  The large piece in the very lower right is close to what I’d consider an average.  

Here’s an image of human femur that has been defleshed, but not buried: 

(Source)

Probably a young adult because the bone is in good condition, and the head has been fused but the suture isn’t completely grown over (obliterated).  

These are also human femurs: 

(Source)

Side note: they all probably had rickets and that center one is a juvenile, and I’ll teach you how to ID that later on.  They were found in a cave, a burial, and an archaeological site respectively.  

This is another femur: 

(Source)

Bottom is the femur, and it has a healed break in the middle.  The top is also a femur but it has....so...so...many problems.  SO MANY.  I could barely tell it’s a femur from this angle.  

Anyway, the color and texture on that front femur is what I would consider like an average color and texture for a human bone.  And it’s tan, sure, but it’s a different color tan than animal bone, especially IRL.  

In short: human bone looks different and feels different than animal bone, even before you take into consideration things like anatomy.  

Regarding anatomy, it’s...well, it’s an incredibly complex topic and I don’t know that I can really cover it appropriately here in my blog.  It mostly boils down to the impact that bipedalism has on our bodies, the impact that a big brain has on our skulls, and the impact that our manual dexterity on our fingers.  The walking thing is especially important because it changes *everything* about our anatomy.  Like...head to toe.  Everything.  

If you’re interested in human bone anatomy I have two resource recommendations for you.  First, The Human Bone Manual.  This is the one I used for school, and it’s the most useful textbook I’ve ever purchased.  I still use it all the time.  The ebook version is around $18.  Second, this app is called Essential Skeleton 4. It’s free, and it’s the most comprehensive skeletal anatomy app I’ve ever seen (and I’ve used a LOT of them.  It’s made by the same people who make essential anatomy - but EA isn’t free.).  Unfortunately, it’s iOS only and I’ve never found a decent alternative for android. :/ 

There is a lot more to telling human from animal, but my hope is that you’ll pick it up as I make the other entries into the series.  My best advice here is to develop an eye for detail.  Be like Elliot Spencer: it’s a very distinctive ___________. 

One final note on anatomy: people almost always do not realize what size bones actually are.  Human femurs are long and they’re heavy for their size.  They’re usually at least a foot or two in length (I mean...obviously...height is a factor.). The head is good and solid, and the shaft is thick with a lot of compact bone, but when the soft tissue is gone they’re hollow.  Most of the long bones are.  Foot bones are larger than most people expect. Skulls vary in size between softball-ish and volleyball-ish.  And human bone has a distinctive density which, unfortunately, you can’t learn the feel of without handling bone.  If you pick up a bone that looks right but doesn’t feel right - you know it.  I handled a human femur that felt like bird bone (bird bone is very light with a lot of spongy bone bc they fly.) because of a pathology (a non-standard but usually naturally occurring thing on the bone.  Breaks aren’t a pathology, but their regrowth can be.  Syphilis damage is a pathology because bacteria is naturally occurring, as are things like bone cancer, osteoporosis, etc.).  Other times it’s because your damned osteology prof mixed in a human-looking animal bone with the box of remains to trip you up because the differences can be real subtle and you need to learn that.  

Anyway, I think that’s it for today.  I’ll seeya tomorrow, peoples! 

[turinn]

14, 54 & 57?

14. what books are you reading?

Exposing myself yet again as an archaeology nerd but: Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years. It's a study of the history of textiles (and to a lesser extent food production) from prehistoric times to the 20th century. It's really in depth and super interesting, and it doesn't just focus on one area of the world, but stretches across every area we have evidence for and discusses all of it. It's a fascinating read!

I'm also reading the Human Bone Manual, which is a reference book/field guide that helps with the identification of human remains in archaeological and osteological contexts. It has to scale pictures of every single bone, as well as in depth descriptions of them and how to identify them in the field; it goes into detail about the correct tools to use for bone excavation and how to store them properly, too. It's really useful!

54. put your music on shuffle, what is the first song that came up?

Scrawny by Willows!

57. post a screenshot of your tumblr feed

quality content honestly

[superspookyskellyboi]

Random bone thing that I thought was cool: (TW ANIMAL ABUSE) I find a lot of animal bones in the woods behind my house (we have 120 acres) and I'll often bring back skulls and things for study purposes. I think they're really interesting. That's part of the reason I got into anthropology; I was always fascinated by skeletons and osteology (as well as forensics of all types). Well, that and watching Bones from a young age.

Anyways, I bring back a lot of animal bones.

A little backstory that will make sense in a minute, I used to have a rescue dog named Charlie. He was a catahoula mix and I had him from the time I was about 3. Best dog I ever had. He was super protective and really good with kids. Only ever bit one guy we knew, (he ended up being super shady and stealing from us, so listen to your dogs intuition people 😂), When I was about 13, though, he disappeared. We looked EVERYWHERE. For days. It wasn't like him to not come running when he was called, but Its not uncommon for dogs to go into the woods too die away from people.

I was heartbroken, but he was old and I knew we gave him the best life possible. Before us though, he was in the pound. A kid beat him up with a BASEBALL BAT 😠 and left him there and said "I never wanted him anyways. You can just kill him" and that's something I've been mad about every since I heard the story.

Anyways, I had this dog, he lived a long, happy life, and then died of old age.A few years ago, I bought home a dog skull from the woods. But there was something odd about it.

There's a large dent in the side of the skull.

But it wasn't cause of death, because it was actually healed back together. In fact, I was convinced it was a pretty old injury. I was running through ideas of what it could be, when Charlie crossed my mind and I remembered we hadn't ever found him, dead or alive.

So I found an average baseball bat and checked it against the indentation.

I took these pictures one handed, so they're not very good quality, but Id say it lines up pretty good. There's also a place where the indentation presses in on the nasal passage, limiting air flow on the one side, which would have accounted for the snort Charlie used to have. It was bittersweet to find it this way, but I suppose that's life. And it was a really interesting piece to examine. In a way, I'm glad to have him back.