INTRODUCTION TO ARCHAEOLOGY Nancy White - Touro Institute

Two deer leg bones, if they are right and left, could represent one deer, but if they are both from
the left side then you have at least two deer. And so on.
What are coprolites? There is a lot of terminology associated with analysis of ecofacts, but this is
the best word, meaning preserved feces, or dried-up old turds. A pile of animal bones and plant
remains at a site can tell you what the people had at the site, but a coprolite is direct evidence of
what someone ate, if it is a human sample. (This is also a cute word to know and use for many
purposes!)
What kinds of human remains can be preserved archaeologically? Any and all, as we already
saw from the discussion of site formation processes and human mummies in bogs, deserts, and
wet sites. But usually human remains uncovered by archaeologists are skeletons or portions of
skeletons. In Florida, when human burials are preserved the bones are often the consistency of
cheesecake, even inside coffins, and hard to record or excavate.
What can we learn from human remains? From soft tissue there can be any kind of medical and
biological study we want, from blood typing to DNA analysis, identification of stomach
contents, height, weight, sex, cause of death, health and illness, trauma and pathology, diet, etc.
We can get a lot of these from skeletons as well. Bone studies that identify chemical isotopes
indicating what the person ate can tell us not only about diet and health, but also about past
environments and socioeconomic systems that produced good or bad nutrition. Sex and gender
issues in the past are also well addressed with skeletal remains, as are other social questions. We
can also look at cultural modifications of the human body, such as piercings, tattoos, dental
work, and cranial deformation resulting from binding the soft skull bones of an infant (pictured
in the book, p.137).
What about the ethics of excavating and studying human remains? There is no discussion of
ethics and professional responsibilities at this point in your book, and only a brief discussion at
the end of the book where modern social issues are noted. But it is much too important not to
discuss right now. The history of archaeology clearly shows that Native American skeletons and
others from unmarked human graves were treated differently from those of the dominant society.
Modern and even early historic cemeteries of white folks were protected; it would be illegal to
dig up any graves without some kind of permission for a special reason. But unmarked graves
were not covered by law until recently. The skeletons were treated as scientific specimens, just
like the artifacts, to be studied in the lab. Anthropological archaeology recognizes that the
descendants of the people whose remains are being studied may not agree to such study, and
activism by Native Americans and other groups has succeeded in changing the laws.
The 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) requires U.S.
museums and other institutions to return human remains and other cultural property, especially
burial goods, taken without permission, to the people of their origin. New laws in Florida and
most other states require archaeologists encountering unmarked human remains to report them to
the state archaeologist and locate descendant communities with whom to consult about the
disposition of the remains.