Human Osteoarchaeology
Human osteoarchaeology is the scientific study of human skeletons excavated from archaeological sites. It can tell us about the health, lifestyle, diet, mortality and physique of people in the past. It may also be able to shed light on genetic relationships and movement of people. Techniques used by human osteoarchaeologists range from visual examination, through measurement of bones and teeth, to chemical and physical analyses.
Who we are
Simon Mays is Human Skeletal Biologist for Historic England, and is part of the Environmental Studies team. In addition to his Historic England duties, Simon is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Southampton, and an Honorary Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh.
Activities
- Responsible for shaping Historic England policy regarding all aspects of human remains, and liaising with professionals outside Historic England to inform the wider treatment of human remains in archaeology
- Providing advice, both within Historic England and externally
- Assessing the human osteology components of projects funded by Historic England to ensure best practice and value for money
- Producing guidance documents and conducting research, normally in collaboration with internal or external colleagues
Research
Research centres both on the study of human skeletal remains to reveal new information about our past, and on improving methods for studying human remains.
Most research is conducted in collaboration with other institutions both in the UK and abroad. It involves biomolecular techniques (stable isotopic and DNA analyses) as well as visual and measurement studies of remains, for example work on remains from Wharram Percy.
Current research themes include the study of lifestyles and disease in the past, and improving methods for determining age at death in skeletal remains.
Research resources
We are responsible for collections of archaeological human skeletal remains, representing about 5000 individuals. They are all from England and mainly date to the Roman and medieval periods. These collections are available for use by external researchers. For details please contact Simon Mays.
