Real Human Skulls in the Chapel of Bones. Jim Kelly//flickr.cc(by)
The analysis of human skeletal remains can provide insights or glimpses into past lives. As a biological anthropologist, when I analyse a skeleton for the first time I look at the bones of the body to find clues about who the person once was. Through studying the bones, a picture emerges; but that picture is only ever partially complete.
I can uncover information about the sex, age, and height of an individual; but I have no way of knowing about their inner life, their personality, hopes and dreams. I can record information about different diseases which affected an individual, but the personal experience of disease or impairment often evades my study. Sometimes, the final picture is almost disappointing – there appears to be more gaps than facts.
