MSc Human Osteology and Funerary Archaeology

Sheffield´s MSc in Human Osteology has long provided advanced training in the archaeological study of human bones. This program will provide you with both the technical skills and knowledge required to conduct such analyses, and the cultural understanding of funerary practices needed to situate your findings within a broader archaeological and historical context. In short, we will provide you with the tools to write human history from human remains.

The program is designed to appeal to all those who want to further their knowledge of what human remains can tell us about the past, and to acquire the practical expertise needed to unlock that knowledge. It will be of particular value to students who wish to learn the skills necessary to undertake doctoral research in human osteology, and to practitioners who want to enhance their skills-base.

This is a very intensive program, which makes full use of our department's diverse range of expertise, laboratory facilities and comprehensive reference collections to provide you with the fundamental knowledge and skills required to identify and interpret human skeletal remains from archaeological sites. We will provide you with insights into the range of research methods used in the study of human skeletal remains and in the analysis of the cultural attributes of burials.

Sheffield is the ideal place to pursue this program. The teaching staff (including Pia Nystrom on human anatomy, human osteology, and primatology,Lizzy Craig-Atkins on human osteology and palaeopathology, Umberto Albarella on zooarchaeology, and Kevin Kuykendall on palaeoanthropology) are leading practitioners in human osteology and funerary archaeology. The program has, for a number of years, been one of the most successful of its kind, and has trained many of those who now teach or practice the discipline.