What is Forensic Anthropology?

Undergraduate Required Course Descriptions

Core Courses (required for all Anthropology majors)

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Anthropology is the broadest and most eclectic of the social sciences. It is, at its most general, the study of humankind, both modern and extinct and their complex lifeways. This course provides a basic background to three of the four major subdisciplines of contemporary anthropology, including Physical/Biological Anthropology, Cultural/Social Anthropology, and Archaeology.
3 credits

This course examines the methods, goals, and substansive results of contemporary anthropological archaeology. It traces the evolution of human culture from its genesis 2.5 million years ago through the rise of the first state-level societies in the Old World against a continuously fluid background of plant, animal, and climatic change.
Corequisite: Anth 131 Lab
3 credits

This laboratory course provides the student basic exposure to contemporary archaeological field methods from both a theoretical and "hands on" perspective. Topics include: Archaeological survey techniques; mapping; excavation procedures; screening and data retrieval; field-lab processing and documentation.
1 credit

Physical anthropology examines the "human animal" from a biological and cultural perspective. It is the study of human origins and our contemporary and past physical and genetic diversity.
Corequisite: Anth 121 Lab
3 credits

This lab course will provide an opportunity for students to obtain "hands on" experience with human bones, fossil human casts, primate observation and forensic anthropology specimens.
1 credit

 

In this course, the student is exposed to the basic subject matter and methods of modern socio-cultural anthropology. The great diversity of contemporary and recently deceased extinct human culture is examined from a comparative and evolutionary perspective with an emphasis on the differences and similarities between so-called modern state-level societies and their less complex antecedents.
3 credits

This two-course sequence follows the development of the human species from our remote primate forebears through the appearance of fully modern Homo sapiens Sapiens The student is familiarized with the methods and the data of human paleontology and comparative primatology and is shown the complex relationships which exist between biological and cultural evolution. Part I focuses on primate evolution and the evolutionary history of Australopithecines. Part II will deal with the biological and cultural history of the genus Homo from its roots in the Plio-Pleistocene through the Holocene until the Neolithic.
Prerequisite: Anth 120, Anth 130, Anth 270 (for Paleoanthropology II)
3 credits each

This course is designed to expose students to the full spectrum of field methods now in use in contemporary anthropological archaeology. The rationale, technical details, and expected results of a wide array of field methods are presented in the context of the location, characterization, and full scale data recovery of prehistoric and historic archaeological sites.
Corequisite: Anth 225 Lab
Prerequisite: Anth 130
3 credits

During this six-week, on-site excavation, participants will be exposed to the latest methodologies in archaeology, geoarchaeology, excavation techniques, field photography, mapping, laboratory procedures, artifact analysis, human osteology, computer applications, and many other techniques employed in contemporary archaeological excavations. Students will be taught the techniques of open-site excavation and will be able to witness firsthand the ongoing interpretation of the natural and cultural history of archaeological sites.
Prerequisites: Anth 130, Anth 224
3 or 6 credits

This course will introduce students to the analytical and classificatory methods used in the treatment and processing of historic materials recovered from archaeological investigations. Emphasis will be placed on colonial and nineteenth century materials of the eastern United States. In the laboratory component of the course, students will assist in the analysis of materials from ongoing Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute field projects.
Corequisite: Anth 239 Analytical Lab Methods in Historic Archaeology Lab
Prerequisite: Anth 130
3 credits, lab 1 credit

This course is designed to acquaint the student with the methods and techniques of processing, classification, analysis, curation, and documentation of the major classes of prehistoric archaeological evidence. The specific classes of data to be examined include, but are not limited to, lithics, ceramics, perishables, macrofaunal remains, pollen and phytoliths, and biomolecular residues. Analysis of these materials will also involve addressing a number of anthropological themes such as dietary reconstruction, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, and construction of chronologies. The laboratory component of the course is designed to allow students to employ the methods and techniques of artifact analysis using various "live" collections curated by the Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute.
Corequisite: Anth 237 Analytical Lab Methods in Prehistoric Archaeology Lab
Prerequisite: Anth 130
3 credits, lab 1 credit

This course will introduce students to selected aspects of archaeological reporting, placing particular emphasis on practical applications. Topics to be covered will include the "anatomy" of an archaeological report, technical writing and editing, scholarly style, data presentation, desktop publishing, and illustration.
Prerequisite: Computer literacy
3 credits

This course is designed to address, through an examination of the history of anthropology, the theoretical developments, schools of thought, and ideas accounting for the nature of culture and cultural development. The specific contributions of the principal figures representative of each of the major schools of thought will also be identified and examined. While theories of culture are the focus and form the core of this course, the history and theoretical developments of archaeology will be simultaneously considered.
Prerequisite: Anth 130
3 credits

Junior seminar class will focus on academic tools required in order to prepare a professional grant proposal. Class discussion, research papers, and oral presentations will prepare the student for a research project to be conducted during the senior year and presented at a professional meeting and/or published in a professional journal.
Prerequisites: Anth 130, Anth 239, or Anth 236/237 and permission from instructor
3 credits

Prerequisites: Anth 390 and permission from instructor
1 or 3 credits

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Co-Requisite Courses (required for all Anthropology majors)

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Forensic Anthropology Concentration Courses

 

The value of the application of anthropological principles in the field of criminal investigation has only recently been realized. This course will explore methods by which forensic anthropological principles are used to search for and recover evidence from a variety of crime scenes, as well as reconstruct the life history of the human victim. 3 credits.

 

This is for advanced students who plan to pursue a career in Forensic Anthropology. Topics to be covered include in-depth analysis of age, sex, and ancestry in human skeletal remains: taphonomic factors, and interpretation of skeletal trauma. Recovery methodologies will be addressed through mock excavations. Corequisite: Anth 430. Prerequisites: Anth 160, Arch 201, Anth 103, Anth 260/Bio 260. 3 credits.

 

Hands-on demonstration and examination of Forensic case specimens associated with topics discussed in lecture. Corequisite: Anth 430. Prerequisites: Anth 160, Arch 201, Anth 103, Anth 260/Bio 260. 1 credit.

 

This course will provide students with a detailed knowledge of the human skeletal system from initial development through old age. Students will analyze human skeletal remains from archaeological sites and forensic anthropological cases. Corequisite: Anth 261 Lab. Prerequisite: Anth 103, Arch 101. Anth 261. 3 credits.

 

This lab will provide students with the opportunity to acquire "hands on" experience in the identification, analysis, and report preparation of human skeletal remains from archaeological and forensic anthropological sites. Corequisite: Anth 260. 1 credit.

 

The analysis of faunal remains from archaeological sites can provide valuable information regarding prehistoric diet, seasonality, and socioeconomic factors. In this course, all aspects of zooarchaeology will be discussed, and students will analyze a vertebrate faunal assemblage from an archaeological site and produce a publishable-quality report. Prerequisite: Anth 103, Arch 101. 3 credits.

 

Provides students with an understanding of the criminal justice system in America. An examination of the role of the police, the court systems, and the process of corrections will be presented which enables students to critically analyze success as well as inherent weaknesses within the administration of justice in our society. 3 credits

 

Basic procedures in the investigation of criminal matters. Includes interview procedures, crime scene investigations, development of information, procedures for solving crimes, criminalistics, and the use of forensic pathology. Prerequisites:Cjrs 101, 207. 3 credits.

 

A study of the structural and functional relationships of cells,tissues,organs, and systems of the human body. Emphasis is placed on the skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems. Corequisite: Bio 241
Prerequisite: Bio 120 or Bio 140. 3 credits

 

A detailed study of the human anatomy of the organ systems discussed in Bio 240. Corequisite: Bio 240. 1 credit

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For more information about forensic anthropology at Mercyhurst College, e-mail Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat