Studying Skeletal Remains at Museo Del Hombre Dominicano – a student’s perspective
In October 2016, Dr. Darlene Weston (University of British Columbia, Leiden University) and Leiden University student Finn van der Leden studied skeletal remains from the Museo del Hombre Dominicano, in the Dominican Republic. Finn van der Leden shares his experiences below.
Finn's Experiences
Why is your research important?
By studying the different populations, we try to gain insight in the demography, health and the activities of these people. A special focus lies on the changes that might have occurred after the Europeans appeared. By looking at pre- and post-Colombian populations it can be possible to see how the demography changed, if people’s health became better or worse and how their activities changed.
What do you look for in these skeletal remains?
We start by laying out the remains in anatomically correct order, so we can easily see which bones are present, and which are not. After that we go through many recording forms, cataloguing all the present bones, measuring the skull and long bones, determining sex and age of the people, recording the teeth (which are present? Are there any cavities? Is there a lot of calculus?) and lastly noting anypathologies such as fractures or osteoarthritis.
Is it easy to determine details of the remains?
Well, no, sadly. Quite often we have to study incomplete skeletons, which in itself is not too bad, but there are some vital parts such as skulls, hip bones and teeth, that when absent or too damaged make proper determination difficult. Often we can estimate if someone was male or female just by the size and robustness of their long bones, and it is also possible to give a broad estimate of someone’s age, but for a more detailed analysis we need either a near complete set of bones, or the luck that we get the right ones. Nevertheless, when we do get a near complete skeleton there are so many things we can see, such as if they have ever broken any bones, if they used their teeth as tools, if they ever had severe stress in their childhood and much more!
How is the work progressing?
So far, all the remains from the sites of Juan Dolio and Punta Macao have been studied by Darlene in previous years. Now we have just started on the site of El Soco and Atajadizo. There are around 120 boxes, some of which contain two or even more individuals! It is a lot, so we will probably not finish this month.
How is it to work at the Museo Del Hombre?
The museum is an interesting place with many surprises, such as a mannequin right behind the door to give anyone opening it a good scare. As of such there is never a dull day!
