Today at 2 p.m. Dr. Anna Osterholtz, biological anthropologist with the Cobb Institute of Archaeology at Mississippi State University, will present a talk entitled “Bodies and Lives: How Bioarchaeologists Reconstruct Health and Behavior” at Plymouth Bluff Center.
Bioarchaeology seeks to understand lived experiences of the past based upon contextualized study of human remains from archaeological contexts. This can be a powerful tool in understanding stories that were never written down.
History is written from specific points of view that don’t always capture important aspecs of what it means to be born, grow up, live and die within different cultures.
Osterholtz will examine different case studies spanning from prehistory Colorado to Roman Cyprus to 19th century Romanian cemeteries. The studies presented will provide examples of how human remains are used to understand different aspects of life in the past, from violence and massacres to normal mortuary processes.
Sunday at the Bluff programs are open to the public at no charge.
Plymouth Bluff Center is located at 2200 Old West Point Road in Columbus.
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