Name: ________________________ Section: __23C9____
ANT 3514C – Introduction to Biological Anthropology
Lab 4: Human Osteology
Use Appendix A of Your Textbook as a Guide. You may also refer to the following
websites for this lab and any that follow: http://www.eskeletons.org/,
http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/3d-collection, and https://human.biodigital.com/ (for
this website you will need to create an account but it is free!)
Lab Objectives:
Apply positional terminology to describe the relationships of osteological features
Identify and label the largest bones and features of the human skull and skeleton
Identify the human dental formula and different tooth types
Examine the functional implications of different skeletal regions
Understand the dynamic biology of the human skeleton over an individual’s lifespan
Purpose: To provide an introduction to basic osteological knowledge.
Osteology is the detailed study of bones and teeth. It should come as no surprise that for many
centuries people have been heavily invested in studying human anatomy for its medical
applications. The fundamentals of human anatomy were understood by most ancient
civilizations, and the study of anatomy in Western universities – even through the Middle Ages –
was founded on the antique writings of the Greek physician Aelius Galenus (“Galen”) from the
late 100’s A.D. Ironically, the laws of the Roman Empire that Galen served forbade the
dissection of human beings, and therefore his anatomical descriptions were based not on the
direct study of humans, but rather the comparative study of animals such as pigs and primates.
It wasn’t until the Renaissance that intellectual curiosity in the human body was reborn and the
study of human anatomy was pursued again in earnest. Principal among these anatomists were
figures such as Henry Gray (of “Gray’s Anatomy”) and Georges Cuvier, who pushed the study of
comparative anatomy to new limits and founded the field of paleontology.
While the skeleton plays an obvious role as the support system for the rest of the body—making
movement possible, and protecting vital organs like the heart, lungs, and brain—a new
understanding is emerging of bones as an important, dynamic organ of the body. Your bones
achieve their shape thanks to the influence of the muscles, blood vessels, and nerves that
surround them, but continue to change throughout life in response to activity, nutrition, and
disease. In addition to vital metabolic and physiological functions, bones produce a hormone (an
important messaging molecule in the body) named osteocalcin that plays a vital role in your
body’s ability to maintain healthy blood sugar, regulate testosterone levels, and stave off
depression.
Despite its deep roots in the study of anatomy, human osteology, especially in terms of variation
and development, is still the subject of much new research utilizing state-of-the-art methods.
Bone histology, laser scanning, computed tomography, and strain analyses are just some of the
newest techniques used at both the micro and macro scale to examine the properties of human
bone from every angle. Using such powerful methods, biological anthropologists are able to
answer questions about human identity, ancestry, lifestyle, development, and evolution from
studying bones alone
1
, STATION 1: Anatomical Directions/Planes
Observe the articulated human and macaque skeletons, both in anatomical position, to answer
the following questions. The definitions of these terms always have the same meaning, but the
direction they point in will change based on an animal’s normal posture. For instance, think
about how you, a biped, normally stand vs. a quadruped, like a dog (or a horse, or a baboon).
Anatomical Direction Definitions: Each term has a matching opposite, and is always used
relative to some other location or feature:
Above = Superior Below = Inferior
Towards the head = Cranial Towards the tail = Caudal
Towards the belly = Ventral Towards the back = Dorsal
Towards the front = Anterior Towards the behind = Posterior
Towards midline = Medial Away from midline = Lateral
Region of limb closer to trunk = Proximal Region of limb away from trunk = Distal
2
ANT 3514C – Introduction to Biological Anthropology
Lab 4: Human Osteology
Use Appendix A of Your Textbook as a Guide. You may also refer to the following
websites for this lab and any that follow: http://www.eskeletons.org/,
http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/3d-collection, and https://human.biodigital.com/ (for
this website you will need to create an account but it is free!)
Lab Objectives:
Apply positional terminology to describe the relationships of osteological features
Identify and label the largest bones and features of the human skull and skeleton
Identify the human dental formula and different tooth types
Examine the functional implications of different skeletal regions
Understand the dynamic biology of the human skeleton over an individual’s lifespan
Purpose: To provide an introduction to basic osteological knowledge.
Osteology is the detailed study of bones and teeth. It should come as no surprise that for many
centuries people have been heavily invested in studying human anatomy for its medical
applications. The fundamentals of human anatomy were understood by most ancient
civilizations, and the study of anatomy in Western universities – even through the Middle Ages –
was founded on the antique writings of the Greek physician Aelius Galenus (“Galen”) from the
late 100’s A.D. Ironically, the laws of the Roman Empire that Galen served forbade the
dissection of human beings, and therefore his anatomical descriptions were based not on the
direct study of humans, but rather the comparative study of animals such as pigs and primates.
It wasn’t until the Renaissance that intellectual curiosity in the human body was reborn and the
study of human anatomy was pursued again in earnest. Principal among these anatomists were
figures such as Henry Gray (of “Gray’s Anatomy”) and Georges Cuvier, who pushed the study of
comparative anatomy to new limits and founded the field of paleontology.
While the skeleton plays an obvious role as the support system for the rest of the body—making
movement possible, and protecting vital organs like the heart, lungs, and brain—a new
understanding is emerging of bones as an important, dynamic organ of the body. Your bones
achieve their shape thanks to the influence of the muscles, blood vessels, and nerves that
surround them, but continue to change throughout life in response to activity, nutrition, and
disease. In addition to vital metabolic and physiological functions, bones produce a hormone (an
important messaging molecule in the body) named osteocalcin that plays a vital role in your
body’s ability to maintain healthy blood sugar, regulate testosterone levels, and stave off
depression.
Despite its deep roots in the study of anatomy, human osteology, especially in terms of variation
and development, is still the subject of much new research utilizing state-of-the-art methods.
Bone histology, laser scanning, computed tomography, and strain analyses are just some of the
newest techniques used at both the micro and macro scale to examine the properties of human
bone from every angle. Using such powerful methods, biological anthropologists are able to
answer questions about human identity, ancestry, lifestyle, development, and evolution from
studying bones alone
1
, STATION 1: Anatomical Directions/Planes
Observe the articulated human and macaque skeletons, both in anatomical position, to answer
the following questions. The definitions of these terms always have the same meaning, but the
direction they point in will change based on an animal’s normal posture. For instance, think
about how you, a biped, normally stand vs. a quadruped, like a dog (or a horse, or a baboon).
Anatomical Direction Definitions: Each term has a matching opposite, and is always used
relative to some other location or feature:
Above = Superior Below = Inferior
Towards the head = Cranial Towards the tail = Caudal
Towards the belly = Ventral Towards the back = Dorsal
Towards the front = Anterior Towards the behind = Posterior
Towards midline = Medial Away from midline = Lateral
Region of limb closer to trunk = Proximal Region of limb away from trunk = Distal
2
