Human Bioarchaeology Field School, Cyprus
*This Project will return in 2025, check back for details of future plans, or contact us to join the Mailing List*
We will provide an update with dates and costs for the 2025 season as soon as possible, and it will follow a similar fashion to the details laid out below for the postponed 2020 season. If you would like to contact us or stay in touch with project updates please do so via email.
HARP will be running a two-week human bioarchaeology field school from Sunday 6th to Saturday 19th September 2020. The field school is intended for those who have no prior experience with human remains, however we are happy to provide a more bespoke course for those with some previous human osteological experience (i.e. taken an introduction to osteology course) and who would like to expand upon this experience by working with archaeologically derived skeletal material.
This course aims to provide students with an interest in bioarchaeology with a hands-on experience of working with archaeologically-derived human skeletal material and will use Cyprus as a case study to discuss aspects of mortuary practice, taphonomy, and excavation and its impact on osteological analyses.
This course will include:
Cleaning, processing and recording archaeologically derived human skeletal material
Demonstrations and seminars on ageing and sexing methods
Identifying and learning about palaeopathology on human remains
Field skills for the excavation of human skeletal remains with drawing conventions and photography
Looking at metric and non-metric traits in human skeletal material
An introduction to identification of animal bones
Producing a skeletal report based on the material examined
An introduction to photographing human skeletal remains in the laboratory
Field trips to local sites that will be discussed during the programme
The field school will be based in the archaeologically rich Paphos District, just outside of Paphos city, and we will explore some of the local sites with guided tours, highlighting and discussing aspects of mortuary archaeology at each site. The skeletal material derives from excavations by the Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University at the Paphos Agora, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Nea Paphos. This is an opportunity to work with challenging, commingled and dis-articulated skeletal material from a unique and important Hellenistic and Roman period site.
Every participant will receive a check list of skills which will be signed off over the course of the field school and will produce a skeletal report to add to their portfolio of work over the two weeks. Lunch will be provided on work days and we'll wind up the course with an end of project dinner.
Costs and Accommodation
There are two options available for this course:
A) £575 ($850 USD) per person: includes full bioarchaeological training as outlined above; camping accommodation at the Edgar Peltenburg Archaeological Research Centre; transport for all site visits; all meals on workdays (not including the weekend); and a final evening dinner. NB: Food preparation will take place at the accommodation by the participants, and dietary requirements can be accommodated.
B) £450 ($650 USD) per person: includes full bioarchaeological training as outlined above; transport for all site visits; lunch on workdays; and a final evening dinner. Suggestions for local accommodation can be provided upon request, but HARP takes no responsibility for any aspect of the accommodation or general subsistence.
Flights are not included in either option. A non-refundable 50% deposit is required within two weeks of being offered a place on the field school in order to secure it. A full list of suggested items to bring will be sent out upon an offer of a place on the course. Airport Transfers by local taxi (to be paid for by participant) can be arranged if required.
For more information or to request an application form please email Michelle.
Feedback
"The course was exceptional both in scope and value. The level of detail was extraordinary"
"I loved how welcoming everyone was and how there was no shame in asking any questions. I loved going through the whole process of anatomical position, siding, inventory and then data entry."