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The University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NZ, T +44 (0)1227 764000
Kent Osteological Research & Analysis
Kent Osteological Research and Analysis (KORA) is an established unit in the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, offering osteological analyses of human skeletal remains. All analyses follow the guidelines set forth by the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology, The Institute of Field Archaeologists, and English Heritage.
Services
Our professional and highly qualified staff can provide on-site osteological advice. Post-excavation analyses include standard skeletal reports, databasing, and osteological research. Specialist analyses are available: isotopic analyses (marine vs. terrestrial protein diet); electron microscopy (abrasiveness and hardness of diet); statistical inferential analyses of biometric data. Training workshops are available.
Facilities
The unit is housed within the Biological Anthropology Research Laboratory at the University of Kent. The facility includes a 65 square metre climate controlled dedicated research laboratory. The lab was specifically set up for the storage and analysis of human remains.
Contact Information
Our consultant osteologist is Patrick Mahoney.
Email: P.Mahoney@kent.ac.uk
Telephone: 01227 (82)7927
Further details
On Site Osteology
Osteologists are available for on-site consultation to assist in retrieval and recording methods prior to and during the course of excavation. Preliminary assessment of human remains can also be made prior to relocation and reburial, or transportation to the University of Kent for further analyses.
Skeletal Analyses and Reports
A standard report for a human skeleton from an archaeological context includes:
- assessments of skeletal preservation
- bone inventory
- a dental inventory
- estimation of the biological sex
- estimation of age at death
- estimation of stature
- skeletal pathology
- digital photographs
Additional information can also be included:
- metric and non-metric measurement and variation
- diet
- identification of cultural modification
- identification of taphonomy
- demographic assessment
- Access database of biological data
The analyses are presented as a scientific report with seven sections: an introduction, material, methods, analyses, results, discussion and summary. Each report will be copied onto a CD-R and submitted to the client along with a bound paper copy. Analyses of cremations are also undertaken.
Skeletal Databases
The unit can design and maintain Access databases that are created for biological data.
Osteological Research and Specialist Analyses
The unit specialises in human osteological research. Experienced staff can provide specialists analyses in dietary inference: isotopic analyses; electron microscopy. Statistical inferential analyses of biometric data are a particular strength of the unit, and advice can be given at all stages of an analytical design, from statistical approach to conducting multivariate tests.
Training Workshops
Training workshops in human osteology are increasingly required for professional archaeologists, as well as law enforcement officers and museum curators, to enable them to identify and handle human remains from an archaeological context. Workshops include:
- Excavating human remains
- Identifying and recording human remains
- Basic analytical approaches
