Class Activities

Bone Detectives

The bones tell a story: age, weight, sex, diet, and, sometimes, the cause of death. Students can be drawn into a fascination with the science of anatomy by pointing out functional anatomical features that help to explain how we came to have that bump or that lump. The Discovery ChannelTM has a program, The New Detectives, which often features accurate forensic work on skeletal remains. Students should be warned about the graphic depictions of real murder scenes. However, showing portions of selected programs should elicit some interesting discussions from the class.

References: McMurtie, H. and J.K. Rikel. 1991. The Coloring Review Guide to Human Anatomy. Dubuque, IA: WCB/McGraw-Hill.

Tattersall, I. 1997. Out of Africa Again...and Again? Sci. Am. 276 (4): 60-67.

The Discovery ChannelTM has a website where ordering and program information can be obtained.

Here is a website from the University of Utah with some interesting forensic material also.

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