Features
Skeletons come out of the closet
Years after a person’s death their skeleton can reveal important details about how they died. Forensic science students at the Newton Rigg campus picked up a host of vital clues when they got the opportunity to study and handle realhuman bones.
Scientist Danyelle Rafferty brought her Forensic Anthropology and Human Osteology Workshop to Newton Rigg and unveiled six skeletons ranging from a newborn baby to a 70-year-old. Nigel Smith, course leader in forensic science, explained that human skeletal remains are frequently recovered during forensic investigations—whether at crime scenes, war graves or mass disasters. “Their analysis can not only assist in identifying individuals but also the manner of their deaths,” he said. “This special workshop was a great opportunity for our forensic science students to work with real skeletal remains and to learn more about an important and fascinating subject.”
“You can never experience and appreciate the colour changes, smell, texture, temperature and weight of real remains from plastic replicas”
Newton Rigg student Sammy-Jo Morton, 20, described the workshop as an “amazing experience.” “There is a lot that you can learn from the bones as they tell you so much about the person, such as their sex, race, age and any diseases they had,” she explained. “I was surprised by how light in weight they actually were.”
Fellow student Anja Heaton added: “Even tissue from inside the bones can reveal the diet of the person and even the geographical region where they lived.” The oldest skeleton unveiled was 800 years old. Even the smallest fragment of a bone can lead to a huge amount of important information.
Danyelle reported: “Everyone seemed to appreciate what a wonderful opportunity it was to study and handle real human bones at such close quarters. Whilst there are some good artificial skeletons on the market, they never match up to real bones. “You can never experience and appreciate the colour changes, smell, texture, temperature and weight of real remains from plastic replicas,” she said. “Sadly, handling the bones is slowly destroying them but if we don’t use them how else are we going to learn? These bones are a very valuable educational aid. Hopefully, the workshops will have inspired students at Newton Rigg to pursue successful careers in this area of work.”