Forensic Anthropology

• GMS FA 703: Zooarchaeology and Comparative Vertebrate Osteology
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor - This course will provide students with an advanced basis for vertebrate zooarchaeological analysis including terminology, data gathering, data analysis, and practical identification skills for both whole and fragmentary vertebrate remains. These skills will be of direct use in archaeology, paleontology, and forensic anthropology. 4 cr, Fall & Spring sem.
• GMS FA 704: BIOARCH
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor - This course description is currently under construction.
• GMS FA 705: Forensic Anthropology Techniques
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor - This course will provide students with a detailed history of forensic anthropology, including pioneers in the field, bone growth and development, and an extensive knowledge of protocols, methods, and procedures used by forensic anthropologists, to include distinguishing osseous from non-osseous material, distinguishing human from non-human remains, and estimating the biological profile. Students will be provided hands on experience in casework and will prepare several forensic anthropology case. 3 cr, Fall sem.
• GMS FA 712: OSTEOLOGY
  This course description is currently under construction.
• GMS FA 713: Human Anatomy and Osteology
  This course is designed to provide the student with a review of osteology and an overview of basic human anatomy with an emphasis on structure and function of anatomical structures typically used by forensic anthropologists in the investigation of traumatic and sudden deaths. Students will learn in both a lecture and laboratory setting which will include viewing prosected human cadavers. At the completion of this course the student will be well versed in anatomical terminology and be familiar with the major muscle and organ systems in the human body.
• GMS FA 715: Forensic Pathology
  This lecture- based course will provide the student with an overview of the role of the medical examiner as it relates to death investigations. Specific lectures will cover autopsy procedures in the investigation of gunshot wounds, sharp and blunt trauma, drowning, asphyxia, child deaths, motor vehicle accidents and time since death determination. A general knowledge of anatomy is strongly suggested. 2 cr
• GMS FA 716: EXPERT WIT TEST
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor - This course description is currently under construction.
• GMS FA 718: Special Topics in Forensic Anthropology: Outdoor Crime Scene
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor - This course will provide students with an overview of physical evidence found at outdoor crime scenes of buried or scattered human remains. Focus will involve the recognition, documentation, and collection of physical evidence and the review of real cases in which human remains have been recovered and how physical evidence was used to help solve the crime. 3 cr, Fall & Spring sem.
• GMS FA 755: Directed Studies in Forensic Anthropology
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor - Students will have the opportunity to develop a directed study in a specialized area of forensic anthropology or archaeology that is of particular interest. 4 cr, all sem.
• GMS FA 760: Research in Forensic Anthropology
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor - This course is designed to facilitate the students' thesis research. Var cr, Fall sem.
• GMS FA 761: Research in Forensic Anthropology
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor - This course is designed to facilitate the students' thesis research. Var cr, Spring sem.
• GMS FA 790: History, Method, and Theory in Biological Anthropology
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor - This course will cover the theoretical and methodological principles of the major areas of biological anthropology. Initially focusing on the history of biological anthropology and evolutionary theory, the course will expand to cover skeletal biology, forensic anthropology, and contemporary human variation. The last section will address the philosophy of science and anthropology and practical issues such as presenting and publishing papers and preparing grant proposals. It is intended that this course provide students with a thorough understanding of the correlation between the developments of the discipline of biological anthropology, evolutionary theory, and the practice of forensic anthropology in the United States. 3 cr, Fall sem.
• GMS FA 800: Field Methods in Forensic Anthropology
  This course will provide students with a sound basis for archaeological methods applied to a variety of forensic settings. Students will learn core concepts from academic archaeology and how forensic archaeology differs from traditional methods. 3 cr
• GMS FA 802: Applied Forensic Anthropology
  Students will gain extensive experience in forensic anthropological casework, to include experience in generating analytical notes and report preparation. Students will be exposed to a variety of casework situations that forensic anthropologists encounter in medical examiner offices, international realms, government laboratories and field situations. 3 cr
• GMS FA 804: Experimental Design and Statistics for Forensic Anthropologists
  The goal of this course is to provide a working understanding of experimental design and statistical analyses that are appropriate for various types of anthropological based experiments and for the analysis of skeletal remains for unknown individuals. Significant emphasis will be placed on discussions of Bayes Theorem and the use of factor analysis in the development and use of the FORE Disc database used extensively by forensic anthropologists to determine sex, age, stature and ancestry of unidentified skeletal remains. 3 cr
• GMS FA 805: Advanced Crime Scene Investigation
  Graduate Prerequisites: GMS FS 701 Crime Scene Investigation - This hands-on and lecture-based course will provide students with methods and underlying theories related to specialized aspects of crime scene processing. Topics will include techniques and principles utilized in search and recovery of human remains. Forensic entomology, mechanisms of human decomposition, use of ground penetrating radar, soil composition, excavation, telltale disturbances in flora and the presence of animal activity will be examined. A semester-long practical exercise will include the search and recovery of mock remains and the reconstruction of events. 2 cr
• GMS FA 806: Advanced Human Osteology
  This course builds on the topics covered in GMS FA 712 Human Osteology by exploring human osteology in greater depth and will include lectures and extensive experience with radiographical material. 4 cr
• GMS FA 807: Taphonomy
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor - This course will provide students with an advanced basis for vertebrate taphonomy, both with specific focus upon forensic settings but also with a broader understanding of taphonomic processes covering archaeology, paleoecology, and zooarchaeology. 3 cr, Fall & Spring sem.
• GMS FA 808: FORENSIC TRAUMA
  This course description is currently under construction.
• GMS FA 810: Mortuary Archaeology
  This course will provide students with an advanced theoretical basis for cross-cultural comparison of mortuary behavior and its archaeological interpretation. The topics will cover the history of archaeological though in this topics, processual and post-processual theoretical frameworks, the prehistory of burial, regional archaeological studies, modern Western burial practices and symbolism, gender and class difference, trophy taking, cannibalism, beliefs in undead and how they affect mortuary practices, military memorialization and warfare, ethical issues involved in the analysis of cemeteries and human remains, repatriation, and modern homicide investigation of serial killings and body movement. 3 cr, Fall & Spring sem.