The sense of touch in relation to working with archaeological human skeletal remains

Whilst sight may be the most recognised factor in the analysis of human remains touch will also play an important part in our interpretations and is paramount in the learning experience for osteology students. Both the look and feel of archaeological human skeletal remains will be dependent on a variety of factors. The age-at-death and biological sex of the deceased as well as taphonomic processes associated with the burial environment will all play a part in both the texture of skeletal remains. The geology of the burial site, rates of fluctuation in ground water, and any disturbance to the site, as well as funerary rites performed (coffined or non-coffined burials), and the time since burial, will all play a part in the preservation of human remains. These factors will affect both how the remains look and feel in terms of erosion, weight, colouration, and completeness of individual bones. Pathological conditions that these once living individuals may have suffered from can also cause changes to the bones in life which remain apparent in their skeletal remains, such as loss of bone density, increase in bone formation, and deformation.
This chapter will aim to discuss these processes reflecting on how human skeletal remains are perceived through the sense of touch. The results of a questionnaire directed at recent students will then be presented, focusing on the experiences and reflections, of the first time that trainees handled archaeological human skeletal remains, indicating that most people are surprised by the way the remains feel. Comparisons with plastic training replica skeletons will also be discussed to determine if these are good proxies for the real remains. Finally, the respondents were asked to reflect on the emotional experiences that they felt on handling human remains. Their reflections are mostly positive and overall, it can be seen that the sense of touch is an important part of the learning experience.