The Cremains Workshop – syllabus

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Why Cremated Human Remains Workshops?

A significant gap exists in the training of biological anthropology, forensic anthropology, and bioarchaeology—the study of cremated remains. While interest in this field is growing, as demonstrated by recent publications, specialized methods are rarely taught in standard curricula.

Poland presents a unique case: for much of prehistory—from the Bronze Age through the early Middle Ages—cremation was the dominant funerary rite. As a result, bioarchaeologists in Poland frequently work with cremated human remains. To address this gap, I developed this workshop to teach the methods I have learned and refined to archaeology students.

My experience in bioarchaeological and forensic fieldwork, including years of collaboration with Odyssey Fieldschool in Cyprus, has shown that many students are eager to develop expertise in this area. Recognizing this demand, I created an open-access, hands-on training course focused exclusively on cremated remains.

Course Overview

Who is this workshop for?

The Cremains Workshop is an advanced-level course designed for participants with prior knowledge of human osteology. Since cremains primarily consist of highly fragmented remains, often under 1 cm in size, participants must be comfortable working with such materials and be able to identify fragmentary human remains.

Course Syllabus

Lecture Topics

    • Introduction to Cremation – Understanding the cultural and historical significance of cremation.
    • Cremated Human Remains in Archaeology – Key contexts and methodologies.
    • Methods of Excavation, Documentation, Transport, and Preservation/Storage of Burnt Remains
    • The Combustion Process and the Human Body – What happens to human tissue during burning?
    • The Burning Process in Bone and Dental Tissues – Changes and their significance in analysis.
    • Laboratory Analysis of Cremated Human Remains:
      • Fragmentation Analysis – Understanding fracture patterns.
      • Oxidation Analysis – Assessing heat exposure.
      • Identification Process – Distinguishing human from non-human remains and morphological identification of human remains.
      • Biological Profile Estimation & Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) Calculation
      • Introduction to “Analysis of Human Cremains” Database
    • Advanced Research & Analysis of Cremated Burials – Key methodologies and research potential.

Practical Training

    • Excavation and Documentation of Urned Burials
    • Laboratory Analysis of Cremated Human Remains
      • Micro-excavation techniques
      • Step-by-step analysis of cremains using modified McKinley’s method
      • Comparative study of forensic cremains vs. archaeological cremains

Course Highlights

This course provides a comprehensive approach to the study of cremated human remains, covering both forensic and bioarchaeological perspectives.

    • Forensic Perspective – Understanding the combustion process in forensic contexts, including differences between fire victims and funerary cremations. We will also discuss the distinctions between modern cremation and open-air pyre cremation.
    • Bioarchaeological Perspective – Hands-on excavation and analysis of cremated burials, including on-site cremation grave excavation and laboratory micro-excavation techniques.

For practical training, we have a collection of urned cremated burials carefully curated for analysis. These remains originate from Polish archaeological sites, mainly from the Late Roman and Migration periods, with some samples from the Early Medieval period.

Participants will gain expertise in:

✅ Cremains analysis methodologies and data interpretation
✅ Differences between cremains analysis and standard osteological analysis
✅ The potential of radiocarbon dating, isotopic analysis, and other advanced laboratory techniques for cremated remains

Course Format & Assessment

📅 Duration: Two weeks
🕘 Schedule:

    • Mornings – Lectures
    • Afternoons – Laboratory sessions

👨‍🏫 Supervision:
Participants will receive individual training under the supervision of experienced specialists.

📜 Final Evaluation:

    • Practical lab work assessment
    • Theoretical exam
    • Optional: Course credits available upon request

This workshop offers a unique opportunity to gain specialized training in the study of cremated remains, an often-overlooked yet crucial area in bioarchaeology, forensic anthropology, and archaeology.

If you are looking to enhance your expertise in cremation analysis, this course is the perfect choice!