Jacqueline McKinley on unearthing bones and stories at Britain's ancient burial sites
Osteoarchaeologist Jacqueline McKinley explains just how much Britain鈥檚 burial sites can teach us about life in ancient societies.
How much information can you extract from a burnt fragment of human bone?
Quite a lot, it turns out - not only about the individual, but also their broader lives and communities; and these are the stories unearthed by Jacqueline McKinley, a Principal Osteoarchaeologist with Wessex Archaeology.
During her career, Jackie has analysed thousands of ancient burial sites across the British Isles, bringing to life the old traditions around death via often cremated human remains. She's also assisted criminal investigators with forensic analysis, and contributed to some of the UK's best-loved archaeological TV shows.
And one thing she鈥檚 absolutely clear about: far from being macabre, osteoarchaeology is more about the living, than the dead...
In conversation with Professor Jim Al-Khalili, Jackie talks about the stories we can derive from skeletal remains, how western attitudes to death have gone through a major recent shift, and why she's kept some of her late father's bones.
Presented by Jim Al-Khalili
Produced for 成人快手 Studios by Lucy Taylor
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- Tue 18 Mar 2025 09:00成人快手 Radio 4
- Wed 19 Mar 2025 21:00成人快手 Radio 4
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