6.06 lab forensic science course

1. Where is Herculaneum located? What happened to the city?
Herculaneum is located near Pompeii and a volcano erupted and buried the city alive
2. Why is Herculaneum important to archeology today?
Herculaneum is important to society because they have a better chance of piecing together the mysteries of Herculaneum than any other site. All the evidence has been well preserved making it easier to piece together this ancient society.
3. What are some of the challenges that archeologists face when examining the city of Herculaneum?
A challenge that the archeologists faced when examining the city of Herculaneum was the presence of decay and the risk of it falling apart.
4. How do you think the archeological investigation of Herculaneum relates to forensic anthropology? In what ways are similar techniques and processes used in both of these situations?
I think the archeological investigation of Herculaneum relates to forensic anthropology in the way in which both are trying to discover what happened by analyzing the skeletons, paintings, or any other evidence found. Some similar techniques and processes that are used in both situations are looking at the bones to try and figure out the gender or age, and also trying to determine the cause of death.
5. What is surprising about the ruins in Herculaneum? How is this different than Pompeii?
In Herculaneum, most of the sites were preserved extremely well and there were almost no human skeletons unlike Pompeii which had many more.
6. How do archeologists know that other people have been to the ruins in Herculaneum before them? What were the people searching for? What dangers did they face?
Archeologists know that other people have been to the ruins before them due to the discovery of strange labyrinth of ancient tunnels. They were looking for treasure. They risked suffocation or dying by dangerous rock falls.
7. How did the bodies in Herculaneum differ from those in Pompeii?
In Pompeii the bodies of humans and animals were preserved in a cast which showed a lot about life and everyday life in Pompeii but the most of the bodies in Herculaneum were incarcerated in the eruption but the bodies that have been found have been preserved but are very fragile.
8. Do you think it would be interesting to work on a site like Herculaneum to discover what happened? Why or why not? How would this work differ from a traditional crime scene?
I do think it would be interesting to work on a site like Herculaneum because it can give you an insight on a whole new culture and it’s basically a secret city that not that many people are aware about so it would be interesting to find some major discovery. I think this would differ from a traditional crime by the fact that you’d find older and more fragile evidence compared to a more recent crime scene which would have less fragile and newer evidence.