There is a lot we can learn from bones! From identifying victims in a forensic context to creating medical hardware to understanding disease and how past populations lived. With human bones you can determine a lot about an individual, for example, height, ancestry, age, sex, if they were sick or injured, and even if they were athletic! Any abnormalities or medical devices can lead Forensic Anthropologists to identify a victim.
Museums such as the Smithsonian, have skeletal collections so that researchers can advance our knowledge of human osteology. This includes improving forensic identification methods, medical research, and more!Doctors, dentists, and morticians also learn with skulls and bones. These careers are staples in our society today. Real specimens are needed to help educate people as well as possible before sending them out into the field.Aside from scientific fields, artists historically used real specimens as references for their art. Did you know Michelangelo and Da Vinci studied human remains to help them with painting correct anatomy in their work?