What can bones tell an archaeologist?

human bones:

- can tell diet through isotopic analysis

- repetitive stresses

- age/sex at time of death

- teeth (which arent quite bones, but are usually considered bones) can tell about the amount of grit in the diet, age at death, can be used to tell location of childhood

animal bones:

- can tell past environments (especially microfauna)

- can provide evidence of pastoralism, culling

- butchering techniques

- type of site (ie. kill site, butchering site, living area)

- can indicate wether the people associated with them were sedentary

i could go on and on.. lots of good stuff =)

Depending on their condition, many things. Sex, approximate age, injuries, sometimes cause of death, diet, height, DNA, diseases like arthritis or infection and whether they've given birth, if a female. Recently, all the theories about King Tut being murdered have been erased. He died of an infection in the leg.

Bones can tell an archaelogist many things. It can tell them how the living thing may have died, how it life was, and what kind of living thing it was.