Mortuary archaeology is the study of human remains in their archaeological context. This is a known sub-field of bioarchaeology, which is a field that focuses on gathering important information based on the skeleton of an individual. Bioarchaeology stems from the practice of human osteology which is the anatomical study of skeletal remains.[1] Mortuary archaeology, as well as the overarching field it resides in, aims to generate an understanding of disease, migration, health, nutrition, gender, status, and kinship among past populations.[1] Ultimately, these topics help to produce a picture of the daily lives of past individuals. Mortuary archaeologists draw upon the humanities, as well as social and hard sciences to have a full understanding of the individual.[2]
Mortuary archaeologists also use living groups to their advantage when studying populations that are no longer living. Moreover, mortuary archaeologists are involved in conflict archaeology, and study mass burials from different historical events, like World War II and the Guatemalan genocide. There are different methods that contribute to mortuary archaeology including analyzing different burial techniques between and within populations and creating a biological profile of the individual(s).