The project “Osteological Material as the Source for Lithuanistic Research: Knowledge, Systematization and Access (OSTLIT)” was carried out in 2018-2020. The project was funded by the Research Council of Lithuania (S-LIP-18-50).
The aim of the project was to present anthropological and zooarchaeological material as a specific, reliable and valuable source of research of past societies, as well as to evaluate potential research opportunities, and to increase the availability of VU osteological collection for Lithuanian and foreign researchers, thus promoting interdisciplinary research in the humanities, biomedicine and physical sciences.
The following tasks were set during the project:
- After evaluating the nature and context of the material (type of the burial site, chronology), to select scientifically valuable osteological material for further storage, refusing further storage of material of low-value (by reburial).
- To review the anthropological material, recording the preservation state of the remains, and the distribution of sex and age.
- To record the amount, preservation state, species and anatomical composition of the zooarchaeological material.
- To collect and systematize data on the previous researches that have been conducted on anthropological and zooarchaeological material.
- To create a digital database of tested and validated osteological data with a researcher-friendly search engine.
- To present summary data on osteological material arranged and available for research.
- To create favorable conditions for researchers to use the anthropological and zooarchaeological collection of Vilnius University.