My Experiences in the Field of Anthropology
In Fall of 2024, I completed an honors contract in Forensic Anthropology where I job shadowed Dr. Wilson and assisted him in the anthropology lab. For this honors contract, I first began by organizing and documenting skeletal remains donated by the medical school meant for education purposes. In the later half of the semester, I began working in the anthropology lab here on IUI campus on the Greenlawn Cemetery Project. This project is associated with the construction of the new Henry St. pedestrian bridge. This experience later allowed me the opportunity to partake in an internship with Stantec where I worked on-site to uncover and document remains in summer of 2025. As of Spring 2026, I still participate in the anthropology lab by cleaning and documenting the remains through a software known as Osteoware.
Below is a news article that provides more context for this project:
"Excavation for Henry Street bridge project in Indianapolis Complete"
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Image of the construction of the Henry St. pedestrian bridge. Image courtesy of Indianapolis Department of Public Works.
Many of the technical skills I developed through this project are as follows:
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Clean and reassociate human skeletal remains for data collection
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Collect data through Osteoware such as inventory, pathology, and taphonomy
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Follow standard Osteoware procedures
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Uncover and document skeletal remains in a archeological setting.
Some of the other important skills I developed are as follows:
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Developed strong communication and teamwork skills both on-site and in the lab.
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Improved time management skills by completing burials in a timely, but also correct, manner.
Skills
Developed
Overall Reflection
Overall, this experience allowed me to test and expand my knowledge on topics in Anthropology. This provided me the opportunity to further my knowledge through a hands-on learning experience. I was able to work with my peers to accomplish tasks and overcome challenges with this project. This coincides with my initial thoughts made directly after completing my contract through my artifact reflection.
I sincerely appreciate this honors contract, as it has allowed me to explore a branch of my Forensic Biology major that I would not have been able to explore otherwise. Even after completing the contract, I am still challenging myself and learning more about anthropology every time I enter the lab.