I’m excited to be returning to MSU, and working with digital humanities. I completed my B.S. in Anthropology at MSU in 2007, and went straight into the M.A. program at California, State University Chico. At Chico, I focused on forensic anthropology, and my thesis involved the use of remote recording equipment and geographic information systems to monitor and track scavenger impact to pig carcasses. After graduating I worked as an osteologist on the excavation and on-site analysis of a historic paupers cemetery in Northern California. I then went on to work as a lecturer for the CSU, Chico anthropology department, as well as teach an online anthropology course for a community college.
I’m back at MSU to study mortuary archaeology. Specifically, I will be analyzing the pathological conditions found at the paupers cemetery I worked on, and compare them to a more urban paupers cemetery from a similar time period. My goal while working as a CHI fellow is to create a digital database/archive for the collection, starting with the data collected on-site. I feel that this is especially important because all of the skeletal remains are being cremated for repatriation at the end of the study period, in approximately ten years. By incorporating digital technology from the beginning of the research, I hope to create a more productive environment for scholars to use the information now, and after the remains are cremated.
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