Anthropology is my passion! From an early age I was drawn to the humanities in general. I started my college career as a history major but was a quick convert to anthropology from my first introductory class. I enjoy classes from each subfield of anthropology (biological/physical, cultural, archaeological, and linguistic). I believe that a biological anthropologist is an anthropologist first, and a biological anthropologist second. One can never ignore the unique perspective that being first and foremost an anthropologist brings. This complete anthropological approach, incorporating knowledge of culture and cultural selection practices, language and its sometimes inherent barriers, material goods and their movement between groups, just to name a few aspects, makes the biological anthropologist an ideal person to make biological distinctions between and among groups. Consequently, a biological anthropologist may define the profile of an unknown individual using a perspective that is founded on science, and incorporates many aspects of humanity - thus, the holistic anthropological perspective.

The holistic nature of anthropological inquiry is what draws me into the field. For a thesis topic I chose to analyze all three bones of the arm in an attempt to improve methods of sex and group determination of unidentified human skeletal remains. I also analyzed the relative symmetry of right and left arms in my test samples. Over the course of my research, whether it was doing a literature review, developing my protocol, collecting data, analyzing data, or thinking critically about my results, I was "in my element." Every day was confirmation that I had found my niche. It is my intention to continue in this path - researching, learning, and teaching in this field.

During my M.A. graduate studies at Wichita State I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to teach five sessions (three full semesters and two summer pre-sessions). This was a very important and very valuable to me. I believe that teaching is an integral part of the long-term learning process that all scientists must participate in. While research will be a major focus of my career, teaching will be just an important.

Throughout the past several years I have fostered a love of anthropology that will continue throughout my lifetime, both in and out of the career world. I have the unique position of being married to another PhD student in biological anthropology. September 11, 2007 will be our eighth wedding anniversary. Having someone to bounce ideas off of, debate heated topics with, and generally share the graduate student experience with is wonderful. We have a professional approach to our studies and respective careers.

Skeletal Biology / Human Osteology

We can learn so much from the human skeleton! By continuing to broaden our knowledge base regarding the skeletal variability of human populations we gain an ever increasing ability to aid in the identification of unknown human remains, both in an archaeological and a modern forensic context. Going beyond just rote identification of bones and features of bones, a Biological Anthropologist researches ways to learn more from them and about the people from which they came. Bones are all that survive our physical body and thus can provide a glimpse into our life, including our ancestry, sex, age at death, stature, and pathological history.

Forensic Anthropology

This subfield of Biological Anthropology has been amplified in recent years due to media and Hollywood attention - but there is nothing glamorous about it! The application of a Forensic Anthropologist's skills in a legal setting is serious business. Forensic Anthropologists are called in to work with police when an unidentified body is discovered or if there are questions as to the manner of death. Using their foundations in Skeletal Biology the Forensic Anthropologist will first assess the skeletal material to determine age at death, sex, group affiliation (race), and stature. Next the Forensic Anthropologist will look for any pathology and/or trauma evident on the skeleton. Typically the Forensic Anthropologist will ask not to be informed of the details of the case until they have completed their biological profile and assessment of the skeleton. This allows for unbiased results. Forensic Anthropologists can and are often called to testify in court.

Qualitative and Quantitative Applications

As mentioned above, Biological Anthropologists research the human skeleton in a variety of ways to tease out it's secrets. Qualitative methods include basic assessments of the skeleton in comparison to other skeletons. A trained osteologist, and in particular one with Forensic Anthropological training, can visually determine the sex, general age, and group affiliation of a skeleton without the use of instruments. This knowledge is based on a long history in the discipline of descriptive analysis of each part of the skeleton. An example of a qualitative assessment is when the Anthropologist looks at the pelvis of an unknown individual and, after visually or mentally comparing it with others he or she has examined, determines that the individual was female due to several key features consistent with female skeletons. Or, as in the pictures below, we can generally say that females are smaller and less robust than males. This kind of qualitative assessment can be done on most bones of the body. It is one of the first methods of assessment that a Biological Anthropologist studying osteology learns.

Quantitative methods take the qualitative assessment a step further. By using measurement instruments (such as various types of calipers, measurement tape, osteometric boards, etc.) the Anthropologist records various measures of the skeleton in an effort to metrically compare it to other skeletons. Again, there is a long history of this kind of documentation in Biological Anthropology. Thousands of studies have been done on each part of the skeleton to describe the bones metrically. Samples of known individuals from known populations are used to develop a general standard for that population. Doing this for many populations yields an estimate of the variability of such measures in the human population as a whole. An example of quantitative assessment is given when a Forensic Anthropologist takes standard specific and tested measurements of the cranium of an unknown individual and uses those measurements, usually with the aid of statistics, to say that the individual exhibits features consistent with Native American, European, or African descent.

Teaching Biological Anthropology

To teach any subject that one is passionate in is a great honor. For three semesters and two short summer pre-sessions I taught the Biological Anthropology Lab at Wichita State University. I had a great mentor, Dr. Peer Moore-Jansen who provided a wonderful example of a caring, interested, and diligent professor. When he gave me the assignment he told me it was completely my class to teach - exciting and scary at the same time! But I took the ball and ran with it so to speak. I developed six labs, put together numerous handouts, and presented weekly PowerPoint presentations that helped to better-illustrate important concepts in the class. Interacting with my students was the highlight of my week. The experience also made me learn the material better so as to explain it to others. That experience has made me think differently about my entire approach to learning Anthropology. As a teacher you have to break things down without "dumbing" them down. The students asked questions that I had never thought of, and approached certain exercises in ways I had not considered. This intellectual challenge was exhilarating! As scientists we must never forget to always be students of our discipline.