Greetings once again from the Hamden Public Library! This week I did a program for teens about forensic anthropology. Thank you to Professors Ullinger and Giblin for their assistance - I borrowed bones from the lab and also borrowed some ideas from the program we did with 7th graders last year.

First we did quiz-show about the myths vs. realities of forensic anthropology. Then the fun with bones began!

I scrambled up the bones and had the students work together to put him in anatomical position

The awesome teens - they got really into it!

The teens filled in a worksheet to learn some of the names of the bones.

I found some great books in the library.

So I displayed them at the program in case the students wanted to continue their studies at home.

I had 10 students in total - they were all very smart & sweet. After assembling the skeleton, we talked about how to determine the sex of a skeleton. I brought in pictures and drawings of various skeletons and had the students figure out the sex. We talked a little bit about aging, although I didn't go into too much detail because I didn't feel as confident about my grasp of the material. To conclude, I showed them some casts of pathology specimens, including a broken tibia, osteoarthritis, and the syphilis skull.

The students seemed to have a great time, and so did I! Hopefully I inspired some future anthropologists.

Yesterday, the whole fellowship went to Hartford to visit the Capitol building. To clarify, I am working at the library through a Presidential Public Service Fellowship. There are 11 students in the fellowship and we are each placed in different town offices, so my assignment is the library. Anyway, we went to Hartford and got to meet several government leaders. You can read more about it here (and admire my sullen face in the picture - I was exhausted at this point).

My favorite room was the Senate Chamber, which was beautiful. The Senate isn't in session right now, but the senators' names are in front of each of their places. There are 36 senators and, looking around the room, only a few of them are women. After a full day of meeting almost exclusively with old white men, this was discouraging to see. However, we did meet with the Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman. I asked her about her experiences working as a woman in the government. She described just one unfortunate incident, but other than that she luckily has not had too many unpleasant experiences. I wanted to further discuss women's issues, but she is very busy and had to get to another appointment.

Day to day, the library is a nice place to work. Right now we have three caterpillars in cocoons, so hopefully soon we'll have butterflies!

To conclude this post, here's a picture of my cat.

Until next time, anthro nerds.
-Lucy

Anthropology Literally Unlocks Doors

You know those "staff only" doors in museums, and how you're always dying to know what's hidden behind them? Today we found out. And it was awesome.

The British Museum. Ancient Egypt and Sudan Department. Backstage.

Professor Ullinger's friend, Daniel, is a curator at the museum and gave us a tour of some really amazing stuff that's not currently on view to the public. How cool is that?

We got to see one of the only 12 pre-dynastic Egyptian mummies in the world, ancient Egyptian jewellery (Tiffany & Co. have nothing on the Egyptians!), papyrus pages of Book of the Dead (spells to help the deceased in the afterlife), and mummies with tattoos! They're so well preserved the tattoos are still visible to the naked eye.

Seriously it was incredible how many locked doors we went through. The anthropology community has got some serious pull in museums, and that meant seeing all those truly incredible objects. Unfortunately, we still weren't allowed to touch. All in due time, right?

Before the museum, Paige and I climbed all 628 steps of St. Paul's Cathedral, straight to the top of the dome, after having climbed the 311 steps of the Monument yesterday. I could not have imagined more incredible views of the city. We also had time to visit Millennium Bridge.

Top of St. Paul's Cathedral

Millennium Bridge

We arrived to the museum a few hours early so we could look around, went on the amazing tour, had the most delicious afternoon tea, and then stayed for another couple of hours to keep exploring.

Tea Party!

Professor Haldane, I was thinking of you when I saw that Africa was grouped into one gallery relegated to the basement, when other galleries were broken up by country. No other continent is going to be considered 1 homogenous amalgam that can be summed up in a single room. Silent rage.

Now what was contained in that room was breathtaking. There was one piece, called The Tree of Life, which was made from recovered guns in Mozambique. An organization was set up that allowed people to trade in their guns in exchange for ploughs and tractors. It was so inspiring that I actually got a little emotional.

Tree of Life

Quick shoutout to my friend, Sybelle! She's in London for the summer as an au pair and we met up for a bite to eat a few nights ago.

Sybelle and Paige Playing in the Park

The three of us walked around Bishop's Park right on the Thames, which was beautiful at night. Incredible stroke of fortune that we were both in the city at the same time!

Holly

Harrod's: Where if it Glitters, It's Probably Gold

For a midweek adventure Paige and I went to the Victoria & Albert Museum and then took a trip down the street to Harrod's. I think the only word that appropriately sums those two buildings up is "glitz."

For example: a sword found in the fashion exhibit at the V&A:

Bedazzled sword officially on my Christmas list

Now I was aware that the V&A was a fashion museum, but I had no idea how awesome it would be. Ladies fashion throughout the years? Bizzare, not that it's gotten any better. Paige possesses the crazy notion that wearing a hoop skirt and corset would be fun!

We moved on to the jewellery (British spelling) exhibit and our jaws literally dropped. There were crowns, tiaras, rings, bracelets, and more swords and each one was diamond encrusted or plated in gold or both. The guards were pretty lenient with the no photos policy, so I managed to snap a few before having to put my camera away.  
    


Our last stop was the Theatre department which houses such famous things as the costumes from the Broadway Lion King and a life-size rhinoceros that I'm actually not sure what play it came from. But above all else... it has a dress-up section.

We practically got run over by some young school girls shoving each other for the one princess dress, while Paige and I contented ourselves with a jester's costume and cloaks.

                 

After gaping at the sculpture gallery (not even the big one, just the little teaser they keep by an exit) we made our way out and up the street to Harrod's.

I n case you don't know, Harrod's is a high end department store but not in the way that Macy's is "high end." Harrod's houses designers from all around the world, has 7 floors, runs tours throughout the building, and something labelled on the store map as "penthouse personal shopping." Oh yes, you need a map to get around. Simply put, look but don't touch.

A few things we saw while browsing:

Cruella DeVille's Dream Outfit

80,000 pounds (roughly $120k)

Raspberry Doughnuts that literally sparkled - probably with diamonds

There were no photos allowed in the jewellery or watch departments, a policy that was strictly enforced. 

But we did make a purchase! The food hall had pastries so we each bought a snack that came with its very own Harrod's bag. 

That concludes our day of extravagance, a day neither of us are soon to forget. It was great getting to see all of those beautiful things but when it comes down to it, I can't imagine spending 180,000 pounds ($270k) on a pearl and diamond necklace when there are so many other things (charity) that the money could go towards. So while I appreciated the chance to see how the 1% lives, I'm pretty content with my lot in life!

Holly

Crypts and Castles

Holly and I have been in London for almost two weeks and its been absolutely amazing! Pretty much everyday we have been working in the rotunda in the Museum of London which has amazing working conditions compared to the crypt at St Brides. It's a little cramped but we find a way to make it work by creating our own tables.

 One of the skulls we used at St Brides still had hair on its head!! It kind of grossed us all out a little, and according to Holly "it made it seem a little less dead than the others."

 On Saturday, Holly and I made the day trip to Windsor Castle. We even figured out how the train station works and managed to get there on time, which I think is pretty amazing! When we got there the castle was visible in the distance and our jaws dropped. Holly had to keep reminding herself to close her mouth from all of the jaw dropping while at the castle. When we were there we took a tour and our tour guide told us that when this specific flag is flying over the tower then it means the Queen is there, so lucky us we were touring the Queen's summer castle while she was there! No, we were not able to see her but it was still pretty awesome. I definitely advise everyone to go see Windsor castle, it was outstanding and each room we went into was more amazing than the last. We only got to see a small section of the castle but I was completely satisfied with what we saw. On our way back to the train station we passed a mini-tower that came right up to the sidewalk so of course I had to try and storm the castle, I mean who wouldn't?!

What Did I Just Order?

This trip has been a culinary eye-opener! The British Empire is still going strong in the respect that you can find food from just about every place the Crown ever ruled. 

I promised Paige she could write the post about Windsor and our trip to the crypt, so that leaves me with the last few days meals and museums. Trust me, that's just as good. 

First stop: Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese! 

Laying claim to being the oldest pub in London, we stopped in for lunch on our way to the crypt. Paige and Professor Ullinger both got the fish & chips and I tried the chicken roulade, despite having no idea what it was. Luckily, it was delicious. Adding to the experience was the fact that I was sitting in Dr. Samuel Johnson's seat (he wrote the foremost dictionary of the time, right up until Oxford's) and Paige was sitting in Charles Dicken's (Dickens'? Dickens's?)! Super cool getting to look around the place and feel more like I was sitting in a museum exhibit instead of just looking through the glass.

Neither a meal nor a museum, Paige and I saw A Midsummer Night's Dream at Shakespeare's Globe Theater and it was incredible! We waited in the return ticket line, where people who can't go either phone the theater and give up their ticket or just stop by the line in person and sell you theirs. Paige had a stroke of luck and a guy getting rid of a ticket gave it to her for free! The atmosphere was super upbeat and fun, and the show seriously was hilarious. We had standing room tickets, which got us deemed "groundlings."

Panoramic of the Stage and Surrounding Seating. 

Two more culinary adventures happened in consecutive meals. First came lunch at Leon. 

Chicken with Garlic Aioli and Lemonade

This place was of a "fast food" variety, but not like we know in the states. I mean really, just look at the picture and tell me if that looks like a meal from BK or Wendy's. All the food here is incredibly fresh which makes popping in for a quick bite to eat really easy because 9 times out of 10 it's gonna be great. It would be interesting to see how well a place like this would fare in the U.S. I would guess they'd do pretty well because Chipotle is on about the same level and gets business from just about every college student in a 5-mile radius. Maybe I'll have to try my hand at entrepreneurship and bring Leon to America!

Then came dinner at Woburn Tandoori with Professors Ullinger and Conlogue. Approximately 100m away from our flats resides a small Indian restaurant where Paige and I both tried Indian food for the first time. Yes, you read that correctly -- we both made it to almost 20 years old without ever having been out for Indian. This meal just about defined "new experience."

I could not get enough of the poppadoms! The dips they were served with were delicious, but I was just as happy to sit there and munch on the crunchy goodness. Then came the main course which we split 4 ways. There was green stuff with chickpeas, yummy yellow stuff, chicken tika masala, something with lamb in it, a plate full of spicy, and naan bread! Clearly the professors ordered and Paige and I just ate what was in front of us. 

Sunday was a day of exploring that brought us back to Trafalgar Square and into St. Martin-in-the-Fields for the first time. There was an honest to goodness cafe in the crypt below the church. It was amazing. 

Paige had baked cauliflower and potatoes with a lemon cake for dessert, and I had potato broccoli soup with apple crumble and custard. I speak no lies, that custard is the most delicious thing to ever cross my lips. 

We toured the National Portrait Gallery, saw the Tower of London, went on top of Tower Bridge, and saw 221B Baker Street! (I've successfully gotten Paige hooked on BBC's Sherlock.) 

Once home we made a yummy basil pasta and tofu dinner for ourselves. This trip has been a fun challenge because we seriously are living on our own and having to do things like grocery shop, cook, and run to the laundromat. I think that because of these few weeks I'll have a better idea of what it's like to be totally independent, and be more prepared when the time to live alone comes!

Holly

Anthropology at the Library

After a very busy few weeks, I have successfully executed my first program - Archaeology!

I was excited to run a program about archaeology, but I know nothing about it so first I hit the books. Using library resources, I learned as much as I could but still felt nervous about pulling it off. I decided to go more of a "fun" route than an educational one, so I made sure to give many disclaimers before the program that I am NOT an expert and our program should not be considered an accurate representation of an archaeological dig.

First I built a little archaeological site in a box. I left work and went to Sleeping Giant to collect dirt and artifacts. Since I was still in "professional" attire, I received some strange looks from hikers. For the record, scooping dirt into a cardboard box is somewhat challenging in a skirt and heels. Those of you on actual digs look much more comfortable.

As for "artifacts," I did some research on stone tools. I wanted to show the teens some examples of what archaeologists might find at an actual site. I collected rocks and attempted to shape them into different types of tools using a flaking method. Interestingly, the sites with the best information about how to make stone tools were mostly survivalist blogs. It was tricky, but I was moderately successful. Again, I explained to the teens that these were NOT real artifacts, they were just examples of what some might look like.

One of the better materials for stone tools is obsidian. I found some on ebay so I decided to order it and see if I could actually make anything. It didn't arrive in enough time to use it in the program, but I decided to go for it anyway, because what else did I have to do on a Saturday night?

My former roommate, Hanna, flew all the way from St. Louis to visit me and was pretty psyched to help with the project. Twizzlers were necessary for proper stone tool making.

I pretended to know what I was doing.

Flaked obsidian is really sharp! Apparently it's still used in some surgical tools.

There were some casualties (sorry about the gore).

Even Sable was curious about our project!

She was very helpful.

But then I was overwhelmed by her cuteness and had to scoop her up. She was not happy.

Anyway, the programs were really successful. Some parents signed up their reluctant teens beforehand, but I also had a few drop-ins. I ended up with nine attendees, which is nine more than I expected. The library has many great programs for younger kids, but there isn't much for teens. I was happy to offer a program that was well attended and enjoyed!

Future anthropologists at work

My next program is Forensic Anthropology. I'm excited about this one because I'm more comfortable with the material. Fingers crossed!

-Lucy

Special Skills: Can Assemble a Vertebral Column

Day 3 and London has yet to disappoint!

Paige and I landed at 6:30am London time on Sunday, 7 July,  and haven't stopped since. On Sunday we went to a bunch of tourist spots: the British Library, Platform 9 3/4, Piccadilly Circus, Fortnam & Mason, Trafalgar Square, walked by 10 Downing Street, saw Parliament, Big Ben, the London Eye, and Westminster Abbey, and then passed out around 7pm at the flat.





















Got started at the museum with a crash course on the human skeleton and much help from Professor Ullinger and Paige. I've learned so much just in these past 2 days working with the bones that I can't wait to take the full osteology class to really round out some of my knowledge. Paige is already deadset on coming back here to study abroad!

After work on Monday, 8 July, Paige and I worked our way over to Buckingham Palace, navigating the tube by ourselves for the first time. (Her Royal Majesty has got some pretty sweet digs.) We then proceeded to have a frustrating time trying to get back because 2 of the main tube lines were facing major delays. Our obvious solution was to grab some fish & chips and try again in an hour! Those trains weren't running yet, but now that we weren't listening to our grumbling stomachs it was easy to take a broader look at the tube map and figure out a different route.

Tonight, 9 July, Paige and I went on a Jack the Ripper walking tour around and let me tell you, we walked. For nearly 2 hours we followed a tour guide around the Ripper's route and learned about the facts and theories surrounding the crimes.

     *Slight divergence from the trip's biological anthropology focus and into a more cultural
       observation: we each paid 10 pounds to learn about a serial killer from the 1800s. Along the way
       we passed a barber stop called "Jack the Clipper," clearly turning a gruesome string of crimes into
       a catchy name to make people chuckle. So the question is, why are we so excited by a serial
       killers? I was pleased because the tour guide ended the tour with a little speech about how his
       version of the tour focuses more on the victims than the murderer himself in an effort to pay tribute
       to the innocent women and to avoid over-glorifying the murderer. Sounds great, but there's also
       little hard evidence about Jack the Ripper himself, and plenty of information about the prostitutes
       he killed. So there you have it, 2 branches of anthropology meeting in one city in my very own
       brain!

Tomorrow we head over to St. Bride's for the first time to check out the crypt! We've not yet figured out what adventure we'll go on after, but it's sure to be fun.

Holly

Presidential Signatures, The Dalai Lama, and.... a Blood Splattered Map?

Last week I had the opportunity with a few other interns to take a little field trip to the Archives II facility in College Park, MD. Archives II holds Army and Navy records after 1917, as well a bunch of other stuff. The facility is WAY larger than the facility in Washington, DC, and (my opinion) difficult to navigate. We met with three different archivists dealing with Army, Navy, and Civilian records. We had the opportunity to tour the stack areas dealing with each of the three records.

Comparing Archives I to Archives II is pretty easy to do, simply because of the sheer difference in size and architecture. Archives II is very open, bright, and full of windows and natural lighting. While Archives I… is not. One of the major differences between the two facilities are the large stack areas in AII and the electronic movable shelving that holds the records. The electronic shelving units save a lot of space in the facility as they are designed to close in to one another when not in use, and can be separated when needed. My big question of course, was “How do you not squish people between the shelves??”. Next thing you know we are standing in between two shelving units that are slowly closing in on us. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I felt like I was in some sort of adventure movie caught in a trap and about to be squished flat by a huge stone wall (minus the spikes). Just as my life flashed before my eyes, the wall stopped moving inward. Turns out, there is a sensor at the base of the compartments that is triggered when someone places their foot up against it. Crisis averted.

Apart from the scary shelving (not so scary once you get used to them) we saw some other pretty cool stuff. We saw a ton of presidential signatures, everything from Washington to Clinton. We even got the opportunity to take a look at the first document that FDR signed after he had been sworn into office, and the last document that he signed three days before his death. The difference in the signatures was astounding. On top of seeing presidential documents, we were also able to examine a document signed by the Dali Lama in 1960, and a map that general McNair was reading when he was shot (very CSI). Basically, the trip to AII was amazing, and I am still trying to digest all of the information.

In other news, I had the opportunity to meet with David Ferriero, the Archivist of the United States this morning. It was a very casual meeting, we sat in his office and talked about the Archives, digitization, and the future of the records at the National Archives. Additionally, we talked about careers and how he got to where he is today. It was was a good meeting, and it was a pleasure to have met him.

-Emily 

Almost Working

Fun in the field...

Archaeological field projects are a ton of work. We get up early, work long days in the field, and then spend several hours processing data in the lab in the evenings. That being said, they are really fun too! I mean why else would we work this hard?!

Here are a few of my favorite fun picks from the field this summer in Hungary to show how serious we are about science…and having a good time while we are at it! The title of this folder in our project Dropbox is “Almost Working.”

                   Striking a pose

                                                                           Face time

                                 Last day in the field

Lauren's last day:

In this series of photos, Lauren is attempting to raise money for her train ticket to the airport by selling Pogácsa to Dori (a cheesy biscuit snack that we eat in the field). We felt that this needed to be illustrated via photo boards (normally used for photographing excavation units...) Dori refused to pay. Lauren still made it to the airport.

                                                                          András: cutest baby in the world!

                Umbrellas are so much fun...

                           Dogs and cats :)