QU students talk to the youth at Hamden Public Library

QU students talked to a group of students from ages 8-12 years old about skeletons and sustainable agriculture. QU students read stories and educated the eager group on science. The class got an opportunity to touch and examine bones, which sparked interest among the students. 

The Mystery of the Mummy!

Quinnipiac students got their hands on a mummified infant along with a woman’s mummified arm that was preserved more than 150 years ago. Scientist believe the infant is around 200 years old and was mummified soon after birth given the height of the body. Students were amazed by the technique of the mummification of the infant.

"It still has fingernails and toenails so the preservation is very good especially given the method." -Amel Langston, Quinnipiac Student

Quinnipiac's Bioanthropological Research Institute had the privilege to examine the specimen until it will be sent off to the Mutter Medical Museum in Philadelphia.

 

QU Anthropology Takes Over DC!

This summer, Matt and I were lucky enough to assist Professor Ullinger at the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian. The skeletons we examined were over 5,000 years old and from Jordan. It was amazing to see Anthropology in action!

 

 

We visited the National Museum of Natural History for two weeks to study bones excavated from Bab adh-Dhra’, an archaeological site in Jordan.  The data we collected will be used by undergraduates at QU to study health during the Early Bronze Age in Jordan.

Matt found out the occupational hazards of Anthropology.

When we had free time we were able to explore D.C.!

 

It was an unbelievable experience to be able to work on an interesting collection with wonderful people! ~Jirina

Archaeologists and anthropologists in training

Once again, the Anthropology Program here at Quinnipiac University has invited middle school students from the Hamden area to learn about anthropology and archaeology. On October 14th and 16th, the students participated in workshops, which included a mock archaeology dig and three hands-on labs. They also answered questions in their own personal "field manuals" so that they could get a feel for how archaeologists and anthropologists have to record data while at a site. From trying to figure out what our ancestors ate to learning how to discern certain parts of the skeleton, the students learned about several key concepts in anthropology including: human evolution, the scientific method, stratigraphy, material culture, and osteology. The event was hosted by QU faculty, members of the Society of Anthropological Research Club, the QU MAT program, and the Bristol Myers Squibb Center for Science Teaching and Learning. The 100 seventh grade students were able to the 100 seventh grade students were able to come to the QU campus and have these experiences. Thanks to everyone who helped out! Here are some of our photos from the event:

Here are some of the students and faculty that helped to make this event go smoothly!

Mammal March Madness!

This week members of the Anthropological community have come together to have a little fun with march madness...mammal style. Mammal March Madness is organized by a team of individuals (led by Professor Katie Hinde at Harvard) from various universities who have been able to create a scientific version of a game typically centered around college basketball. We came together to choose brackets, where a variety of strategies were used in order to make a winning bracket. Some did heavy research, weighing all the options, whereas others simply chose the cutest creature. Since the initial event, we have been avidly checking the blog and twitter account in order to update our standings. An incredible amount of time and research is done by the organizing group in order to determine which mammal would win each round depending on environment as well as strengths and weaknesses of the species.

Many thanks to Katie Hinde for Skyping into the event where we chose our brackets.

The QU winners that ultimately have the best bracket will have a choice of incredible mammal-themed prizes!  Who wouldn't love these prizes?!

And the winner is.....Matt Capece with a total of 154 points!!

A Semester in Review - Fall 2014

 Kyle Joyce'16 and Madeline Hardy'15 work on cleaning teeth from the BAKOTA project that were collected by Professor Giblin during the summer.

On November 15th students from various anthropology classes got together for a cupcake social. They were asked to work together in teams to create a poster conveying anthropological concepts such as cultural relativism. SAR members helped facilitate the event and judge which poster was the most creative as well as accurate, the winners received cool anthropological themed prizes. 

On November 19th Professor Giblin and some of her students from the AN300 class ventured to  Farm River State Park in order to explore and gain an understanding of the environment. After visiting the park, students worked together to raise awareness for the protection of this park that is essentially run by Quinnipiac University.

On December 4th students from the AN300 Ancient Food for Thought displayed their newly acquired knowledge by hosting a trivia table in the student center. Students passing by were able to try their luck at questions geared around the foods of the New England Native Americans in order to win yummy treats such as popcorn, maple candies, and sassafras.

The Bad, The Good, and The Great!

Addressing Campus Rape

 

One of the wonderful aspects of teaching at Quinnipiac is we are provided with opportunities to offer courses on current topics that directly impact our students’ lives.  This fall, Quinnipiac students have a chance to take a course on a topic that has dominated the media of late: campus rape. 

The bad news: we know campus rape is a huge issue, impacting thousands of lives. We are learning more about the problem as it occurs on campuses large and small, private and public, in fraternities and with athletes, and across the general student population. We all know the statistics by now—one in four students will experience some form of sexual assault or harassment in his/her time in college. We know that in the past universities have been more inclined to sweep the problem under the rug than address it, and victims were more likely to be blamed for what happened, than supported and have their experience treated like a serious crime.  A new documentary, The Hunting Ground exposes the problems of rape on college campuses and how poorly universities have handled the issue.

The good news: the problem of campus rape is finally getting the attention it deserves. The Obama administration, the Department of Education, the Department of Justice, and other federal entities have all increased and improved their efforts to address this serious issue.  Universities have stepped up their game as well, creating advocate positions, opening women’s centers, offering bystander training, and generating more awareness about the policies protecting students from acts of harassment and other forms of violence.

The great news: Quinnipiac is lucky to have many committed faculty, staff and administrators who have started a collaborative conversation about the problem of campus rape and are working together to bring about changes in our community.  The Addressing Campus Rape course is a part of that effort, to use the methods of positive activism and social science theory and methods to identify the problem and suggest solutions.  We are hosting a screening of The Hunting Ground on October 21, 2015, and we are excited to work with student organizations in an effort to have open dialogue around an issue important to everyone in a college community.  Working together we anticipate we will make Quinnipiac a model of how a college responds to, and ultimately prevents, the abuse of any member of our community.

Brooklyn Museum Trip

Dr. Tracy Betsinger joined the Society for Anthropological Research on our first trip! We went to the Brooklyn Museum to visit their mummy chamber and enjoyed a Middle Eastern lunch-Jirina