Help Amber Attend Mortuary Archaeology School
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Hello! My name is Amber and I'm currently a senior at Texas State University! Eat 'em up, Cats! I am a veteran of the U.S. Navy and am getting a Bachelor of Science in anthropology with a minor in biology. My dream is to utilize my degree to work in forensics and victim identification.
Hence, I have been accepted into a field school working with the Slavia Foundation in Gać, Poland for the summer of 2025. We will be exhuming medieval remains to determine how life was for these people and write osteobiographies for the them. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will lend invaluable experience to my academic and career goals. From the Slavia website (http://www.slavia.org/):
- In the summer of 2025, we offer an intensive learning experience in human osteology and mortuary archaeology at the medieval inhumation burial grounds in Giecz, Gać, and Żelewo. All students get involved in the fieldwork, receiving hands-on experience in the excavation of human burials and related archaeological features from their discovery to final removal. The Field School includes a strong laboratory component which provides an opportunity to practice identification of complete and fragmentary human skeletal remains.
- Participants will receive training in:
- Adult and Juvenile Osteology
- Human Burial Excavation
- Bioarchaeology in Practice
- Early Medieval Funerary Practices in Poland
- Archaeological Field Research Techniques
- Archaeological Material Processing and Curation
- The Mortuary Archaeology Field School provides a unique opportunity for archaeology and bioarchaeology students, as well as future practitioners of forensic sciences and anyone interested in mortuary archeology, to learn recovery and documentation techniques on both archaeological and human remains.
- Slavia is a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging and supporting archaeological research in Poland. Through the Slavia Project we offer opportunities for volunteers and students to participate in current archaeological excavations, learn archaeological techniques, and explore details of Polish history that are yet unknown. Poland's rich history provides a treasury of information about people, cultures, and events of the past.
- Based at the Museum of the First Piasts at Lake Lednica, Poland, the Slavia Foundation carries on archaeological projects in cooperation with Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. We provide an opportunity for international students to gain experience in many aspects of prehistoric and medieval mortuary archaeology. A no less important goal of this project is to introduce our guests to Polish culture and history by interacting with locals and through educational tours and lectures.
- The First Piasts Museum at Lednica is one of the largest open-air museums in Poland. It administers and protects Lednica and Giecz, two jewels of early Polish history (10–11 c. AD). A variety of research is conducted here in cooperation with the leading academic center of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań making the Museum a remarkable educational institution.
Sounds awesome, right?
The problem is that it is a very expensive opportunity. My Post 9/11 GI Bill will not cover this as the cost does not go directly to the university. That's what brought me here, to you guys. If you cannot donate, I completely understand. It's been a tough year, but please share. Thank you guys and I appreciate you taking the time to read this far!
Organizer
Amber Hoffman
Organizer
Buda, TX