Bones! Bones! Bones!

Bones! Bones! Bones! — the anthropology department here at Skyline displayed new bones and artifacts donated by the California Academy of Sciences in an open house on Wednesday, Nov. 28.

The donation was comprised of several skulls, post-cranial bones, pelvises and a nearly-complete skeleton. Before, the department’s collection of artifacts used to teach several anthropology classes with a set of incomplete remains and several skeletal casts.

Adjunct anthropology professor Chuck Cecil played an integral role in landing the donation as he connected the California Academy of Sciences, where he previously worked, with the anthropology department. He was asked to take a look at the bones and if he knew any schools that would be interested in having them in their collection.

“We were able to get all of this for free; something which would take years for us to try and collect,” Cecil said. “That’s what’s exciting about it, besides a variety, it’s also giving us the data that students could look at more than one skeleton.”

The artifacts are on display in Rm. 7-110 ranged from two skulls of extremely young individuals to the nearly complete skeleton of a [male] individual, which is on display in the classroom daily. Another notable artifact is that of a partial hip implant which the bone grew around. Rounding out the display included several skulls of geriatric individuals as well as leg bones and pelvises.