joined me in Cuzco, Peru during the summer of 2008.

Amanda and Diana cleaned and sorted bones, laid out skeletons, and analyzed and photographed our findings. They were a huge help and good fun as well. They also became adept at human skeletal analysis and gained skills that will help them in their future careers.

See our Cuzco photojournal

During this time, we stayed with a local family whom I've known for many years. They were wonderful hosts, as always, and provided a home away from home for us. My students packed their time in Peru, exploring Cuzco life, Inca ruins, and small town culture. A highlight for them was visiting the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu.

Since the 2008 summer was such a success, I repeated this field school in 2009 with three students from SCSU and one student from UCLA. Diana, Meg, Megan, and Adriana carried on the tradition of success with much hard work and great adventurous spirits.

I will continue this field school in summers to come, selecting SCSU students for the field school based on their demonstrated excellence in my Human Osteology course.

Photo: "I was extremely proud of Diana and myself when we independently analyzed two burials. It was a very proud moment for us." - Amanda Leiss (right)