Between the pronghorn vertebrae and the bison metatarsals, a sense of pride is evident in CU Denver's Archaeology program. For one, the program, which is part of the Department of Anthropology, offers exceptional classes, ranging from Archaeology of the American Southwest to Archaeology of Power and Inequality. For another, a very unique and extensive collection of animal bones recently donated to the department expands opportunities for students to become more familiar with archaeology specific to this region of the country.

CU Denver owes this unusual but valuable gift to the vision of anthropology student Michelle Wilson and her grandfather-in-law, Bradley Bowman, whose faunal specimens formed the collection of a museum in New Mexico that was in the process of winding down its operations. While a student in a ZooArch class, Wilson became aware of a deficit of bison bones, which are essential for understanding Coloradan archaeology, available for her to study. This led her to explore the possibility of bringing Bowman’s collection to CU Denver. "I knew that my grandfather-in-law had a great ZooArch collection—things he was trying to find a good home for as he had retired and downsized. So, I was able to help contribute and facilitate the move."

A Home for Relics of Regional History

Highlights from the collection include various species of North American wildlife, including bison and pronghorn skeletons, according to Kyle Pontieri, who did the bulk of organizing and cataloging the new collection prior to earning his Master’s in Anthropology from CU Denver in December. Before the relocation of Bowman's collection, the only pronghorn bones CU Denver had were cranial remains—not to mention a complete lack of cow and mule deer. The new collection provides opportunities for students to examine cow, elk, mule deer, goat, and sheep remains—cleaned and pristine.

Pontieri explains that Bowman's donation is significant to CU Denver educationally. "It's incredibly good to be able to show students animals that they will experience in their life that have played a major role in our history here [in Colorado]," he says. Moreover, the collection is particularly special because, in Pontieri's words, it "has multiple individuals, so there's redundancy. But that redundancy is very helpful because it shows us variation within the species. Being able to identify that variation is really helpful for ensuring you're not overlooking something."

While CU Denver's original collection was extensive, its skeletal remains were on loan from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Bowman's donation, however, ensures stability and longevity. Wilson explains: "This part of the collection now belongs to CU Denver, so there's never a chance of [the bones] being taken back to their original owners.”

Hands-On Experience for Students

Educationally, this is a gift that essentially keeps on giving according to Jamie Hodgkins, PhD, an associate professor of anthropology. "The students in this class in particular are being taught hands-on methods," she says, referring to her Zooarchaeology class (ANTH 4121/5121). "So, the students have been really active in not only helping acquire this collection but also curating the collection—organizing it, putting it together, and preserving it. Students also help teach each other how to do identifications as they're learning. Many of my students have gone out and have gotten jobs in contract archaeology positions where they are animal specialists."

When asked about the benefit of this gift for scholarship, Dr. Hodgkins clarifies that "there's no money associated with it—students are not funded to do this work. However, it creates job opportunities because animal identification is not something most archaeologists do. So, in the professional world, if you can identify animal bones as a contract archaeologist or if you can teach it, it's something most people can't do. It's a really good specialty to have." Pontieri agrees, explaining, "If we don't get that experience while we're in school, it's very hard to get that experience outside of school," adding that the lack of experience makes it hard to move into desired careers. But thanks to Michelle Wilson and Bradley Bowman, CU Denver now offers even greater opportunities for this type of experiential learning, helping to equip future archeologists with career skills that set them apart in their fields.