Caitlin Stone (ANTH ’14) was a 2013 receipient of the Catherine Wood Parker Memorial Award and traveled to Italy during Summer 2013 to participate in an archaeological field school.
During the Fall semester of 2013, the teacher’s assistants and other students in my Osteology class encouraged me to fulfill my Field School or Research Methods requirement for my Anthropology major by looking into a field school that took place abroad. After searching the internet for a field school that would fit my needs, I found one run by The Ohio State University that appealed to me the most. The site was located at an 11th century abbey in a town called Altopascio, which is in the Tuscan region of ltaly. I have been to Italy twice before, the second time having been a three week study abroad class that was run by the College of Charleston for Italian language credits. However, the six weeks I spent working at the Badia Pozzeveri was one of the most rewarding and enriching experiences of my life. Not only was I immersed in a culture that I have always loved, but I was also given the chance to spend time with many talented students, instructors, and lecturers who shared a common interest and enthusiasm for anthropology and bioarchaeology.
As this was my first time participating in archaeological field work, I was a bit anxious that my lack of 
experience would cause me to have a bit of a disadvantage; most of the other field school participants were either graduate students or had recently attained their undergraduate diploma, and quite a few had already participated in other field schools. However, the site staff (including professors and graduate students from the University of Pisa who were the site managers) was very good with explaining anything they wanted us to do if we took the time to ask them. The staff was a close-knit yet inviting group, and their presence allowed the field school participants to partake in a number archaeological pursuits. Not only did we take part in working on the four areas on our site, but we were given the chance to work in an osteology lab, a materials culture lab, and a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) lab.
Beyond these hands-on learning experiences, we also had a few guest lecturers every week. Dr. Clark Larsen, one of the co-directors of the field school, gave a presentation about his work at the site of Catalhoyuk in Turkey, which is the oldest and largest Neolithic city and archaeological site to have been discovered. Dr. Gino Fornaciari, a professor of Paleopathology and Funerary Archaeology (and the father of our material cultures specialist) at the University of Pisa gave presentations on his examinations of a diverse group of well-preserved mummies and on his activity in the discovery of and work on the Medici Tomb in the Medici Castle in Florence, Italy. We also had a few lectures on the use of stable isotope analysis in application to bioarchaeology and paleopathology, from Dr. Laurie J. Reitsema and Dr. Hendrik Poinar.
Participating in this field school was one of the best decisions I have made. Everything about the experience worked out harmoniously: the country of ltaly 
a gracious host, I was surrounded by intriguing and cordial people, and I was given the opportunity to spend my time in a productive and educational environment. I am planning to graduate in May of 2014 and will soon be applying to law schools with the hope of starting school in the fall of 2014. I will always be grateful for the opportunity I had this past summer, as I do not know what the future holds for me or if l will ever get another opportunity similar to this one. Having the chance to travel Europe, to work on an archaeological site, and to be in such an enriched environment will always be something I can look back at with fondness, and something I can strive to experience again.
The Catherine Wood Parker Memorial Award supports Anthropology majors wishing to participate in international travel courses or field schools. If you would like to contribute to awards that support student opportunities such as Caitlin’s, please see our website at http://sociology.cofc.edu/giving/index.php.