...says Amy Raes, one of the current SECAR Interns. Amy (aka "The Bone Lady") is an Osteoarchaeologist and Paleopathologist, meaning Amy studies human and animal remains and ancient diseases. Amy is a Canadian (living near the Arctic Circle!) and has a Masters degree from Bournemouth University in England. Amy's main interest lies in the development of diseases and how the diseases can affect the bones.
For the last 3 years, Amy has run a field school and an Osteo lab in Peru, where she has excavated and analysed mummies. This year she has joined SECAR to examine the skeletal remains recovered from different sites on Statia, in particular from the Leprosarium. She is patiently teaching the SECAR group different bones, although some pick it up better than others. Amy is also giving presentations to the local Medical students and was asked the difficult question in the 1st presentation "Is it true that you shouldn't take blue beads from the Leprosarium because they're bad voodoo?".
Amy is known for her sense of humour, although it can be a little eyebrow raising at times. (When showing an x-ray of a child's legs with rickets, Amy chuckled at the fact the child would never walk). Her advice for all students and anyone who finds a bone is DON'T LICK IT. You might think it's a way to identify the material but diseases can stay in the bone and surrounding soil for over 150 years.
Amy's second piece of advice for those planning to visit Statia is "If you come to the island of Statia, go to Chuckies and ask for the Dutch Plumber. Tell 'em Bandit sent you..."
Amy will be on Statia until early April so feel free to contact us via email or blog to ask Amy about her current research!
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