Human osteology has always fascinated me. Even as a child in rural California, I collected animal bones from my family’s land, piecing together the imagined lives of the raccoons, deer, opossums, and frogs that called that land home, bone by bone. Growing up in the foster care system and later experiencing homelessness, I often observed patterns in how marginalized individuals were treated and mistreated in the dominant culture. This reminded me of the bones on my family property—many of these individuals had no one to piece together their life stories, restore their identities, and honor their dignity.
Until my mid-30s, I worked as an artist, fashion designer, historical costume re-constructionist, musician, and bartender. At 35, I was diagnosed with three autoimmune disorders, prompting a realization that my current life path would no longer support my needs. Determined that my disabilities would not hinder my ambitions, I used the opportunity provided by bed rest to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a biological anthropologist. Through my experiences and observations, I felt a compulsion to serve the most marginalized among us. From my perspective, the best way to do this was to piece together their lives bone by bone, allowing their remains to speak the hidden truths only they could tell.
In the fall of 2017, I began my journey by enrolling at a local community college to study anthropology and human biology. In the fall of 2019, I advanced my goals by enrolling in the anthropology department at Portland State University, focusing on biological and medical anthropology. As of this writing, I have received my BS in anthropology from Portland State University and my MS in biological anthropology with a focus on pathological, molecular, and forensic applications. I am now taking the next and most important steps in my academic career toward achieving a PhD and ultimately a professorship and consultant, which will enable me to serve the community as a teacher and mentor, particularly for first-generation and/or disabled students like myself.
To serve vulnerable and marginalized communities as a biological anthropologist, focusing on heritable allele mutations that can lead to disabling conditions that can be seen in skeletal tissues, a terminal degree in biological anthropology is essential. I strongly believe that osteological observations of our recent ancestors’ remains from contexts such as medieval mortuary interments, plague pits, or potter’s fields can offer insights into frameworks and systems of marginalization for disabled individuals with osseous remodeling consistent with genetic markers. These insights can help us understand how demographic markers such as income, age, ancestral origins, pathology, sex, and ability have intersected in the past to inform the present. Additionally, they can provide a better understanding of the migratory pathways these heritable allele mutations have followed since recent migrations out of Africa, potentially leading to improved medical treatments for these disabling conditions.
Autumn Baker 