US(MS) Asylum Hill

The overall quality of the fieldschool is excellent, and the concerns that emerged from this
years' evaluation were adequately addressed in the director's response. One recurring concern
that was not is the length of the work week. Perhaps it could be changed to 5 days with
Saturday being a half day of work with free afternoon to rest?

This is a great field-school for teaching the excavation and recording of human remains and
other aspects of forensic anthropology, including health, life-history , etc. The bibliography,
while excellent, seems very long in terms of required reading, when it is not clear from the
syllabus when the students would have time and/or opportunity to read and discuss these
important articles. The students are evaluated on participatory and other ambiguous criteria.
Would it be possible to include some journal-writing that involved commentary on the
readings?

Really well-designed. Model for engagement with descendents and ethical concerns. A little light on basic osteology and learning from bones, but that isn't main intent here

This looks like a fantastic field school but Mississippi in July/August is brutal. Students will need two weeks to adapt to the heat and humidity.

Well thought out field school and I like the inclusion of the ethical considerations for excavating human remains. The list of questions seem very through and the are, impoartly, developed with the descent communities. I also like the fact that staff will be conducting lectures with the students in the field.

This looks like an excellent field school and a great opportunity for students to get human bioarchaeology training in a joint academic/CRM context. I appreciate that the project requires at least some background coursework - the students will need it for a targeted project like this. I found the syllabus clear and detailed - it will help students make an informed evaluation of the field school. I thought the readings were carefully chosen and appropriate to the field school.

This is a great opportunity to run an osteollogical fieldschool in the US. The project is well-thought and it offers a well-rounded didactic experience to students, as far as I can tell. The tone of the Syllabus could be friendlier. It is not clear, under the grading section, what is meant by ‘professionalism’. This may generate some confusion.

Seems a unique and very worthwhile opportunity for training in forensic anthropology and archaeological treatment/excavation of human remains. Well designed field school in training methods. A bit light on forensic anthropology aspects and the pathologies that are likely to be met with in the asylum residents. Could include written work (eg notebook) in evaluation criteria.

It’s a unique opportunity to work on a large scale bioarchaeology project in the states. I also feel like I could excavate anything after experiencing the soil quality at this site.

Overall a good field school.

It was a really great learning opportunity and a great example of what the actual job intails.

I had such a fun time getting to do hands on work after 4 years of just learning about excavations. It was a really good way to figure out if I wanted to be an archaeologist or not, and it’s safe to say that I want to work in the field even more after completing the program!

The experience and knowledge was enlightening.

Dr. Mack is a wonderful and very organized professor that teaches everything she promised and even allowed us to work on things that we were still confused about in the end. The TAs provided a friendly environment which allowed me to get academic advice from them.

I had a great experience! I loved every second of my time here and learned a lot.

There was a lot to learn about both basic archaeology and bioarchaeology techniques. The people who we get to work with are very knowledgeable and want to help you be successful.

A wonderful opportunity to gain hands on experience in American archaeology via burials which is a unique opportunity.

Not only was this program fun and I got a lot of experience from it, I think it was a very well rounded educational experience especially considering how short the program is.

It was such an amazing learning experience and if you want to do field work this is a great place to see if you can do it in the elements.

Asylum Hill is an amazing project that has a large impact on the local culture and people.

I would recommend for experience in bioarch and CRM work as this gives me a great foundation in archaeology outside the classroom.

I am very grateful to have had this experience and I would definitely recommend this program to a field interested in historical archaeology or American archaeology.

This is such an awesome opportunity just working on this project. I learned so much in the five weeks we were here.

I think the work being conducted at this project is important to the entire field. I feel like I learned a lot about this line of work and my appreciation for field work has grown.

The knowledge I’ve gotten and relationships I’ve built made me cherish this field experience so much. Dr. Mack is one of the kindest, smartest, and coolest people I’ve ever met and I am so glad that I got the chance to be guided by her. The professional crew were also very pleasant and treated us as equals. If I could, I would do it all over again.

I would recommend this program to a friend or anyone interested in bioarchaeology, mortuary archaeology, historical archaeology, or archaeology of marginalized or incarcerated populations.
In spite of the relatively minor issues with the TAs and Millsaps, everything I learned was so valuable, and I would absolutely return to work on this project if invited or hired. Dr. Mack made sure we learned important job skills, like using the total station, in addition to the more "academic" side of field archaeology. It was a huge honor to be selected to work on the Asylum Hill Project.

The subject matter is beyond interesting and the work is important. I enjoyed the burial excavation’s ability to be hands on and independent, something unusual in the undergraduate field. I hope more funding comes this projects way. I enjoyed myself! Thank you!!

Dr. Mack is a wonderful instructor, and bioarchaeological digs in the US are difficult to come across.

I found this experience very valuable and I was both surprised and very satisfied with the independence that we had as students. The work felt that it was our own and it was very satisfying.

For one, the TAs next year will be different. I also was very eager to learn, and Dr Mack and the professional crew were so eager to teach me. Jackson is a beautiful area when you get to know it and it was such a transforming experience to share with my cohort. I feel very qualified to go out in the world after this field school.

The experience was incredibly informative and it was amazing to be able to participate in a project that is not only important to the descendants of these individuals but the community at large.

Dr Mack is a kind and fun teacher who was really helpful, and the field work itself was fun and rewarding.

The experience was amazing. Being able to be apart of the dig and experience a variety of what archaeologists do or what bioarchaeologists who was incredible and I loved it. I learned so much.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience. Dr. Mack is clearly very knowledgeable and passionate about her work. Learning from her and working on this site in particular is an honor. It’s been a great five weeks.

I learned a lot and Dr Mack and the other staff were very friendly and helpful in instructing us.

I would definitely recommend this program to anyone interested in bioarchaeology as a career. It provided a unique and interesting learning experience that I wouldn’t have found anywhere else.

I would recommend this program to a friend both in and out of archaeology because of how interesting and intricate this project is from start to finish and the wonderful people in charge of making this project run efficiently.

despite our issues with the TAs the experience was invaluable and working with Dr. Mack was an immense privilege that I will treasure forever.

Amazing and rare experience for Bioarchaeology and to preserve the individuals interred at the asylum cemetery. It was an honor to even have a small part in this project!

Overall, I would recommend this program to anyone interested in working on such an important and impactful project. Those who are interested in bioarchaeology should absolutely take advantage of such a rare opportunity. However, I would warn them of the aforementioned issues I experienced during my time here.