C on n e cte d Lea rn i n g
Wade Zahares
“Connected learning” at Andover means that we focus on the interconnected learning experience of our students in a vibrant, diverse residential community. We encourage students to learn both from teachers in traditional classroom settings as well as from the many communities with which they engage, online and face-to-face—peers, mentors, sports teams, global communities, those involved in public service—and to draw meaningful connections between and among these experiences.
Skeleton Crew
—Jane Dornbusch
18
Andover | Spring 2015
Photos by Ryan Wheeler
The Robert S. Peabody Museum has long housed a literal skeleton in a closet. The human bones, dating to the American Revolution, were donated to Abbot Academy in the 19th century; they were used to teach anatomy at Abbot, and many biology students still “meet” the skeleton in class. But until recently, little was known about the individual, sometimes called the “Prussian mercenary,” whose remains have proven so intriguing. Last fall, Sina Golkari ’15 and EJ Kim ’15 were awarded an Abbot Academy Association grant to research the skeleton’s identity. “We decided to study the skeleton so that future biology classes could get a more in-depth analysis of it,” said Golkari. Mentored by Peabody Director Ryan Wheeler and assisted by biology instructor Jerry Hagler, the students conducted extensive historical research and had DNA tests performed. They determined that the remains belonged to a male, 40 to 44 years old at death, likely from Western Europe, with evidence of various medical conditions and fatal trauma from a gunshot or blunt force. They concluded that the individual could have been an 18th-century mercenary but probably was not Prussian; he may have come from another area of Germany. Golkari and Kim presented their findings at February’s Massachusetts Archaeological Society meeting at the Peabody and are planning to submit their final paper to a regional journal. They also shared their insights as Biology 580 guest lecturers, which, Golkari says, was “a unique experience…because we got to teach the very lesson taught to us only a year ago.”
Sina Golkari ’15 and Ej Kim ’15 (above, next to skeleton) share their research findings with intrigued Biology 580 students.