The Contributions of Community Engagement, Faculty Networks, and STEM Student Collaboration to Noninvasively Identifying and Documenting Unmarked Burial Sites

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

Abstract

The unmarked burial project is an excellent example of scientists and community members collaborating to preserve and reconstruct cemeteries and their regional cultural history. The project objectives are to a) identify unmarked burials for placing markers to commemorate those buried there, b) identify space for future burials, and c) document who is buried at which unmarked burial for those that are known. Research for fulfilling these objectives engages community and family members of the deceased, students, and anthropologists trained in applied cultural and forensic anthropology, as well as historical archaeology. Students gain hands-on field experience for developing future careers and obtaining related occupational jobs in anthropology through learning how to connect community memory and scientific facts while being trained in and learning the applications of cultural, ethnohistorical, archaeological, and non-invasive forensic methods that do not physically disturb or expose human remains. The project also develops archival audiovisual documentation to preserve the local and historical knowledge of the community and the stories of family members’ lives. The findings regarding this novel multi-method approach have significant relevance for similar suspected unmarked burial projects with partial or non-existent documentation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.