{"id":19230,"date":"2023-02-01T08:33:14","date_gmt":"2023-02-01T08:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-news\/?p=19230"},"modified":"2023-02-01T20:38:16","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T20:38:16","slug":"not-set-in-stone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/2023\/02\/not-set-in-stone\/","title":{"rendered":"Not Set in Stone"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Alexandra McLaughlin \u201916 | Photo by John Schoolmeesters<\/span><\/p>\n

Anthropology students work to enrich a fossil collection at the Science Museum of Minnesota<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThis course will have a lasting impact on communities outside of Macalester.\u201d\u2014Anna Runquist ’25<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Raised in St. Paul,<\/span> Anna Runquist \u201925<\/b> has visited the Science Museum of Minnesota dozens of times. Now\u2014through a Macalester course called Human Evolution\u2014she is creating material that the museum will distribute for years to come.<\/span><\/p>\n

The museum\u2019s lending library offers skull and stone tool casts for middle and high school teachers to use in the classroom. The collection includes famous fossil casts, such as representatives of 3.5 million-year-old Australopithecines from eastern and southern Africa, and stone tool casts from a major tool tradition in human evolution.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To make the collection more accessible and useful for teachers, Runquist and her classmates produced two-page handouts, designed for a general audience, with background information on the fossils.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea that my work will go towards helping others learn more about anthropology and bring more people into the field is incredible,\u201d said Runquist. \u201cThis course will have a lasting impact on communities outside of Macalester.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The course, taught by <\/span>Professor Scott Legge<\/b>, looks at the big picture of human evolution. \u201cWe walk through the last 65 million years and examine key fossil discoveries,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A question Dr. Legge sometimes hears\u2014<\/span>What is the utility of studying fossils?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cOur understanding of what it means to be human and our evolutionary history is always changing,\u201d he said. \u201cAlthough we\u2019re looking at fossils\u2014the pun is terrible\u2014it\u2019s not set in stone. We\u2019re always learning more. The background from this class will allow students to evaluate new finds and reassess how we see ourselves in the evolutionary history of the planet itself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The dynamic nature of anthropology drew Runquist to the field. \u201cAnthropologists are always looking for answers and connections,\u201d she said. \u201cFor a field that deals a lot with the past, it\u2019s still very much centered in the future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

New fossil discoveries happen all the time, Prof. Legge pointed out. \u201cIn August, a paper was published about a new biped\u2014an upright walking hominin\u2014from seven million years ago in Central Africa. That\u2019s huge.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Prof. Legge incorporates new research into coursework to help students stay up-to-date on the field. Macalester\u2019s proximity to the Science Museum also provides an advantage. Students can access materials, expertise, internships, and career connections.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Partnering with the museum allows students to disseminate knowledge learned in the classroom to a broader audience, Dr. Legge noted. \u201cSharing that information with others helps us all better understand what it means to be human.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The work resonated so deeply with Runquist, she declared an anthropology major this fall.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTaking Human Evolution cemented the idea of becoming a biological anthropologist,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s the class I look forward to the most each day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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