Written by Rocio Avila (’26)
Have you ever wondered how to make the most of a liberal arts education at Carleton? For me, it happened when I discovered the power of combining chemistry, Spanish, and archaeology in one research lab.
My journey began in a Spanish class during the spring term of my sophomore year, when I first learned about Professor Sarah Kennedy’s multidisciplinary approach in research in Peru, which combines chemistry, archeology, and Latin American studies. Sarah studies the affects of Spanish colonization in the Andes by examining the remains of Indigenous Peruvians’ diets, as well as environmental pollutants. As a Chemistry major with a Spanish minor, this multidisciplinary research deeply resonated with me and inspired me to join her lab, the CARCAS lab, in fall term 2024, and it has been an exciting journey of learning and discovering.
CARCAS is dedicated to understanding the relationship between humans, animals, and the environment, in the past and present. My main work in the lab has involved performing 3D scanning of a bison skeleton using software such as Peel 3D and Blender. The scans will be uploaded to CARCAS’s freely accessible 3D digital repository of animal skeletons.
Here, I’d like to take you along on my journey in the lab and my main takeaways from it.
The process of scanning bones can be summarize in two big steps:
1. Use peel 3D to scan the bones, and perform some computational work on the scanning, such as filling the holes and meshing the parts together so they resemble real life bones as closely as possible.
2. Import the scan to blender, and add color to the scanned bones, making the texture look more realistic, as well as aligning the pieces.
How I get to be proficient in the scanning softwares and my learning journey:
Learning how to use peel 3D and blinder took many weeks of reading multiple pages of instructions and watching videos, as well as multiple trials and errors. But I would never forget the satisfaction after being able to successfully accomplish a perfect scan of a bison Metacarpal left bone bone.
Left metacarpal scanned bone of a bison
My experience in the lab was extremely fulfilling to me, not only I became proficient in software I have never used before, but also I learned about bison anatomy, since I read about this to be able to identify the name and characteristics of each of the bones.
For example, did you know that infant bison, like human infants, have cartilage instead of kneecaps? This means their bones look quite different from those of adults. From this, I was able to make an educated guess about the animal’s age just by examining its bones, which is an amazing skill I never expected to develop!
Moreover, besides having learned the scientific part of the laboratory, I was also able to cultivate good friendships and practiced collaborative work in the CARCAS lab. When I first started my work there, I was very anxious about the fact that I did not know much about archeology, nor the software that was being used. But the student workers were extremely helpful in my learning journey, and even though every student is given a specific project to work on during our time in the lab, everyone was willing to step in if you needed some guidance or help in your task.
The CARCAS Lab was my first independent research project at Carleton, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity. It has shaped me in ways that I couldn’t have imagined before stepping into the lab and it has encouraged me to pursue my own interdisciplinary passion after college. It was a transformative experience that not only broadened my academic horizons but also provided me with valuable skills and friendships.
“My advice is that if you are ever given the opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary lab, take it. You will develop new skills, learn new perspectives, and surprise yourself with what you are capable of.“