Lunch & Learn at the Museum

Topic: What can bones tell us about a person’s life—and how can we tell their story when no one else can?
Cost: Free
Join us as we welcome Spencer Moore, graduate student in the Department of Anthropology at Idaho State University, focusing on forensic and biological anthropology. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology and a certificate in Criminology and Corrections from the University of Utah. Spencer has experience working in cultural resource management as well as archaeological field projects in the United States and Central America, including Alaska and Belize. Spencer will delve into the lives of individuals within Idaho State University’s anatomical skeletal collection, many of whom were obtained through questionable means as part of the global “Red Market” in human remains. While these individuals often arrived with no name, history, or identity, forensic anthropology offers powerful tools to recover parts of their stories.

Spencer will share how stable isotope analysis, biological profiling, and digital facial approximation can work together to reconstruct elements of a person’s origin, life history, and appearance. The presentation combines science, ethics, and advocacy to highlight the importance of restoring dignity to those treated as specimens. Attendees will gain insight into the hidden histories of anatomical collections—and the ways we can use forensic tools to give voice to the voiceless.

You may also like the following events from Idaho Museum of Natural History:

• Next month, 29th September, 06:00 pm, Dinosaur Felting Craft Class in Pocatello
• This October, 17th October, 06:00 pm, Walking with Gastonia: life and death in the Early Cretaceous of eastern Utah in Pocatello
• This October, 18th October, 10:00 am, Croc-n-Roll: Fall Fossil Fest 2025 in Pocatello