Penn & Slavery Project

Rachel Watkins is a Visiting Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, and the Visiting Associate Curator of the Biological Anthropology Section of the Penn Museum. Her work focuses on African American biohistory and social history, including: 1) skeletal biology; 2) Black feminist critiques of science; 3) the ethical treatment of human remains; and 4) descendant community engagement. She began her training in these areas studying the remains of people in the W. Montague Cobb anatomical collection, and ancestral remains unearthed from the New York African Burial Ground in lower Manhattan. Applied components of her work include developing and implementing ethical processes for repatriation, reburial and
protecting cemeteries and other heritage sites.

Her work has appeared in journals such as American Anthropologist, the American Journal of Biological Anthropology and Historical Archaeology. You will also find her work in edited volumes and magazines for popular audiences.