Potter's Field
2017 / 26 minutes / Directed by Christina Jeffries-Kenney
In 2012, a thousand once-forgotten burials were excavated under a parking lot at a San Jose hospital. Now anthropologists at California State University, Chico study how the skeletons could offer insight into navigating a future of antibiotic resistance.
In 2012, officials at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center got more than they bargained for while preparing the construction of a new hospital wing. Buried for decades underneath a parking lot, they uncovered a pauper's cemetery once associated with the hospital in the late 19th century. Now, anthropologists at California State University, Chico study the collection and its significance in the past and in our future. They also study how the skeletons could offer insight into a future of antibiotic resistance.