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Evicting A Neighbor: Health, Power And Discourse In Vieques, Puerto Rico, Nelson Class-Meléndez

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the two years that followed the death of a civilian, David Sanes on April 1999, when a Marine Corps F-18 pilot accidentally dropped two 500- pound bombs on an observation post on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. Following the death of Sanes and for the first time in contemporary history, all competing political parties, the Viequenses, and religious leaders apparently reached an initial consensus that resulted in a series of efforts to evict the Navy from Vieques.

Importantly, this coalition adopted an environmental discourse that is essentially anti-Navy. This thesis draws upon this anti-Navy discourse to …

Subsistence, Butchery, And Commercialization In Knox County, Tennessee, Rachel Jeannine Windham

Masters Theses

A multifaceted approach to zooarchaeology is used to attain a broader diachronic view of Upland South subsistence and market activities as commercialization increased nationwide. Greater beef consumption is evidenced through faunal remains as availability and affordability increase with technological advancements. Paralleling this trend is an increased acceptance and purchase of Georgian cuts (individual hams and beef steaks) gaining popularity over time.

In order to investigate this pattern, a sample of six historic archaeological sites in Knox County, Tennessee, differing in proximity to urban markets, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and temporal context was chosen. General time ranges from the late eighteenth through …

A Bioarchaeological Analysis Of Fains Island, Michaelyn Suzanne Harle

Masters Theses

The Fains Island site (40JE1) is a Late Mississippian, Dallas Phase site located in Jefferson County, Tennessee. Fains Island was excavated as a Works Progress Administration project in 1934. A total of 300, mostly mound based, burial features were recovered from the site. The purpose of this study is to present bioarchaeological data from Fains Island. Analysis was conducted for the total skeletal sample (N=338) in order to assess morbidity and mortality. Analytical techniques included aspects of paleodemography (through the use of a hazard model), and paleopathology (i.e., porotic hyperostosis, dental hypoplasia, periostitis, dental caries, trauma, and other descriptive pathological …

A Radiographic Study Of Third Molar Agenesis In A Sample From The American Midsouth, Alexandra Y. Hentisz

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of third molar agenesis in a sample from the American Midsouth. The sample included 118 black males, 115 black females, 100 white males and 100 white females. Panoramic radiographs of the dentition for each individual were studied to ascertain whether any of the third molars was congenitally absent. The results were submitted to statistical analysis.

The results showed that white males have a significantly higher propensity to be congenitally missing a third molar than black males, with p<0.001. Likewise, whites are more likely to be missing a third molar in the mandible than blacks, with p=0.007 in males and 0.041 in females. There was no significant difference between the sexes for each ancestry, nor was there a significant difference between sides.

The lower frequency of third molar agenesis in blacks (5.6%) compared to …

The Avifauna Of Bawwab Al-Ghazal: A Zooarchaeological Analysis, Elissa A. Kinzelman

Masters Theses

In 1998 the Neolithic archaeological site of Bawwab al-Ghazal (ca. 11,500- 7,500 BP) was excavated by a team of researchers from the University of California, Riverside and Whitman College. Among the many artifacts recovered from the site, ranging from stone and shell beads to stone tools and related debitage, were an abundant sample of bird bones. Excavators shipped the sample, consisting of some 407 specimens, to the Anthropology Department of Western Michigan University for a faunal analysis.

This study seeks to illustrate the importance of bird remains in the archaeological record. The avifaunal analysis of Bawwab al-Ghazal began with identifying …

The Making Of Jordanian American National Identity In Michigan, David C. Chaudoir

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the making of Jordanian American national identity in Michigan. Moreover, it examines the notion of national identity in transnational spaces in relation to what Brian Schiff has metaphorically referred to as "cultural currents," comprised of values, symbols, political philosophies, habits, etc. of social actors. How do various cultural currents influence the way in which people talk and think about themselves in national terms? Why is national identity a meaningful concept, and how is it influenced by culture and ethnicity? To what degree do entities such as the state hold influence over national identity, especially in the case …

Can Status Be Revealed? Dichotomous Cultural And Physiological Markers Of Social Differentiation In Two Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Sites In The Levant, Monika L. Trahe

Masters Theses

Bioarchaeological studies utilize linear enamel hypoplasias (LEH) to discuss and interpret the health among peoples of the past. This research explores the bioarchaeology from two Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (9,000-8,500 BP) sites in south-central Levant, Kfar HaHoresh and Yiftahel, to uncover a record of health and social status in order to understand these sites in the context of the greater Levantine Pre-Pottery Neolithic period.

Archaeological evidence suggests that the Kfar HaHoresh site served as a mortuary complex in which the elite from surrounding communities, such as Yiftahel, are buried (Goring-Morris 2000). This research examines the biological remains alongside the archaeological evidence …

The Effects Of Sun And Shade On The Early Stages Of Human Decomposition, Carrie Srnka

Masters Theses

Existing literature on human decomposition has noted the importance of sun versus shade locations. To date, no study has focused on this variable exclusively. While the affects of temperature are becoming well recognized, there is conflicting information surrounding direct sunlight or lack thereof. Some researchers note that decomposition progresses faster in the sun, while others note that it is faster in the shade. The only existing study of such information was performed in the state of Washington using two pigs. Therefore, the goal of this study is to bridge the gap between animal and human decomposition and to note the …

The Mountain Folk Of Rugby, Tennessee: An Archaeological And Historical Study Of The Massengale Home Site (40mo146), Kimberly S. Pyszka

Masters Theses

The town of Rugby, Tennessee was established in 1880 as an utopian colony for the middle and upper class "second-sons" of England. However, the English colonists were not the first to settle in this remote area. Settlement began in the 1820s with the earliest settlers being farmers who lived off the land producing virtually everything they needed to survive. One of these early families were the Massengales, who first owned land in the future Rugby area in the mid-1820s.

In an attempt to learn about the Massengale family, archaeological testing was conducted at their home site, located a short walk …

Social Agency And Dieffenderfer Ware: A Multiscalar Analysis Investigating Current Archaeological Perspectives Concerning Style, Social Dynamics, Chaine Operatoire And Practice Theory, Timothy L. Bober

Masters Theses

Dieffenderfer Ware is a recently defined ceramic type found exclusively at the Dieffenderfer site (20SJ179) in southwest Michigan. This Late Woodland (ca. A.D. 1000-1400) pottery exhibits Iroquoian traits which are atypical in this region, but beyond that, very little is known about this ceramic type and the people that produced it. Research assessing the social agency of the producers of Dieffenderfer Ware was carried out by employing the chaine operatoire model, which examines the life history of artifacts. Dieffenderfer Ware was compared to the locally produced Allegan Ware. Social groups will procure, construct, use, and discard ceramics differently. Significant differences …

Style, Ethnicity, Technology, And Practice: Analysis Of A Material Culture Assemblage From The Paleoindian-Archaic Cultural Transition In The Northwestern Great Lakes, Matthew R. Laidler

Masters Theses

This study examines issues concerning the theoretical basis of style and ethnicity in archaeology through analysis of a material culture (lithic) assemblage from the Late Paleoindian-Archaic cultural transition period In the Northwestern Great Lakes region of the United States. A theoretical framework utilizing practice theory as expounded by Pierre Bourdieu is applied to an interpretation of both the theoretical and concrete issues involved in this analysis. Using the context of an interpreted ritual/mortuary site, a social archaeology concerned with the social, political, and organizational context of production, use, and deposition of technological objects is developed to address style and ethnicity …