Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Geographic And Environmental Influence On Maya Settlement Patterns Of The Northwest Yucatan: An Explanation For The Sparsely Settled Western Cenote Zone, Patrick Rohrer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Most settlement pattern research and GIS analysis of the ancient Maya of the Northern Yucatan have focused on water availability in a dry landscape where cenotes are often the only water source. While water is of paramount importance, permanent settlement secondarily requires farmable soil, a resource often as precious as water in many parts of the Yucatan. The dynamics between these resources reveal areas of ideal settlement and more challenging landscapes for which the Maya developed strategies to overcome environmental conditions. A region of the southwest "Cenote Zone", however, appears to have presented the ancient Maya with insurmountably poor environmental …

Detecting Submerged Remains: Controlled Research Using Side-Scan Sonar To Detect Proxy Cadavers, Carrie Healy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While side-scan sonar has become a valuable geophysical tool for forensic water searches, controlled research is paramount to determine the best practices for searches in aquatic environments as it provides a structured environment in which to investigate variables that influence the effectiveness of the technology and provides valuable experience for sonar operators. The purpose of this research is to conduct controlled research in order to evaluate the applicability of side-scan sonar to searches involving submerged firearms and proxy cadavers. In addition, the best practices for employing this technology in forensic searches in freshwater ponds and lakes in a humid, subtropical …

Postcranial Osteometric Assessment Of Korean Ancestry, Elizabeth Carol Okrutny

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The determination of ancestry is an important part of an individual's identification when creating a biological profile. This thesis scrutinizes postcranial variation using over 65 osteometric sorting measurements in an attempt to identify those measurements that display the most significant differences among Koreans, Africans, and Europeans. Data was collected from four American skeletal collections and one South Korean skeletal collection for a total sample population of 306 individuals: 24 of Korean ancestry, 66 of African ancestry, and 216 of European ancestry. In an effort to minimize the number of measurements needed for ancestral assessment, stepwise discriminant analysis was performed for …

Mexican-Americans In Los Angeles: Strengthening Their Ethnic Identity Through Chivas Usa, Stephanie Goldberger

CMC Senior Theses

A large Mexican-American population already exists in Los Angeles and, with each generation, it continues to rise. This Mexican-American community has maintained its connection to its heritage by playing and watching soccer, Mexico’s top watched sport. In this thesis, I analyze how Major League Soccer's Chivas USA serves as an outlet through which many Mexicans in Los Angeles have developed their ethnic identities. Since the early twentieth century, Mexicans in Los Angeles have created separate residential communities and sports organizations to strengthen their connections with one another.

To appeal to Mexican-Americans, Chivas USA has branded itself closely to its sister …

Tibetan Buddhism And The Chinese Communist Party: Moving Forward In The 21st Century, Evan Zwisler

CMC Senior Theses

I examine the state of Tibetan Buddhism that exists in China in the 21st century and what are the best methods to increase religious freedom and political autonomy. I look at what cause China and Tibet to reach this point, and why do the respective nations do what they do. Man people fundamentally misunderstand the reasons why the Chinese Communist Party oppresses Tibetan Buddhism; they aren't concerned with eradicating religion, they want to simply maintain longterm political legitimacy in Tibet.

Ritual Use Of The Human Form: A Contextual Analysis Of The "Charlie Chaplin" Figure In The Maya Lowlands, Lisa M. Lomitola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Small anthropomorphic figures, most often referred to as “Charlie Chaplins,” appear in ritual deposits throughout the ancient Maya sites of Belize during the late Preclassic and Early Classic Periods and later, throughout the Petén region of Guatemala. Often these figures appear within similar cache assemblages and are carved from “exotic” materials such as shell or jade. This thesis examines the contexts in which these figures appear and considers the wider implications for commonly held ritual practices throughout the Maya lowlands during the Classic Period and the similarities between “Charlie Chaplin” figures and anthropomorphic figures found in ritual contexts outside of …

The Prison Fix: Race, Work, And Economic Development In Elmira, New York, Andrea R. Morrell

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Based on more than a year of ethnographic and archival research in Elmira, New York and, to a lesser extent, New York City, this dissertation analyzes the social, economic, and political processes through which Elmira, New York was transformed by the construction of the Southport Correctional Facility in 1988 as a project of economic development during a period of massive expansion of the New York State prison system. It focuses on the unfolding of the project of mass incarceration and its impact on the lives of Elmira's citizens and workers, as well as the men incarcerated in Elmira's prisons and …

Stewards Of The Land : Demonstrations Of Agricultural Authenticity In Columbia County, Ny, Jaclyn Rose Bruntfield

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The origins of food in the U.S. have come under close public scrutiny in recent years. An increasing number of farmers markets, certified organic products, and Community Supported Agriculture programs indicate that Americans are seeking out alternatives to the mainstream food system. The industrialization of food production in the post-World War II era, while providing larger amounts of inexpensive food than ever before, has arguably compromised people's relationships with food. While farming was once a common way of life in the U.S., today only one percent of Americans identify farming as their primary occupation.

The Art Of Going Beyond In Hossana, Ethiopia, Megan Elizabeth Flowers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this study, I examine what education as development means for the men and women who live in Hossana town, Ethiopia. The ethnographic focus of this study is on understanding how education as development evokes different meanings for socio-political participation by rural students at a teacher training college and townspeople respectively. I discuss these conceptual differentiations in relation to the changes in beliefs and strategies that have occurred in Hossana and greater Ethiopia elsewhere over the course of several decades of local and global changes in the social order. I use the emic category of yilhunnta, as the social recognition …

Environmental Stress In The Correctional Workplace, Jeff Brummel

WWU Graduate School Collection

Experiencing stress in the work environment is common for most occupations, and some occupations experience more work-related stress than others. Environmental factors including lighting, temperature, air quality and noise, can affect workers' stress levels in subtle ways often overlooked during typical workrelated stress evaluations. The present study examines the relationship between these environmental factors and their effects on the stress levels of corrections officers. Survey respondents (N=45) evaluated two correctional facilities in the Pacific Northwest for environmental quality and the incidence of Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) symptoms such as headache, fatigue, nausea, lethargy and other health-related issues. Baseline environmental measurements …

Use Of The First Rib In The Age-At-Death Assessment Of Adult Female Skeletal Remains, Zachary A. Sullivan

WWU Graduate School Collection

The accurate assessment of age-at-death from skeletal remains is a key factor in both forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology. Several methods of determining age at death are currently employed that utilize the age specific changes of several anatomical regions of the skeleton. However, as skeletal remains are often incomplete, it is useful to develop new methods based on previously unevaluated anatomy. This makes it more likely that sets of incomplete skeletal remains may include some feature that can be used to determine age-at-death. DiGangi et al. (2009) proposed that three anatomical regions of the first rib demonstrate age-correlated changes that can …

Late-Holocene Mammal Use In The Salish Sea: A Case Study From The Cherry Point Site (45wh1), Northwestern Washington, Matthew A. (Matthew Adam) Dubeau

WWU Graduate School Collection

Mammal remains from the Cherry Point site (45WH1) are analyzed to provide information about the nature of prehistoric mammal use in coastal sites in the Gulf of Georgia region from the Locarno Beach period (3,500 to 2,000 BP) to European contact (250 BP). Expectations regarding the taxonomic structure of the 45WH1 mammalian assemblage in the context of regional patterns are developed and evaluated. Specific hypotheses relating to the transition from a generalized forager lifeway to a highly developed marine collector adaptation are tested. Thirty-four test cuts (2 x 2 meter excavation units), or approximately half of the cuts excavated at …

Walking With Wapiti: Measuring Late Holocene Climatic Variability Through Cervus Elaphus Abundance And Stable Isotope Analysis In The Gulf Of Georgia Region, Angus M. D. (Angus Michael David) Tierney

WWU Graduate School Collection

Native hunters of the Northwest Coast valued the local wapiti subspecies (Cervus elaphus roosevelti) greater than any other land animals as a source of both food and raw materials for tools. Wapiti population size depends on the quantity and quality of their preferred foods: easily digestible, high protein plants that occur most abundantly in meadows and thickets, particularly after spring and summer rains. Changing climate regimes affected the productivity of these foods but there is disagreement about whether climate periods with long dry summers helped or hindered wapiti populations on the Northwest Coast. Lepofsky et al. (2005) suggests wapiti abundance …

Climate Change At The Pleistocene-Holocene Boundary In The Pacific Northwest: A Comparison Of Proxy Datasets And The Archaeologicial Record, Tiffany J. Fulkerson

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"The relationship between climate change at the Pleistocene-Holocene Boundary (ca. 12,600-10,200 cal B.P.) and cultural responses to attendant shifts in the environment remains a vexing issue for archaeologists. This study compiles and analyzes glacial, palynological, faunal, and stratigraphic/geomorphological proxy datasets for climate change in the Pacific Northwest of North America and compares them to the coeval archaeological record. The primary purpose of this exercise is to consider the potential ways in which climate change at the Pleistocene-Holocene Boundary affected cultural development for Late Paleoindian-Early Archaic peoples in the Pacific Northwest. Results indicate that climatic and environmental change at this interval …

One Nation, Many Borders: Language And Identity In Mayan Guatemala And Mexico, Anna Caroline Peckham

Honors Papers

This paper explores language ideologies, code choice, and ethnolinguistic identity in Maya-dominated areas of Mexico and Guatemala. As the Maya, or Pan-Maya, Movement has grown in scope and force since the 1980s, particularly in Guatemala, possessing a "Maya" identity has become defined in new ways. Since Mayan languages are still spoken with a strong degree of vitality in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and the western highlands of Guatemala, examining Maya identity through beliefs about, and use of, indigenous languages and Spanish is a particularly useful focus. In comparing Maya peoples' beliefs and identities in each of these regions, this paper argues …

We Are Not These Bodies: Identity And Transcendence Among American Devotees Of Krishna, Rachel Lynn Williams

Honors Papers

This paper discusses the ways in which American devotees of Krishna understand their identities. Some second-generation Asian Americans have criticized American Krishna devotees of cultural appropriation, but devotees defend themselves against this claim with a philosophy of bodily transcendence. Many devotees practice transcendence through a rejection of nationalism and sectarianism. The paper also considers vegetarianism and ISKCON's attitude toward animals.

The Impact Of Dakota Missions On The Development Of The U.S.-Dakota War Of 1862, Daphne D. Hamborg

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis explores the relationships between three groups of people on the mid-nineteenth century Minnesota frontier: evangelical Protestant missionaries, the Dakota who converted to the Christian faith and lifestyle taught by these missionaries, and the Dakota who remained traditional in their outlook and lifestyle. It does this through an analysis of the impact of these relationships on the development of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. As is made clear through the use of both primary and secondary sources, the missionaries helped create tensions within the Dakota community, tensions expressed through shifting social structures, argument, alienation, and, at times, violence. As …

Zen Communication - A Cross Cultural Approach To Mindfulness, Appropriate Response, And Flow In Dyadic Interactions, Gregory Husak

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study examined the question of how the qualities that arise from the practice of traditionally East Asian disciplines such as Zen and related martial arts might be effectively applied to dyadic interactions. Long-form interviews of about 40 minutes each were conducted with academics who have studied these topics and with expert practitioners who have extensive direct experience. Most subjects had significant cross-cultural experience, having studied and/or practiced in both the U.S. and in Japan. Detailed analysis of transcripts of these recorded interviews indicated that, in particular, the seated Zen meditation practice known as zazen generates personally transformational qualities that …

Who Needs A Plow-Zone? Using A Common Site Mapping Method In A New Way At The Silvernale Site (21gd03), Kyle Gary Harvey

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Agricultural activities are responsible for extensive disturbance and destruction of archeological sites throughout the region and beyond. Plowing moves the artifacts from their original locations thus making it difficult to tie them back to the contexts in which they belong. It has become a relatively common practice for many archeologists when faced with this problem is to simply blade off the disturbed area of the site, usually the upper 30 to 40 centimeters, so that they can better access undisturbed areas. They do this because they believe that since the artifacts have been moved out of context that they are …

Identity And Icons: Conflict And Consequences Surrounding The University Of North Dakota's "Fighting Sioux" Name And Logo, Jorelle Grover

WWU Graduate School Collection

Controversy surrounds the University of North Dakota's (UND) logo and nickname, The Fighting Sioux, generating a conflict with the neighboring American Indian tribe [Native American], the Standing Rock Sioux, dating back to the 1960's (Phillips and Rice 2010:511). Previous research done on this topic left a large discrepancy regarding the concept of cultural identity attached to the conflict, developments that have taken placed since 2005, and more recent developments. The question I examine is why this issue incorporates such differing opinions. I examined the concept that the root of this controversy lies within cultural identities which are linked to the …

"A Dress Of The Right Length To Die In": Mortuary And Memorial Practices Amongst Depression-Era Tenant Farmers Of The Piedmont South, Zoey Alderman-Tuttle

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Sexual Indiscretions In Virginia's Colonial Capital, Sarah Rebecca Schmidt

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

To And From Places Beyond: Examining Low-Fired Coarse Earthenwares And Informal Trade Networks Among Enslaved Bermudians In The 18th And 19th Centuries, Sarah Helen Zimmet

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

I'M Really Just An American: The Archaeological Importance Of The Black Towns In The American West And Late-Nineteenth Century Constructions Of Blackness, Shea Aisha Winsett

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Rogue Fishermen: Codfish, Atlantic Items, And The Isles Of Shoals, Megan Victor

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Booze At The Brothel: Alcohol-Related Artifacts And Their Use In Performance At The 27/29 Endicott Street Brothel, Amanda B. Johnson

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Binding Ochre To Theory, Simone E. Nibbs

Pomona Senior Theses

Widely found throughout the archaeological and artistic records in capacities ranging from burial contexts to early evidence of artistic expression, red ochre has been studied in archaeological and art conservationist communities for decades. Despite this, literature discussing binders is disparate and often absent from accessible arenas. Red ochre is important historically because its use can be used to help further the understanding of early humans, their predecessors, and their cognitive capabilities. However, there is not much written speculation on the processes involved in binder selection, collection, and processing. Based on the idea of these three activities associated with binders, I …