Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Social Transformation During The Middle - Late Preclassic (1,000 Bce - 150 Bce) At Ucí, Yucatan Mexico, Daniel Vallejo-Cáliz

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

The focus of this project is to track the social change developments in Ucí, Yucatan, Mexico, during the Middle (1,000 – 400 BCE) and Late Preclassic (400 – 150 BCE) that served as foundations to institutionalized hierarchy. This research is geared towards understanding if there were any expressions of social differentiation in the earliest, detectable moments in the history of Ucí, and what were the mechanisms used to eventually make distinctions permanent. Applying an agency approach, I argue that social actors may cause structural change, both consciously and inadvertently, through the application of several strategies aimed to enhancing their role …

A Multi-Proxy Assessment Of The Impact Of Environmental Instability On Late Holocene (4500-3800 Bp) Native American Villages Of The Georgia Coast, Carey J. Garland, Victor D. Thompson, Matthew C. Sanger, Karen Y. Smith, Fred T. Andrus, Nathan R. Lawres, Katharine G. Napora, Carol E. Colaninno, J. Matthew Compton, Sharyn Jones, Carla S. Hadden, Alexander Cherkinsky, Thomas Maddox, Yi-Ting Deng, Isabelle H. Lulewicz, Lindsey Parsons

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Circular shell rings along the South Atlantic Coast of North America are the remnants of some of the earliest villages that emerged during the Late Archaic (5000-3000 BP). Many of these villages, however, were abandoned during the Terminal Late Archaic (ca 3800-3000 BP). We combine Bayesian chronological modeling with mollusk shell geochemistry and oyster paleobiology to understand the nature and timing of environmental change associated with the emergence and abandonment of circular shell ring villages on Sapelo Island, Georgia. Our Bayesian models indicate that Native Americans occupied the three Sapelo shell rings at varying times with some generational overlap. By …

Classic Period Dune Settlement In The Eastern Lower Papaloapan Basin, Southern Veracruz, Mexico, Kyle Edward Mullen

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This dissertation is an archaeological investigation into the long-term settlement change of an ecologically distinct portion of the Eastern Lower Papaloapan Basin (ELPB) of southern Veracruz, Mexico, before, during, and after the fluorescence of the Tres Zapotes polity. This project examines the changing settlement history in an area of near-coastal paleodunes and estuarine lakes in the northern ELPB, addressing the question: “What processes account for variations in the distribution of occupation on the dune landscape through time?” I argue that the answer lies at the intersection of specific environmental, economic, and political factors in the ELPB over time.

Assessing Stress Biomarkers As Embodied Identity In Kentucky’S Green River Archaic, Anna-Marie Casserly

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

The primary goal of this bioarchaeology dissertation research is to investigate the relationship between evidence of social identity and indicators of biological stress in the Green River region of Kentucky during the Late Archaic period (5,000-3,000 BP). Utilizing a biocultural perspective, I examine the ways that aspects of identity and social organization are embodied through the experience of biological stress. This research explores how social differences influence the patterning of osteological stress markers in an Archaic population while problematizing categories of difference that are often naturalized in bioarchaeology, such as gender or age cohorts. In so doing, it contributes to …

Mapping Complex Land Use Histories And Urban Renewal Using Ground Penetrating Radar: A Case Study From Fort Stanwix, Tyler Stumpf, Daniel P. Bigman, Dominic J. Day

Anthropology Graduate Research

Fort Stanwix National Monument, located in Rome, NY, is a historic park with a complex use history dating back to the early Colonial period and through the urban expansion and recent economic revitalization of the City of Rome. The goal of this study was to conduct a GPR investigation over an area approximately 1 acre in size to identify buried historic features (particularly buildings) so park management can preserve these resources and develop appropriate educational programming and management plans. The GPR recorded reflection events consistent with our expectations of historic structures. Differences in size, shape, orientation, and depth suggest that …

Social Differentiation Among Rural Maya Households In Chunhuayum, Yucatan, Mexico, During The Late Preclassic Through The Early Classic (300 B.C. – A.D. 600), Céline Lamb

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This dissertation addresses social differentiation among rural residents of Chunhuayum, an ancient Maya village in northwest Yucatan, from the Late Preclassic to the Late Early Classic (300 B.C. – A.D. 600/630). The three axes of social differentiation investigated are household wealth, occupation, and social connectivity to external networks. Using a practice theory approach, my research seeks to identify how material and social practices shaped and expressed social differentiation among Chunhuayum households, as well as how these may have shaped the particular history of Chunhuayum within its regional context. Throughout Chunhuayum’s occupation, residential architecture was the most salient marker of wealth …

Ancient Maya Rural Settlement Patterns, Household Cooperation, And Regional Subsistence Interdependency In The Río Bec Area: Contributions From G-Liht, Scott R. Hutson, Nicholas P. Dunning, Bruce Cook, Thomas Ruhl, Nicolas C. Barth, Daniel Conley

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Research on intensive agricultural features contributes to the social relations of farming, including the means by which farmers mobilize labor and the possible destination of surplus. Lidar provides high-resolution data on ancient houses and agricultural features at a regional scale. This paper uses lidar data from NASA’s G-LiHT airborne imager to derive insights about rural demography, interhousehold cooperation, and subsistence interdependency among the ancient Maya. We assess the differences in intensity of agricultural investment in rural and urban areas of the Río Bec region of southern Campeche and Quintana Roo, Mexico, leading to inferences about regional food exchange and complex …

Reflecting On Pasuc Heritage Initiatives Through Time, Positionality, And Place, Scott R. Hutson, Céline Lamb, Daniel Vallejo-Cáliz, Jacob Welch

Anthropology Faculty Publications

This paper reports on heritage initiatives associated with a 12-year-long archaeology project in Yucatan, Mexico. Our work has involved both surprises and setbacks and in the spirit of adding to the repository of useful knowledge, we present these in a frank and transparent manner. Our findings are significant for a number of reasons. First, we show that the possibilities available to a heritage project facilitated by archaeologists depend not just on the form and focus of other stakeholders, but on the gender, sexuality, and class position of the archaeologists. Second, we provide a ground-level view of what approaches work well …

Consuming Appalachia: An Archaeology Of Company Coal Towns, Zada Komara

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

Material culture is an understudied aspect of social life in Appalachian Studies, the multi- disciplinary investigation of social life in the Appalachian region. Historically, material culture in the region has been largely studied for its semiotic properties, decoded as a tangible symbol of “a region apart,” lagging behind the rest of America in terms of moral, mental, economic, and social development. Critical material studies from archaeology and other disciplines paint a different picture, however, and construct a region as American as any other. This study utilizes discourse analysis of material rhetoric about Appalachia and archaeological and oral historical data from …

Middle To Late Holocene (7200-2900 Cal. Bp) Archaeological Site Formation Processes At Crumps Sink And The Origins Of Anthropogenic Environments In Central Kentucky, Usa, Justin Nels Carlson

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

Though some researchers have argued that the Big Barrens grasslands of Kentucky were the product of anthropogenic land clearing practices by Native Americans, heretofore, this hypothesis had not been tested archaeologically. More work was needed to refine chronologies of fire activity in the region, determine the extent to which humans played a role in the process, and integrate these findings with the paleoenvironmental and archaeological record. With these goals in mind, I conducted archaeological and geoarchaeological investigations at Crumps Sink in the Sinkhole Plain of Kentucky. The archaeological record and site formation history of Crumps Sink were compared with environmental …

Resilience And Adaptation In A World System Periphery: Long-Term Perspectives From The Lake Atitlan Basin, Highland Guatemala 600 Bc – 1600 Ad, Gavin R. Davies

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

The Lake Atitlan Basin of highland Guatemala boasted fertile soils and was rich in natural resources, making it an attractive area for permanent settlement. However, the region lacked a number of important items, such as salt, cotton, and obsidian, all of which had to be obtained through trade. Good agricultural land was also scarce in certain parts of the lake and the steep hillslopes were easily eroded, making it necessary for communities to maintain access to emergency supplies of corn. Lake Atitlan’s communities were therefore highly dependent on exchanges with neighboring groups who occupied contrasting ecological zones, especially those in …

Negotiating Household Quality Of Life And Social Cohesion At Ucanha, Yucatan, Mexico, During The Late Preclassic To Early Classic Transition, Barry Kidder

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

The main focus of this project is to chronicle whether or not social inequality increased among households and community-level interactions in Ucanha, Yucatan, Mexico, at the time it was physically integrated with a larger regional polity headed by Ucí around the Terminal Preclassic/Early Classic (50 BCE – CE 400) transition. My research seeks to identify how social distinctions emerged during the early moments of social inequality and how these distinctions did or did not become a threat to social cohesion, as seen in the Early Classic “collapse” in some areas. Using a relational theoretical perspective, I argue that political authority …

Variation Of Native American Ceramics In The Big Bend Region Of The Lower Ocmulgee River Valley, Georgia, Ad 1540 To Ad 1715, Rachel Paige Hensler

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

Studies of European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere have shifted focus from areas of direct European/Native American contact, to investigate Native American groups outside of direct European contact. During Spanish colonization of the Southeastern United States (AD 1520 to AD 1715), the Big Bend region of the Ocmulgee River Valley, in Georgia, located about 160 kilometers from Spanish occupied coast, was inhabited by a Native American polity from the Late Prehistoric into the Mission period. This location is ideal for studying indirect contact.

Changes in ceramic production can be used to identify changes in Native American interaction through time. Attributes …

Late Pleistocene Adaptations In The Midsouth: The Paleoindian Occupation Of The Carson-Conn-Short Site And The Lower Tennessee River Valley, James Scott Jones

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

The Midsouth has long been known to be a locus of Paleoindian (13,200-10,000 yrs B.P.) populations. Paleoindian populations have generally been characterized as highly mobile hunter-gatherers with egalitarian social structure. Utilizing the theoretical lens of diversification and intensification of resource use, the Late Pleistocene adaptations of the region’s populations are examined from both a large scale or coarse grain perspective as well as more fine grain data from the site level. Previous models of Paleoindian adaptations are defined and tested in this study to determine the applicability of these models with new data. Coarse grain data are derived from lithic …

Ancient Maya Commerce: Multidisciplinary Research At Chunchucmil, Scott R. Hutson

Anthropology Faculty Book Gallery

Ancient Maya Commerce presents nearly two decades of multidisciplinary research at Chunchucmil, Yucatan, Mexico—a thriving Classic period Maya center organized around commercial exchange rather than agriculture. An urban center without a king and unable to sustain agrarian independence, Chunchucmil is a rare example of a Maya city in which economics, not political rituals, served as the engine of growth. Trade was the raison d’être of the city itself.

Using a variety of evidence—archaeological, botanical, geomorphological, and soil-based—contributors show how the city was a major center for both short- and long-distance trade, integrating the Guatemalan highlands, the Gulf of Mexico, and …

The People Of Stone: A Study Of The Basalt Ground Stone Industry At Tres Zapotes And Its Role In The Evolution Of Olmec And Epi-Olmec Political-Economic Systems, Olaf Jaime-Riveron

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This dissertation analyzes the basalt ground stone industry at the archaeological site of Tres Zapotes, Mexico. Artifacts and by-products were recovered in the excavations conducted by a University of Kentucky project directed by Christopher Pool. All contexts were examined, and the corpus of this study comprises the whole sequence of production, use, and discards of basalt such as by-products of manufacture, unfinished and finished tools, and discarded artifacts. In this opportunity was possible to study over time a change from the Early/Middle Formative period (Olmec occupation) a centralized and exclusionary political economic system to the Late/Terminal Formative period (Epi-Olmec occupation) …

A Reflection Of Maya Representation, Distribution, And Interaction: Ceramic Figurines From The Late Classic Site Of Cancuén, Petén Department, Guatemala, Erin L. Sears

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This project explores intersecting spheres of technological, stylistic and contextually patterned relationships expressed by ceramic figurines associated with the major Maya polity Cancuén. Cancuén is situated by assessing its external contacts by reference to figurines recovered from several Late Classic settlements, and hieroglyphic texts recorded as interacting polities. By focusing on these sites along connecting waterways, I attempt to discern directions of influence and change with regard to figurine use patterns relative to those seen in other ceramic representations. Traditional archaeological criteria were used to obtain excavated figurines at specific sites. Stylistic and technological information are augmented through an intensive …

Prehistoric Drawings In Mammoth Cave, Logan Kistler

Kaleidoscope

During a recent Earthwatch Institute survey of archaeological remains in Mammoth Cave, a project was begun to find and record prehistoric images on the cave walls. I chose to analyze petroglyphs and pictographs on three panels in Main Cave. This article offers a hypothesis for the circumstances surrounding the rock art’s production: the geometric and anthropomorphic figures in Mammoth Cave are representative of a series of visual percepts experienced cross-culturally and caused by various conditions — including sensory deprivation, fatigue, and psychoactive drug use — acting on the ocular anatomy and nervous system. That is, the glyphs might be visual …

Exchange Mechanisms, Consumption, And Household Provisioning Strategies: Maya Economy And Political Economy In The Kiuic Polity, Yucatán, México, Christopher M. Gunn

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This project examines household exchange systems in the ancient Maya polity of Kiuic, located in the Puuc Hills of northwestern Yucatán, México. Comparisons of variation in domestic artifact assemblages are used to evaluate household participation in exchange networks organized around three kinds of distribution: (1) non-market horizontal exchange among social equals; (2) vertical exchange across socioeconomic ranks; and (3) market exchange, in which price rather than rank structures access to goods. Intensive analyses of ceramic morphology, mineralogy, and chemical composition will document attribute variation within household artifact assemblages, and comparisons of the degrees to which households share overlapping ranges of …

Living On The Edge: Rethinking Pueblo Period: (Ad 700 – Ad 1225) Indigenous Settlement Patterns Within Grand Canyon National Park, Northern Arizona, Philip B. Mink Ii

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This dissertation challenges traditional interpretations that indigenous groups who settled the Grand Canyon during the Pueblo Period (AD 700 -1225) relied heavily on maize to meet their subsistence needs. Instead they are viewed as dynamic ecosystem engineers who employed fire and natural plant succession to engage in a wild plant subsistence strategy that was supplemented to varying degrees by maize. By examining the relationship between archaeological sites and the natural environment throughout the Canyon, new settlement pattern models were developed. These models attempt to account for the spatial distribution of Virgin people, as represented by Virgin Gray Ware ceramics, Kayenta …

Lithic Analysis Of The Jot-Em-Down Shelter (15mcy348) Collection: Settlement Patterns, Raw Material Utilization, And Shelter Activities Along The Cumberland Plateau, Mary M. White

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

The Jot-em-Down Shelter (15McY348) was excavated by U.S. Forest Service archaeologists in 1986. The present study concentrated on the lithic assemblage, with a particular focus on the chipped stone debitage. The Jot-em-Down Shelter lithic assemblage was compared to assemblages recovered from four nearby sites, open sites 15McY570 and 15McY616, and rockshelter sites 15McY403 and 15McY409; and rockshelter sites located in and near the Red River Gorge, Cold Oak Shelter (15LE50) and Rock Bridge Shelter (15WO75). This study determined that Jot-em-Down Shelter was a multicomponent site utilized by mobile groups of people from the Early Archaic through Mississippi periods. Use of …

Domestic Megalithic Architecture: An Analysis Of Status And Community At And Around The Ancient Maya Site Of Uci, Yucatan, Mexcio, Joseph S. Stair

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

Variation in domestic architecture results from the agency households exercise in their daily lives. This study defines the domestic expression of the megalithic architectural style, based on data collected in and around the ancient Maya site of Ucí, Yucatan, Mexico, by comparing it to its expression in monumental structures. It also shows how the analysis and documentation of architectural variability away from the monumental core can locate more than just commoners and elites within the social organization of the Ancient Maya. This analyzes provides evidence for higher social status for households that possess megalithic architecture since they also possess larger …

Late Archaic To Early Woodland Lithic Technology At The Knob Creek Site (12hr484), Harrison County, Indiana, Kyle E. Mullen

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This study examines bifacial technology change at the Knob Creek site (12HR484) in Harrison County, Indiana, from the Late Archaic to Early Woodland periods. Through a statistical and attribute analysis of 2,620 lithic flakes it was possible to detect changes in the lithic reduction process over time. The analysis demonstrates that soft-hammer percussion becomes more prevalent during the Early Woodland component of the site. This is a significant change from the hard-hammer percussion industry of the Lower Late Archaic. The Terminal Archaic Riverton component in this study offers one of the few detailed flake-by-flake analyses for this poorly understood lithic …

Manufacturing Ceramics: Ceramic Ecology And Technological Choice In The Upper Cumberland River Valley, Melissa Ramsey

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

Ceramic material culture recovered from archaeological sites has more to offer the researcher than placing the site or strata into a cultural historic timeline. By examining the characteristics of ceramics manufactured during the Woodland Period in southern Kentucky, this thesis answers questions related to the behavior of the potters who lived and worked there. Using the theoretical basis of ceramic ecology and technological choice, this thesis examines the choices made by the potters of two sites, the Long (15Ru17) and Rowena (15Ru10) sites, located along the Cumberland River in Russell County, Kentucky. The two sites are also compared to one …

Identifying And Analyzing The Use Of Space In Ancient Mayan House Mounds In Kancab, Yucatan, Mexico, V. Camille Westmont

Kaleidoscope

No abstract provided.

Production, Exchange And Social Interaction In The Green River Region Of Western Kentucky: A Multiscalar Approach To The Analysis Of Two Shell Midden Sites, Christopher R. Moore

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The Green River region of western Kentucky has been a focus of Archaic period research since 1915. Currently, the region is playing an important role in discussions of Archaic hunter-gatherer cultural complexity. Unfortunately, many of the larger Green River sites contain several archaeological components ranging from the Early to Late Archaic periods. Understanding culture change requires that these multiple components somehow be sorted and addressed individually.

Detailed re-analyses of Works Progress Administration (WPA) era artifact collections from two archaeological sites in the Green River region – the Baker (15Mu12) and Chiggerville (15Oh1) shell middens – indicate that these sites are …

Disjuncture Among Classic Period Cultural Landscapes In The Tuxtla Mountains, Southern Veracruz, Mexico, Wesley Durrell Stoner

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Teotihuacan was the most influential city in the Classic Mesoamerican worldsystem. Like other influential cities in the ancient world, however, Teotihuacan did not homogenously affect the various cultural landscapes that thrived in Mesoamerica during the Classic period (300-900 CE). Even where strong central Mexican influences appear outside the Basin of Mexico, the nature, extent, and strength of these influences are discontinuous over time and space. Every place within the Classic Mesoamerican landscape has a unique Teotihuacan story. In the Tuxtla Mountains of southern Veracruz, Mexico, Matacapan, located in the Catemaco Valley, drew heavily upon ideas and symbols fostered at Teotihuacan, …

Political Economy Of Exotic Trade On The Mississippian Frontier: A Case Study Of A Fourteenth Century Chiefdom In Southwestern Virginia, Maureen Elizabeth Siewert Meyers

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Although the Mississippian culture area has been studied for decades, the frontier of the Mississippian region is less understood. Various Mississippian frontiers appear to have been important for the obtainment of trade goods which were important symbols of chiefly power. Studying these frontiers will allow archaeologists to better understand the emergence and maintenance of power within Southeastern chiefdoms. This dissertation explores one frontier site, Carter Robinson (44LE10) in southwestern Virginia, and its role in Southern Appalachian chiefdom power through its control of trade at the border. This research identifies ceramic and non-utilitarian markers of trade and identifies changes at the …

Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene Colonization And Regionalization In Northern Perú: Fishtail And Paiján Complexes Of The Lower Jequetepeque Valley, Greg J. Maggard

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Until relatively recently, the view of Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers in the Americas was dominated by the “Clovis-first” paradigm. However, recent discoveries have challenged traditional views and forced reconsiderations of the timing, processes, and scales used in modeling the settlement of the Americas. Chief among these discoveries has been the recognition of a wide range of early cultural diversity throughout the Americas that is inconsistent with previously held notions of cultural homogeneity.

During the Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene, the development of widely varying economic, technological and mobility strategies in distinct environments is suggestive of a range of different adaptations and traditions.

It …

Community Strategies In The Aztec Imperial Frontier: Perspectives From Totogal, Veracruz, Mexico, Marcie L. Venter

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Using archaeological and ethnohistorical data, this dissertation examines the character of the relationship between the Late Postclassic (ca. AD 1250-1520) frontier center of Totogal, located in the western Tuxtla Mountains (Toztlan) of southern Veracruz, Mexico, and the expanding Aztec Empire. Traditional models of imperialism examine frontiers from a core perspective that limits the autonomy and agency of groups in the path of expansion. Recent ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and archaeological studies of other boundaries, however, suggest that considerable room for negotiation exists within the space of interactions, whether asymmetrical amounts of power characterize the home bases of those groups.

I argue that …