Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Hiding In Plain Site: Late Fremont Villages In The Uinta Basin, James R. Allison

Faculty Publications

Syntheses of Fremont archaeology in the Uinta Basin of eastern Utah typically emphasize the small and ephemeral nature of Fremont settlements there. Many archaeologists have also argued that much of the Uinta Basin was abandoned by A.D. 1050. It is true that there are many small Fremont sites in the Uinta Basin, and that most of these sites predate 1050. But several large sites have been excavated in the Basin that appear to be villages, some of which appear to date after the supposed abandonment. These have not been emphasized in the syntheses because they are either poorly described or …

Aerial Imaging Using Uavs (Drones) In Chihuahua And Nayarit, Mexico, To Map And Archive Archaeological Sites, Michael T. Searcy, Scott Ure, Michael Mathiowetz, Haylie Ferguson, Jaclyn Eckersley, Mauricio Garduno Ambriz, Jose Carlos Beltran Medina, Jorge Morales Monroy

Faculty Publications

In 2017, we used UAVs (drones) to record eight archaeological sites from the air. As this type of technology becomes more refined, we have found that it is especially useful in carrying out three specific tasks: contour mapping, archiving site conditions, and identifying architecture. This paper reports our findings resulting from aerial images captured while flying archaeological sites in Nayarit and Chihuahua, Mexico.

Respect The Land - It’S Like Part Of Us: A Traditional Use Study Of Inland Dena’Ina Ties To The Chulitna River & Sixmile Lake Basins, Lake Clark National Park And Preserve, Douglas Deur, Karen Evanoff, Jamie Hebert

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

For countless generations, Lake Clark has been home to the inland Dena’ina people. This unique and vast fresh-water lake complex sits at the intersection of sprawling tundra, taiga, and jagged cordillera, dotted with villages. Here, village life has been sustained by herds of caribou, shorelines populated by moose and beaver, vast runs of salmon ascending from Bristol Bay, and other natural assets. But the area’s uniqueness extends beyond its abundant natural resources. Also unique is the National Park Service (NPS) unit that has occupied the region known as Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (LACL) in recent decades.

The study …

Embedded Procurement And Exchange: Obsidian From Wolf Village Utah, Jacob Jepsen, James R. Allison, Jeffrey R. Ferguson

Faculty Publications

XRF analysis of more than 1500 pieces of obsidian from Wolf Village (42UT273) in the Utah Valley, Utah, shows that the obsidian originated from areas as far north as Bear Gulch, Idaho and as far south as the Mineral Mountains in southern Utah. Most of the obsidian, however, came from two Utah sources: Black Rock, which is 130 km southwest of the site, and Topaz Mountain, about 100 km to the west. The presence or absence of cortex, and the shape of pieces with cortex, shows that procurement was different for the two sources. Cortex on Topaz Mountain artifacts is …

An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective On Ground Stone Production At The Santiago Quarry In The Casas Grandes Region Of Chihuahua, Mexico, Michael T. Searcy, Todd Pitezel

Faculty Publications

Grinding stones, and more specifically manos and metates, are ubiquitous tools found at archaeological sites throughout the Americas. These tools were important, even to foragers, and grew in importance with the spread of agriculture, especially maize cultivation. Analyses of grinding stones recovered from archaeological sites are a common aspect of site reports, but these tend to generate data that emphasize the middle and end of the use-lives of these tools (Searcy 2011:8). The prehistoric manufacture of ground stone tools has received scant attention, and we suggest this may be due to two primary factors. First, the quarries where much of …

Strontium Isotope Analysis In The Eastern Great Basin: Potential Challenges, Rewards, And A Fremont Case Study, David Yoder, Spencer Lambert, Michael T. Searcy

Faculty Publications

Over the last 20 years strontium (Sr) isotope analysis has become a powerful tool in the study of prehistoric human behavior; especially for patterns of movement, migration, and trade. While used in many other parts of the world to determine if an individual or animal was local or non-local to the area in which they were found, this technique has been under utilized in the Great Basin. In this presentation we will outline the regionally specific challenges researchers face in using Sr analysis in the eastern Great Basin; the potential insights we may gain in understanding prehistoric culture and behavior; …

The Paleoepidemiology Of Enterobius Vermicularis (Nemata: Oxyuridae) Among The Loma San Gabriel At La Cueva De Los Muertos Chiquitos (600–800 Ce), Rio Zape Valley, Durango, Mexico, Johnica J. Morrow, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

One hundred coprolites excavated from La Cueva de los Muertos Chiquitos (600–800 CE) in the Rio Zape Valley of present-day Durango, Mexico, were examined for the presence of helminth eggs utilizing standard archaeoparasitological techniques. Eggs of the human pinworm (Enterobius vermicularis) were recovered from 34 of the 100 coprolites examined. Eggs of parasites were photographed and measured before egg concentration values were calculated for each positive sample. Egg concentration values demonstrated an overdispersed pattern of distribution among the samples (66% uninfected, 25% less than 100 eggs/g, 8% between 100 and 500 eggs/g, and 1% more than 500 eggs/g). …

Paleoparasitology And Pathoecology In Russia: Investigations And Perspectives, Sergey Slepchenko, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Russia, both as the USSR and the Russian federation, provided a source of parasitological theory for decades. A key figure in Russian parasitology was Yevgeny Pavlovsky. He developed the nidus concept, the conceptual basis for the field of pathoecology. He also coined the term “paleoparasitology.” Pathoecology is a foundation concept in archaeological parasitology. Paleoparasitology, as defined by Pavlovsky, is an avenue for understanding of host parasite evolution over very long time periods. These contributions are not fully recognized internationally. Similarly, the long history of Russian paleontological and archaeological investigations are not fully known. Most recently, discoveries from archaeological sites show …

Taphonomic Considerations On Pinworm Prevalence In Three Ancestral Puebloan Latrines, Morgana Camacho, Alena M. Iñiguez, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

For archaeological studies it is always necessary to consider taphonomic factors that could have influenced in ancient material preservation. Parasite eggs are usually highly degraded in ancient sites dated from all periods of time and taphonomic factors are mentioned to explain absence and low quantity of eggs found. In this study, we compare parasite egg recovery of three Great House latrines: two from Aztec Ruins (Rooms 219 and 225) and one from Salmon Ruins. We compared through statistical regression the recovery of eggs with the abundance of two classes of decomposers: mites and nematodes. These microorganisms have relation with nematode …

New Evidence Of Ancient Parasitism Among Late Archaic And Ancestral Puebloan Residents Of Chaco Canyon, Rachel E. Paseka, Carrie C. Heitman, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Archaeoparasitology provides a unique perspective on the health and habits of ancient cultures through the identification of parasite remains in archaeological materials. We identified eggs of the human whipworm, Trichuris trichiura, in coprolites recovered from Late Archaic (1926–1751 cal. BCE) and Ancestral Puebloan (1039–1163 cal. CE) sites in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. Our findings represent the earliest record of T. trichiura in North America, the first record of the species from Chaco Canyon, and the first record of a macroparasite from a Late Archaic site (Atlatl Cave) on the Colorado Plateau. T. trichiura is common in the …

Autologous Bone Flap Resorption Years After Subtemporal Craniotomy, John Oladapo Obafunwa, Emily E. Hammerl, David Jaskierny, Livia A. Taylor, Lynette Russell, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

In Spring of 2012, the partially undressed and skeletonized remains of a homeless adult Hispanic male was found in a fairly open wooded area in Nebraska. The remains showed evidence of extensive pathologies, which included healed traumas and surgeries. Examination of the decedent's medical records revealed that he had a history of kidney and liver problems, alcohol abuse, several traumas including a major head injury that necessitated a craniotomy, and radiological features of neurocysticercosis. The autologous bone flap, which was replaced after the craniotomy, had resorbed significantly away from the edges of the injury. Death was variously attributed to craniocerebral …