Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

An Archaeological Perspective On Architectural Evolution At Fort Harrison, Rachel Nicole Bergstresser

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Fort Harrison is a historic home located in Rockingham County, Virginia. Occupation of the site began in 1749, when Daniel Harrison constructed the original limestone dwelling, and today it is protected and interpreted by Fort Harrison, Inc. The Department of Anthropology at James Madison University has performed exploratory archaeological fieldwork to better document change in the way the site has been utilized.

This project has evaluated the hypothesis that the main (front) entrance to the house was relocated from the northerly-facing side to the southerly-facing side, in conjunction with the decision to enlarge the structure. Archaeological findings and architectural evidence …

Explaining Anthropophagy And Social Violence In The Mesa Verde Region Of The American Southwest, Riley Smith

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This thesis is an examination of a controversial problem in anthropology and archaeology – the motives and cultural context of anthropophagy, or cannibalism. Views that the practice was a reflection of a primitive state of humanity have given way to a more ethnographically-informed appreciation of the practice as culturally situated with a diverse set of potential motives. Claims of anthropophagy in the ancient past influence perceptions of both prehistoric and modern groups. Because of the wealth of information gathered from recent excavations, it is now possible to explore the context of, motives for, and consequences of anthropophagy in the American …

Documentation Of Cultural Landscape Alteration At The Heritage Mounds Site, Georgia, Shannon Sullivan

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This project used geoarchaeological techniques to examine how humans impacted the landscape at the middle Mississippian archaeological site Heritage Mounds (9DU2), in Dougherty County, Georgia, specifically looking at a borrow pit and a plaza. The site was the civic and ceremonial capital of the Capachequi territory, occupied at two separate times between AD 1250 – 1700. At the site soil samples were collected from two excavation units and two wetland cores. The units were for analysis of the plaza, and the cores were for analysis of the Mound A borrow pit. The samples were used for particle size and chemical …