Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Anthropology Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Anthropology

The Prevalence Of Osteoarthritis In Wild Vs Captive Great Ape Skeletons, Demelza Poe Dec 2009

The Prevalence Of Osteoarthritis In Wild Vs Captive Great Ape Skeletons, Demelza Poe

Anthropology ETDs

This research examined whether the prevalence and skeletal distribution of osteoarthritis (OA) differed between wild and captive great ape skeletons. A secondary, but important, aspect of this research focused on the development of improved aging techniques based on methods commonly used on human osteological samples. Tests were conducted pertaining to the effect that wild versus captive status, sex, and species has on vertebral body lipping, marginal lipping, and eburnation. Age was considered a co-factor. Of the aging methods examined, use of the basilar suture to distinguish between adult and old adult specimens proved to be very imprecise. The ribs and …


Nuclear Family Conflict And Cooperation Among Tsimane' Forager-Horticulturalists Of Bolivia, Jonathan Stieglitz Dec 2009

Nuclear Family Conflict And Cooperation Among Tsimane' Forager-Horticulturalists Of Bolivia, Jonathan Stieglitz

Anthropology ETDs

Household production is the result of inputs from a variety of members, each of whom contains overlapping but non-identical interests. This dissertation explores the conditions under which the division of labor and the allocation of household resources precipitates parent-offspring and spousal conflict. This broad goal is addressed through three specific goals: 1) to identify factors affecting variation in the likelihood of task delegation to children and resistance toward performing delegated tasks; 2) to understand how variation in household labor demand influences childrens time allocation, considering ways in which behavioral manipulation might compromise the child's future prospects; and 3) to understand …


The Women Potters Of Mata Ortiz: Growing Empowerment Through Artistic Work, Kiara Maureen Hughes Jul 2009

The Women Potters Of Mata Ortiz: Growing Empowerment Through Artistic Work, Kiara Maureen Hughes

Anthropology ETDs

The contemporary production of pottery for global ethnic art markets set in motion a series of economic and social transformations that completely changed the Chihuahuan community of Mata Ortíz. This dynamic art form has included women and men since its initial stages over thirty-five years ago. Today, there are women of talent and expertise represented at every level of pottery execution and quality along the market continuum. Individual creativity and market recognition work together to create a context in which both men and women are able to capacitate themselves by acquiring the skills and competence needed to gain control over …


"Aquí­ No Pasó Nada": Terror, Remembrance And Healing In A Guatemalan "Green Zone", William G. Wagner Jul 2009

"Aquí­ No Pasó Nada": Terror, Remembrance And Healing In A Guatemalan "Green Zone", William G. Wagner

Anthropology ETDs

This research focuses on the experiences of survivors of political violence and their healers in Momostenango, Totonicapán. The majority population of Momostenango is Kiche' Maya. During Guatemala's civil war (1960-1996), the state used terror to silence popular resistance and to neutralize the threat of insurgent guerilla forces that drew wide support from Maya communities. From 1981 to 1983 state army and paramilitary forces resorted to scorched earth tactics that two different truth commissions subsequently characterized as genocidal. During the war, the military designated the town as a 'green zone' (a region sympathetic to and supportive of the military's counterinsurgency project). …


Choice Ideology And The Parameters Of Its Practice: Alternative Abortion Narratives In New Mexico, Abigail Adams Jul 2009

Choice Ideology And The Parameters Of Its Practice: Alternative Abortion Narratives In New Mexico, Abigail Adams

Anthropology ETDs

The ideology of choice, embedded in the pro-choice, anti-abortion debate in the United States, is founded on Enlightenment notions that take the autonomous individual with perfect knowledge and rationality as the unit of analysis. The basic premise is that each woman 'chooses' from a variety of equally accessible options. Hidden in the political language of choice are the constraints all women face as they attempt to negotiate reproduction, especially if they wish to end a pregnancy. 'Choice' does not exist as an abstract freedom, but is situated within the realities of power and agency. This paper examines the ability of …


Ecological Constraints And Life History Tradeoffs Among Human Foragers And Their Prey, Oskar Burger May 2009

Ecological Constraints And Life History Tradeoffs Among Human Foragers And Their Prey, Oskar Burger

Anthropology ETDs

This dissertation attempts to identify ecological relationships useful for understanding large-scale patterns in human-environment interaction that can be applied to archaeological studies. It uses three established bodies of theory to understand ecological constraints and life history tradeoffs, applying the same basic framework to human adaptations and the demographic trends of other mammals. First, a model from optimal foraging theory (the marginal value theorem), which posits a tradeoff between resource availability and resource processing, is applied to zooarchaeology to understand human butchery patterns. Humans tend to butcher prey according to the predictions of the model in both ethnographic and archaeological settings: …


The Biological Evidence Of The San-Pau-Chu People And Their Affinities, Hsiu-Man Lin May 2009

The Biological Evidence Of The San-Pau-Chu People And Their Affinities, Hsiu-Man Lin

Anthropology ETDs

Austronesian is one of the major language groups spoken. It is believed that Taiwan, Indonesian (east of Wallace line), or Bismarck Archipelago is the starting point for Austronesian migrations. It is also suggested that prehistoric cultures of Taiwan were established by the ancestors of the modern Taiwanese indigenous populations, who are also Austronesian speakers. The goals of this project are to estimate biological relationships of the San-Pau-Chu (SPC) to other Asian populations (especially Polynesians) and to evaluate if Taiwan indeed plays a major role in the history of Austronesian migrations by using both dental morphological data (metric and nonmetric dental …