Anthropology Commons^™

Exploring The Movement Of People In Postclassic And Historic Period Lamanai Using Stable Isotopes, Alicia E. Donis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The location of the Maya site of Lamanai on the New River Lagoon in northern Belize strategically situated it to participate in both coastal and inland trade routes and communication. This study of human burials at Lamanai examines the phosphate-oxygen isotope compositions of bone and enamel, which reflect drinking water and hence climatic zones, oxygen- and hydrogen-isotope compositions of modern local water, which provide a baseline for drinking water, and carbon- and nitrogen-isotope compositions of bone collagen, which reflect diet. The combination of isotopic, mortuary, osteological, and artifactual data is used to explore mobility at Lamanai during the Postclassic and …

Cultivating Change: Aspirations, Realities And Limits Of Community Gardens In Windsor, Ontario, Brian Edward Venne

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis, based on ethnographic research carried out in the summer and fall of 2012, focuses on three community gardens created post-2009 in the city of Windsor, Ontario, a time when the city faced serious economic and food security challenges. Specifically, this thesis investigates how the goals of community building, knowledge transmission, and food security are variously enacted at Windsor community gardens. Beyond illustrating the varied nature of community garden projects, the analysis presented draws attention to some of the factors that influence the success of individual gardens. The neoliberal context may frame garden projects but it does not fully …

A Study Of Faunal Consumption At The Gallinazo Group Site, Northern Coast Of Peru, Claire Venet-Rogers

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis is an investigation into consumption patterns at the Gallinazo Group archaeological site, from the Early Intermediate Period (200 B.C. to 800 A.D.), on the Peruvian north coast. Faunal samples were recovered from two different but contemporaneous contexts: a civic-ceremonial platform mound and an Architectural Compound in a residential sector. The main objectives were: 1) create a faunal database for the site; 2) assess the nature of faunal resources consumed in these two different contexts; and 3) contribute to the zooarchaeological literature on the use of consumption patterns to reconstruct aspects of ancient complex societies. For each specimen collected, …

In The House Of Transformation: Language Revitalization, State Regulation, And Indigenous Identity In Urban Amazonia, Sarah A. Shulist

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation examines the practices surrounding advocacy for Indigenous language revitalization and maintenance in order to better understand the changing nature of of ethnolinguistic identity and the politics of culture in the Brazilian Amazon. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in the city of São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas, it specifically considers the complex challenges created for language revitalization activism among urban and diasporic Indigenous populations. São Gabriel is a small, highly multilingual city, in which speakers of 21 languages from 5 language families live and come into contact with one another, and in which individuals commonly speak multiple Indigenous languages. Although …

Re-Cognizing Power In The Culture Of Dementia Care Knowledge, Ryan T. Deforge

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In light of increasing system demands, system regulations, and constrained resources, those living and working with dementia in the long-term care sector are vulnerable to oppressive care practices. This is true so long as our understanding of how social power affects the ways in which dementia care knowledge is created, shared, and enacted remains limited. Based on prolonged field observations and on informal and formal interviews with care recipients, family members, and staff, the aim of this critical qualitative research was to examine the culture of dementia care knowledge in two sites: a specialized dementia care unit in a long-term …

Entre El Juego Y La Memoria: El Detective Y La Ciudad En La Narrativa Neo Policiaca De Paco Ignacio Taibo Ii Y Leonardo Padura Fuentes., Carlos Pardo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation examines the development of the characters in the detective series of Paco Ignacio Taibo II (Mexico) and Leonardo Padura Fuentes (Cuba) and their relationship with their Hispanic-American cities: Mexico D.F. and Havana. To accomplish it, this dissertation initially deals with the connection between the “neo policiaco” and the narrative tradition that precedes it: the classical detective story or whodunit and the American hardboiled crime story, as well as its link with Spanish contemporary detective fiction. As a result, the Hispanic-American “neo policiaco” explores new possibilities of detective narratives in which complex characters and the Hispanic American city as …

The Money Of Qaroon And The Patience Of Ayoub: Women And Land In Egypt's Mubarak Resettlement Scheme, Dina Najjar

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation addresses the challenge of achieving increased empowerment and equality for Egyptian women. The dissertation tests the assumption that land access (through both joint and full titles) increases empowerment and equality for women in two desert resettlements of Sa’yda and Intilaq, part of the massive Mubarak Resettlement Scheme (MRS). In particular, the dissertation identifies: 1) how land access could empower Egyptian women and 2) women’s experiences with land access in the MRS. Findings reveal that land access is indeed the most promising route for women’s advancement in life, but the desert land required patience and financial assets. Land access, …

A Multi-Isotope Investigation Of Two Medieval German Populations: Insight Into The Relationship Among Diet, Disease, And Tissue Isotopic Compositions, Karyn C. Olsen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis investigates the relationship between disease and bone collagen isotope compositions, and uses isotopic analyses of human and faunal bone to examine the diet and geographic associations of two medieval (9th to 16th century) German communities derived from urban (Regensburg, n=111) and rural (Dalheim, n=24) contexts.

The first goal of this research was to determine the reliability of bone collagen isotopic compositions to characterize diet in unhealthy individuals. Examples of bone pathology were selected from two medieval samples and one modern/historic skeletal collection (n=49) in order to measure the extent to which pathology influences intra-skeletal isotopic variability. The carbon- …

Ancient Dna In Archaeologically Charred Zea Mays L: Prospects And Limitations, Chelsey Geralda Denise Armstrong

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Plant remains are an integral part of any archaeological investigation given the large role they play in ancient subsistence economies, medicinal practices, technologies and folklore. However, despite new developments in ancient genetics, research in plant ancient DNA (aDNA) is a relatively young and untouched discipline accounting for less than 7% of all aDNA analyses published in academic literature. As a result, paleoethnobotanists, archaeologists and geneticists have not understood the feasibility and limitations of each other’s field. Few are aware that DNA extraction from charred plant remains is rare and without any kind of standard or working protocol. The possibilities of …

De-Essentializing The Past: Deconstructing Colonial Categories In 19th-Century Ontario, Matthew A. Beaudoin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study engages with both the archaeology of colonialism and historical archaeology in a manner that brings them into direct dialogue with each other to explore how essentialized identity tropes are used to frame our conceptualizations of the past. The archaeology of colonialism and historical archaeology have been conceptually bifurcated along a colonized/colonizer dichotomy and continuously reified by the insertion of research into one category or the other. The archaeology of colonialism generally focuses on the experiences of the colonized within the colonial process, while historical archaeology focuses on the experiences of Europeans and/or people of European descent. This is …

Statistical Analysis Of Nonmetric Cranial Trait Interactions In A Skeletal Population Sample From The Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt, Lisa C. Brown

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Skeletal nonmetric traits have been used since the 1960s in genetic distance analyses, largely ignoring the potential for intertrait correlation. Using a skeletal population sample from the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt, this thesis tests the null hypothesis that intertrait correlation is not occurring in the population at a significant level. Additionally, this thesis tests whether the odds ratio is a suitable statistical test for intertrait correlation. Using the phi coefficient and odds ratio, pairwise comparisons between 39 cranial nonmetric traits were calculated. The results of the statistical analysis show that intertrait correlation is occurring in the Dakhleh Oasis at a significant …

A Micro-Ct Analysis Of The Hominoid Subnasal Anatomy, Arthur M. Klages

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis performed a micro-CT analysis of extant hominoid subnasal anatomy and a review of the subnasal anatomy of the Miocene hominoids. This thesis tested the hypothesis that the extant hominoids exhibit diagnostic morphological patterns of the subnasal anatomy that are phylogenetically informative. The terminology of the subnasal anatomy was revised and new measurements were constructed to analyze the morphology of the hominoid subnasal anatomy. It is suggested that previous analyses of the hominoid subnasal anatomy were limited by technological constraints, poorly constructed measurements, and ambiguous terminology. This micro-CT analysis confirmed that the extant hominoids do exhibit diagnostic patterns of …

In Defense Of A Livelihood: Ontario Growers And The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program Debate, Matthew Mckarney

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research examines how growers engage in the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP) debate in Ontario. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2012 and 2013 and data collected from media sources, growers were found to employ two different thematic narratives – functional and philosophical – to defend the program and to drive attention towards a broader narrative of socioeconomic decline in agriculture. Functional narratives focused on the economic and political advantages of the program and portrayed growers within a restrictive triangular power structure consisting of growers, the Canadian state, and SAWP workers. Their philosophical and emotional arguments are built upon …

The Call Of The Wild Geese: An Ethnography Of Diasporic Irish Language Revitalization In Southern And Eastern Ontario, Jonathan R. Giles

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research examines the ideological and social dynamics that govern the use of the Irish language by a network of speakers and learners in Southern and Eastern Ontario. In what follows, I investigate the invocation of powerful historical discourses and symbolic references that has resulted in the creation of a vibrant network dedicated to reviving Irish in a diasporic setting through immersion. Using Irish at language immersion events is informed by diverse factors – levels of participant fluency, the prevalence of language-specific acquisition and socialization strategies, as well as by the need of attendees to talk about their stories and …

Rank, Competition, And The Etiquette Of Community At A Squash Club, David E. Levine

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research uses a micro-level approach to focus on the day to day lives of squash players at a Toronto squash and fitness club. How different members conceived of the club as a community was one important aspect of my research. The club’s skill hierarchy and structure were also important ideas that influenced the everyday behavior of members, as it affected who members tended to develop relationships with. The greater social status of higher ranked players and how this was maintained is another important theme of this work. Members’ squash identity was usually grounded and initiated within the context of …

A Stable Isotope Investigation Of Palaeodiet And Residential Mobility During The Integration Period, Quito Basin, Ecuador, Carlie Pennycook

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Integration Period (500/600-1532 C.E.) saw pre-Columbian society in the Quito Basin of Ecuador develop more politically and socially complex chiefdoms focused around agricultural production and trade. In this study, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotopic analyses of bone and teeth from 115 individuals from the sites of Tajamar (n=73) and Nuevo Aeropuerto Internacional de Quito (NAIQ) (n=42) were performed in order to reconstruct short- and long-term dietary patterns, and residential mobility in the Quito Basin. Emphasis was placed on how/if these large-scale societal changes in the region affected group dietary patterns and individual choices and actions.

The isotopic analysis of …

Investigating The Role Of Zoos In Primate Conservation: An Analysis Of Visitor Experience At The Toronto Zoo, Caleigh Ashton Farrell

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study investigates whether the Toronto Zoo is effective at (informally) educating summer visitors about issues pertaining to primate and environmental conservation. To assess this effectiveness, a mixed-methodological approach was employed combining standard anthropological approaches, including semi-structured interviews and observation, with the multi-disciplinary practices of visitor-studies. Analysis of the data indicates that Zoo-goers fail to connect with educational materials around two primate enclosures, in large part, due to visitor entertainment motivations. A hypothesis is offered that within the Zoo environment are contesting, disjunctive discourses that further undermine its educational goals. The main conclusion drawn is that it will be …

Staging Sacrifice: Knowledge Mobilization And Visitation At Huacas De Moche, Peru, Alison K. Deplonty

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Since the 1990s there has been increased pressure for archaeologists to present the results of their work to the general public. Archaeological site museums have proven to be popular venues for the dissemination of archaeological knowledge. These institutions pose challenges to museum designers and archaeologists, who must negotiate visitor and heritage sustainability. In this thesis the pre-Inca site of Huacas de Moche (ca. 50-850 CE), Peru, is used as a case study to examine how visitor behaviour and experience are channeled through site branding and the adherence to a storyline throughout visits to the museum and ruins. However, this thesis …

Foreigners Among The Dead At Túcume, Peru: Assessing Residential Mobility Using Isotopic Tracers, Barbara R. Hewitt

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Inhabited from the Late Intermediate Period (A.D. 1000-1470) until the time of Spanish conquest, Túcume was a religious and ceremonial site that was transformed over time into a major urban centre. Archaeological excavations at Túcume have revealed that hundreds of individuals were victims of human sacrifice at the site, where their remains were interred in distinct groupings that are most likely defined by the motivation behind different sacrificial rites. This research employs biogeochemical, archaeological and ethnohistoric data to explore residential mobility related to human sacrifice in and around the site of Túcume, Peru.

This dissertation has two primary foci: one …

Tu Envidia Es Mi Progreso: An Ethnographic Account Of The Development Of Squatter Settlements In San Juan De Miraflores, Lima, Peru., Brandon E. Rouleau

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The following dissertation explores the past 60 years of self-help housing in Lima. Specifically, it looks at the uneven development that has occurred in parts of a municipality called San Juan de Miraflores. I argue that self-help housing is part of a larger modernization project that aims to encourage the emergence of a self-regulating individual. Pro-development literature creates a selective history of marginal neighbourhoods, effectively silencing the histories of working class Miraflorinos. The aim of this ethnographic study is to destabilize official histories and representations about development in marginal communities. The bulk of the dissertation looks at the history of …

'Deviant' Burials In Archaeology, Jesslyn E. Hodgson

Anthropology Publications

The term ‘deviant’ is used to describe burials that deviate from the normative burial rites of a given society, at a given point in time. The problem with applying such a term to the archaeological record rests predominantly in the fact that the term ‘deviant’ has a negative connotation. This negative connotation insinuates that the individual in the burial context may have been viewed by their society in a negative light, however, through analysis of case studies it is shown that many ‘deviant’ burials are not in fact burials of people viewed as deviant, but ‘different’ burials given to people …