Anthropology Commons^™

Exploring Archaic Settlement In The Midsouth: The Surface Archaeology Of Cannon And Cheek Bends Of The Duck River, Tennessee, Charles L. Hall

Doctoral Dissertations

During the late 1970s and early 1980s the Department of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville conducted an inventory and assessment of archaeological resources potentially affected by the proposed Columbia Reservoir on the Duck River in Middle Tennessee. Two environmental subdivisions of the Nashville Basin were present in the reservoir area: the patchy Inner Basin and the more homogeneous Outer Basin. As the majority of the archaeological material found was referable to the Middle and Late Archaic Periods, the research design focused on an investigation of Archaic adaptation in this environmentally variable landscape.

Two river bends selected as …

A Morphometric Study Of Sex Differences In Fetal Ilia, Susan Marie Cera Holcomb

Masters Theses

Considerable debate has concentrated on whether human fetal skeletal remains exhibit sexual dimorphism. Most attention has focused on the greater sciatic notch of the ilium, since it is a gross morphological characteristic with known sex differences in the adult and is easily seen in fetal skeletal remains. Previous traditional morphometric analyses of the fetal sciatic notch have, however, led to ambiguous results. The purpose of this study is to determine whether differences between the sexes can be discerned when modern morphometric techniques are applied.

Photographs of the ventral side of 133 fetal ilia of known age and sex from the …

Anthropometric Variation Of The Cherokee, Choctaw, Kiowa, And Pawnee Amerindians, Richard P. Bigee

Masters Theses

This thesis provides an overview of Anthropometric variation among six groups of American Indians: The Eastern Band of Cherokees, the Eastern Band of Choctaws, the Western Band of Cherokees, the Western Band of Choctaws, Kiowas, and Pawnees. Anthropometric variation among these groups is analyzed using a combination of historical and statistical information.

The history of the study groups was analyzed to determine the general level of health during the period leading up the point when they were measured under the direction of Dr. Franz Boas. It is revealed that all the study groups experienced considerable stress, which effected anthropometric measurements …

Georgian Worldview: Its Definition, History, And Influence On The Material World Of Thomas Jefferson, Madison Scott Shumate

Masters Theses

The research of this thesis has been that of two directions. The first of these attempted to both define and expand that ideological concept known as the Georgian Worldview. By referencing the opinions of current authority and by examining the very origins of this concept's many attributes this thesis would suggest that the term "Georgian" encompasses far more than symmetry in architecture alone. With this said, however, it must yet be acknowledged that architecture, and particularly the balanced and refined Palladian examples of the eighteenth century, often represented the most clearly recognizable material manifestation of this particular pervasive mind set. …

A Functional Analysis Of The Lithic Material From Burrone Scierra I (Calabria, Italy), Maureen A. Hays

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research is to investigate several aspects of function within Mousterian assemblages by performing an analysis of artifacts from Burrone Scierra I, a site on the Ionian coast of Calabria, Italy. This research focuses on the relationship between function and the edge angle, tool size, raw material, technology and typology. Another intent of this study is to examine what spatial integrity remained at the site. The study assemblage is a surface collection from a plow zone context. Because the collection under investigation is from plow zone context the methods employed are those developed for low power microwear …

Modelling Suture Ossification: A View From The Cranial Capsule, Hugh Bryson Matternes

Masters Theses

A review of the development, anatomy, and physiology of the human cranial vault suggests that post-adolescent ossification of the suture margins is dictated by interactions between tissues of the cranial capsule and forces deriving from ectocranial, endocranial and diploid sources. A model viewing suture physiology as sensitive to changes in the cranial capsule's environment is tested to identify whether several processes stimulate connective tissue transformation in the suture area. Correlation and factor analysis of the suture-to-suture interactions produced results indicating that when age is controlled, endocranial and ectocranial surfaces independently respond to pressures placed on the anterior and posterior portions …

Morphology Of Saw Marks In Human Bone: Identification Of Class Characteristics, Steven A. Symes

Doctoral Dissertations

Accurate interpretation of saw marks on human bone is an essential part of tool mark examination in the forensic sciences, but appears neglected in practice and in the forensic sciences literature. With a basic understanding of saws and principals of cutting action, residual saw characteristics remaining on human bone can be recognized and interpreted.

Two basic areas of saw cut bones are examined. Kerf floors can be examined in false starts and break away spurs. This area of a cut potentially reveals kerf size, striae patterns, and contour differences. Kerf walls, or the cut cross section of bones, reveal striae …

Effects Of Clothing On Human Decomposition And Deterioration Of Associated Yarns, Shawn Elizabeth Cahoon

Masters Theses

This study focuses on how a single layer of clothing affects-human decomposition, and if human decomposition-has a noticeable affect on clothing materials. Two cadavers were placed at the Anthropological Research Facility in Knoxville, TN on January 16, 1991. One was clothed, the other was nude. Seven different types of yarns were attached to the inside of the clothing on the experimental subject, and another set of these yarns was anchored to the base of nearby tree to serve as a control sample set.

Cadavers were monitored as they decomposed, and insect activity was observed, from January 16, 1991 until May …