Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons^™

The Endurance Of Tell Qarqur: Settlement Resilience In Northwestern Syria During The Late Bronze And Iron Ages (Ca. 1200 – 700 Bc), Eric Robert Jensen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes the material culture, paleobotanical, and faunal remains excavated at the site of Tell Qarqur, Syria, recovered from occupational levels dating from the end of the Late Bronze Age to the Iron II period (from approximately 1200 to 700 BC). Based on archaeological evidence and ancient textual sources, many ancient Near Eastern kingdoms and polities endured social and political turmoil during the late 13th and early 12th centuries BC. Most likely caused by an unknown hostile group or groups, the destruction of monumental scale architecture and the disruption to the people of Qarqur’s agricultural and animal husbandry practices …

Counter-Revolution And Egypt’S Lower Middle Class, Keith Glenn Whitmire

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Egyptian lower middle class has been declining since the 1970s. Yet since the 2011 uprising and coup d’état the lower middle class has sat in the midst of an economic and political counter-revolution carried out by the police, the military, and Egypt’s intelligence services. In particular, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has responded to Egypt’s economic crisis in 2014 and onward by engaging in a program of austerity has sped the decline of the Egyptian lower middle class significantly. The Egyptian lower middle class is in increasing danger of becoming merely educated working poor. Therefore this dissertation will examine the …

The Spatial Agency Of The Catacombs: An Analysis Of The Interventions Of Damasus I (305-384), Natalie A. Hall

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Damasus I (305-384) ascended to the office of the Bishop of Rome after a bitter and bloody battle with Ursinus in 366 CE. The violence was a culmination of doctrinal squabbles and power contests which erupted in the Roman church over the course of the fourth century. Damasus engaged in a substantial program of physical renovation and enlargement of martyr sites and personally penned numerous epigrams both extolling the virtue of the honored dead and the patronage of the bishopric. Scholarship related to Damasus and his works is typically narrowly focused, considering motive(s) for his actions, his use of specific …

For Wintonbury: An Expansion Of Narrative And Painting, Cassaundra Kayla Sanderson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In March 2017, I began planning the narratives of what would become my Thesis Exhibition. One year later marked my installation of the exhibit: For Wintonbury, located at the Fine Art Center Gallery at the University of Arkansas.

A merging of the visual arts and literary fiction, For Wintonbury offers a more immersive experience in storytelling. The painted scenes, drawings, three-dimensional compositions, and short stories each serve their own purposes in presenting partial glimpses into the longer narratives of Wintonbury. Through multiple media and entry points, the viewer is given the choice in which sequence and manner to take in …

Digital Palace Of Nestor: Assessing Mycenaean Palatial Complex Construction Of Socio-Political Status And Navigation Through Architecture, Caleb Ward

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Because architecture necessitates the conscious planning of space, its consequences for navigation and socio-political status are equally deliberate and have indirect effects. This research combines experiential and spatial syntax techniques to gain a deeper understanding of how Mycenaeans shaped space to construct status and navigation in the Palace of Nestor at Pylos. Using a digital reconstruction of the palace ensured the most accurate experiential data by utilizing a whole, albeit virtual, version of the site. Without employing a digital reconstruction, the only experiences with the site would occur in the ruinous, actual site preventing complete experiences with how the site’s …

Interpersonal And Ideological Kindness: A Biocultural Approach, Sally Averitt-Hubbard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In accordance with Richard Dawkins’ materialist “selfish gene” theory of human behavior, altruism is a subject matter that is treated conservatively by biologists, whose understanding of the human version of altruism tends toward mutualistic and sometimes reputation-based explanations of charity, kindness, and helping. Trivers (1971) first stated that non-kin altruism could evolve if altruistic behavior is balanced between partners over time, implicating a strictly mutualistic domain for kindness. But kindness herein is defined, beyond mere mutualism or reciprocity, as “the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.” Further, kindness tends to have an action-oriented dimension, as in Goetz et al.’s …

Got Breadfruit? Marshallese Foodways And Culture In Springdale, Arkansas, Diana Kay Chen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding human food choices is essential in the examination of cultural knowledge and decision-making among members of any ethnic group. Ethnographic and cognitive anthropology methods, including a novel calculation of cognitive salience, were used in this study to explore the domain of traditional Marshallese foods in Springdale, Arkansas. Springdale is home to the highest population of Marshallese people outside of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI); the population is expected to rise as people continue to migrate from the RMI because of global climate change and other factors such as family ties. Studies of traditional foodways are increasingly crucial …

Palestinian Labor In West Bank Settlements, Ethan Morton-Jerome

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the late 1970s, Palestinians have worked in West Bank settlements, with approximately 30,000 to 40,000 Palestinians currently employed in construction, factories in industrial zones, and plantations. My analysis of Palestinian labor on the settlements begins with the historical, political, legal, and economic context of Palestinian labor in three jurisdictions: in Israel, on the settlements in the West Bank, and in PA-controlled Area A. Fundamental to the analysis is to go beyond the restrictions of nationalist discourse to recognize both intranational tensions and that labor exploitation occurs in all jurisdictions. My fieldwork and analysis were conducted over three years (2013-2016) …

Social Organization And Environmental Patterning At Tel Abu Shusha: An Integrated Spatial Approach To Survey Archaeology, Seth Price

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tel Abu Shusha, located in the Jezreel Valley of Palestine, is a large-scale archaeological site possibly identified as the cities of Biblical Gaba or Roman Gaba Hippaeon/Gaba Philippi. Surface archaeological survey of the surrounding area, conducted by the Jezreel Valley Regional Project during 2017, revealed extensive assemblages of visible settlement features dating primarily to middle and late Islamic periods. This research seeks to answer questions of settlement decision-making and societal organization, by integrating archaeological, textual, environmental, and geospatial data sources. In addition to visual interpretation, Kolmogorov-Smirnov nonparametric tests are used to gain insight on environmental settlement preferences; Ripley’s K analysis …