Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

An Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of Eukaryotic Dna Extraction From Burial Soil Samples, Ariane Thomas

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

DNA is a valuable resource as a unique identifier of physical characteristics at both the population and individual levels. Due to a variety of factors that contribute to genetic decay, forensic and bioarchaeological investigators have limited outlets in which to extract viable DNA after most of a body’s organic materials have fully decomposed. This preliminary research focused on extracting DNA from the soil surrounding buried Sus scrofa domesticus cadavers to confirm the presence of viable and analyzable DNA. After a decomposition period of five months in Montana, soils were collected at incremental distances above the remains and sequenced to identify …

Paleoparasitological Evidence Of Pinworm (Enterobius Vermicularis) Infection In A Female Adolescent Residing In Ancient Tehran (Iran) 7000 Years Ago, Niloofar Paknazhad, Gholamreza Mowlavi, Jean Dupouy Camet, Mohammad Esmaeili Jelodar, Iraj Mobedi, Mahsasadat Makki, Eshrat Beigom Kia, Mostafa Rezaeian, Mehdi Mohebali, Siamak Sarlak, Faezeh Najafi

Harold W. Manter Laboratory: Library Materials

Background: The Molavi street archeological site south of Tehran, Iran accidentally provided a unique opportunity for paleoparasitological studies in Iran. A female skeleton was unearthed and evaluated to be 7,000 years old. Soil samples were collected around the pelvic and sacrum bones.

Findings: Careful microscopic investigation of rehydrated soil samples revealed the presence of one Enterobius vermicularis egg attached to the skeleton sacral region.

Conclusion: The present finding likely represents the oldest evidence of a human pinworm infection in Asia.

A Comparison Of The Utility Of Craniometric And Dental Morphological Data For Assessing Biodistance And Sex-Differential Migration In The Pacific Islands, Brittney A. Eubank

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Genetic analysis of maternally-inherited mitochondrial DNA and the paternally-inherited Y-chromosome yield contrasting pictures of movement of peoples into the Pacific Islands. A possible explanation for this discrepancy is a matrilocal residency pattern practiced by early Pacific settlers, in which Melanesian men were brought into settler communities to intermarry with local women, yielding a higher intrapopulation variance and lower interpopulation variance exhibited in males compared to females. This research investigates the possibility of sex-differential migration in the Oceanic populations of Easter Island, Fiji, Guam, Mokapu, and New Britain through analysis of biodistance based on dental morphological trait frequencies and craniometric measures …

Utilizing Craniometrics To Examine The Morphological Changes To Homo With The Advent Of Processing Food By Cooking, Julia Schorr

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis examines the extent to which the development of cooking by early humans contributed to morphological changes in the human skull, hypothesizing that the cooking of food by early humans had a direct effect on human evolution, leading to smaller face shape, larger body size, and larger brain development, which can be measured in the skull using craniometrics. Beginning with Homo erectus around 1 million years ago, early humans began cooking food. By beginning the process of physical and chemical breakdown of food prior to consumption, humans were able to better access calories and nutrients already found in their …

Play In Immature Tibetan Macaques (Macaca Thibetana): Location, Use Of Play Signals, And Play Bout Termination At Mt. Huangshan, China, Kaitlin R. Wright

All Master's Theses

In this study, I examined the relationship between play behaviors, play location, the frequency of selected play signals, and play bout termination in Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) during immature social play. I gathered video data at the Valley of the Wild Monkeys, Mt. Huangshan, China, and focused on 21 juvenile and infant macaques (zero to five years of age). I used an all occurrence sampling method to score play behaviors and play signals with an ethogram. I hypothesized that play groups would use play signals in functionally appropriate ways based on the location of the play bout, the …

Reaction To Stimulus Figures In Chimpanzee Drawings, Alexandra Bobrinskoy Casti

All Master's Theses

Seven captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) produced drawings at the University of Oklahoma between November 1971 and November 1972. Chimpanzees drew on sheets of paper that were either blank or had a stimulus. The stimulus was located in the center or offset from the center. These drawings were scanned and digitized. Analysis tested whether chimpanzee mark placement was contingent on the location of stimulus figures. Centroid locations significantly changed between stimulus type for all drawing categories and among participants for free choice and central figure drawings. Participants drew in the empty space opposite offset figure drawings. Findings support previous …

Homo Heidelbergensis: The Tool To Our Success, Alexander Burkard

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

Homo heidelbergensis, a physiological variant of the species Homo sapien, is an extinct species that existed in both Europe and parts of Asia from 700,000 years ago to roughly 300,000 years ago (carbon dating). This “subspecies” of Homo sapiens, as it is formally classified, is a direct ancestor of anatomically modern humans, and is understood to have many of the same physiological characteristics as those of anatomically modern humans while still expressing many of the same physiological attributes of Homo erectus, an earlier human ancestor. Since Homo heidelbergensis represents attributes of both species, it has therefore earned the classification as …

The Bridge River Dogs: Interpreting Adna And Stable Isotope Analysis Collected From Dog Remains, Emilia Tifental

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Excavations at the Bridge River site have been on-going since 2003, increasing our understanding of the communities that inhabited the Middle Fraser Canyon, British Columbia over 1,000 years ago. The most recent excavation at Housepit 54 in the summer of 2014 supplied further data regarding relationships between people and their dogs. Dogs are well documented in the Middle Fraser Canyon through both archaeological excavations and traditional knowledge. A household's possession of a dog has been linked to other prestigious materials, and therefore been interpreted as an indicator of wealth and status. The present study was aimed at further investigation of …

Species Identification Of The Stylohyoid Bone For North American Artiodactyls, Thomas A. Hale

All Master's Theses

Zooarchaeologists cannot identify mammal species by their stylohyoid bones. Current trends in zooarchaeological research stress the need for rigorous and accessible identification methodology. I examined the stylohyoids of 15 hooved mammals: cattle, bison, domestic sheep, bighorn sheep, Dall sheep, mountain goat, domestic goat, elk, caribou, white-tailed deer, mule deer, moose, pronghorn antelope, domestic pig, and horse. Objectives included documenting how to side the stylohyoid (left or right), and producing species identification criteria based on large samples. A total of 325 samples were measured from eight repositories. Written descriptions, photographs, and success ratios for metrics and distinct traits are included for …

Dietary Adaptations And Intra- And Interspecific Variation In Dental Occlusal Shape In Hominin And Non-Hominin Primates, Kelsey O'Neill

Theses and Dissertations

Dental morphology and tooth shape have been used to recreate the

dietary adaptations for extinct species, and thus dental variation can provide

information on the relationship between fossil species and their

paleoenvironments. Variation in living species with known behaviors can provide

a baseline for interpreting morphology, and behavior, in the fossil record.

Tooth occlusal surface outlines in hominins and non-hominin primates, and other

mammals, have been used for assessments of taxonomic significance, with

variability often considered as being primarily phylogenetic. Few studies have

attempted to assess how diet might influence the pattern of variability in closely

related species. Here the …

Chancay Style Textiles In The Canadian Museum Of History, Beheshteh M. Asil

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis is a study of a collection of 202 ancient Andean objects in the Canadian Museum of History (CMH). These artifacts are from the Central Coast of Peru and are associated with the Chancay culture of the Late Intermediate Period (A.D. 1000-1476). The aim of this research project is to help document the general technical and stylistic characteristics of Chancay weaving and potentially help narrow down the origin of some of the fabrics under study. The main objectives of this thesis are 1) to document the technical and aesthetic characteristics of the CMH fabrics and 2) to compare this …

Investigating Cranial Variation In Japanese Populations Using Geometric Morphometrics, Beatrix Dudzik

Doctoral Dissertations

The Japanese archipelago exhibits an immense amount of variation in culture and history, despite the lay population mostly considering the modern Japanese a homogeneous population. Japan has experienced an amazing amount migration activity. These migration events are well represented in the archaeological record and have provided fodder for hypotheses proposed for peopling of the new world.

Biological anthropologists have tested hypotheses surrounding the initial peopling of the islands using linear data in conjunction with non-metric traits of the skull. Recent molecular studies have provided evidence for population substructure, which suggests an original founding group of North Asian descent, and a …

Is Quantitative Ultrasound A Valid Technique For Assessing Bone Quality In Deceased Infants?, Miriam Elizabeth Soto Martinez

Doctoral Dissertations

There is no quantitative method for evaluating infant bone quality that is non-invasive, portable, brief in scan duration, and does not use ionizing radiation. This study investigates the relationship between components of infant bone quality and a measure of quantitative ultrasound (QUS), speed of sound (SOS), to provide insight into the validity of QUS as a diagnostic tool for evaluating infant bone quality. The study sample was comprised of 78 infants between the age of 30 weeks estimated gestational age and 12 postnatal months receiving an autopsy at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences and Texas Children’s Hospital. Bone …

Patterns In Faunal Remains At Fort St. Joseph, A French Fur Trade Post In The Western Great Lakes, Joseph Hearns

Masters Theses

Faunal studies have the potential to detect a variety of patterns in animal processing activities at an archaeological site. The spatial relationships of taphonomic mechanisms observed within the animal bone assemblage illuminate the use of space on a site as well as the patterns of waste discard. Patterns within the formation processes influencing the distribution of faunal remains serve as the basis for interpretation of animal processing behaviors. This study analyzes a sample of animal bones from Fort St. Joseph (20BE23), an eighteenth-century French fur trade post in the western Great Lakes region. This post was a hub of exchange …

Distinguishing Venereal Syphilis From Other Treponemal Infections On The Human Skeleton, Antoinette Elizabeth Fafara-Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

The Treponemal diseases of yaws, endemic and venereal syphilis are capable of producing skeletal lesions during the late stages of infection. Due to the relatedness within the Treponema species all three diseases produce similar skeletal pathologies, making the classification of one specific treponemal disease versus another extremely difficult. This study investigates the skeletal pathologies associated with the treponemal infections of yaws, endemic and venereal syphilis in order to determine the skeletal lesions limited to only venereal syphilis. This study concludes that in order to distinguish treponemal diseases one must look beyond just the skeletal lesions and take into account the …

Entheses And Activities: The Multivariate Mechanisms Of Entheseal Change For Individuals Represented By The 2013 Excavations Of The Milwaukee County Institution Grounds Cemetery, Jessica L. Skinner

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

ENTHESES AND ACTIVITIES: THE MULTIVARIATE MECHANISMS OF ENTHESEAL CHANGE FOR INDIVIDUALS REPRESENTED BY THE 2013 EXCAVATIONS OF THE MILWAUKEE COUNTY INSTITUTION GROUNDS CEMETERY

by

Jessica L. Skinner

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2015

Under the Supervision of Professor Fred Anapol

The analysis of the features that mark tendon and muscle insertion sites on bone has been used in an attempt to reconstruct past life activity patterns of individuals and populations represented by skeletal remains. Many of these analyses have focused on comparing evidence from these individuals with known musculoskeletal and biomechanical data. Recent experimental tests have illustrated that defining these …

Bioarchaeological Analysis Of Oak View Landing (40dr1): An Archaic Population In The Kentucky Lake Reservior, Katy D. Grant-Mclemore

Master's Theses

The biocultural examination of the Archaic population recovered at Oak View Landing (40DR1) investigates the lifeways and adaptations of prehistoric people as they reflect sociopolitical and subsistence strategies.

A comprehensive bioarchaeological analysis was conducted on the adult individuals (18 males, 16 females, 16 of indeterminate sex) excavated from a multiple occupation site located along the Tennessee River in Decatur County, Tennessee. Skeletal indicators used to understand biocultural phenomena were assessed macroscopically on cranial and postcranial elements. Furthermore, mortuary data, for adults and subadults, were used to determine any patterns of preferential treatment at death.

Results from this study indicate that …

Burial Chronological Sequencing Of The Colonial Maya Cemetery At Tipu, Belize Using Fluoride Ion Analysis, Nicole Musselwhite

Master's Theses

This thesis ascertains the sequence of burials using fluoride ion electrode analysis at the colonial cemetery at Tipu, Belize in order to explore demographic and other cultural effects associated with European contact. The cemetery at Tipu in west central Belize, dating from within the first century of Spanish contact, has provided one of the largest and best preserved Maya skeletal series, with over 500 burials recovered. While this series has undergone vast amounts of analysis, there has yet been an analysis conducted to view how patterns changed over time. This is of interest given the rapid culture change associated with …

Paleopathology At The Shady Grove Site (22qu525): A Study Of Health In The Upper Yazoo Basin During The Middle Mississippian Period, Christopher Brady Davis

Master's Theses

The Mississippian Period (AD 1000-1539) is characterized by increasingly sedentary populations, mound building, ranked societies, and intensified agriculture. As agriculture spread throughout the Eastern Woodlands, it led to widespread health consequences, including poor nutrition and increased levels of infection. Also, environmental shifts during the Mississippian Period (AD 1000-1539) caused drier conditions, potentially leading to crop failures further exacerbating nutritional problems.

This thesis focuses on the health of the Shady Grove site in the Upper Yazoo Basin, a Middle to Late Mississippian medium sized mound center where an ossuary containing up to 100 individuals was excavated in 2010. Focusing only on …

Helminth Infection, Fecundity, And Age Of First Pregnancy In Women, Aaron D. Blackwell, Marilyne D. Tamayo, Bret Beheim, Benjamin C. Trumble, Jonathan Stieglitz, Paul L. Hooper, Melanie Martin, Hillard Kaplan, Michael Gurven

ESI Publications

Infection with intestinal helminths results in immunological changes that influence the odds of comorbid infections, and might also affect fecundity by inducing immunological states supportive of conception and pregnancy. Here we investigate associations between intestinal helminths and fertility in human females, utilizing nine years of longitudinal data from 986 Bolivian forger-horticulturalists, experiencing natural fertility and a 70% helminth prevalence. We find that different species of helminth are associated with opposing effects on fecundity. Infection with roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) is associated with earlier first births and shortened interbirth intervals, while infection with hookworm is associated with delayed first pregnancy and extended …