Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

Learning From Those Who Served: Application Of Regression-Based Body Mass Estimation Methods To The Uss Oklahoma Population, Maxwell Rooney

Anthropology Department Theses and Dissertations

Current methodologies in body mass estimation are lacking in accuracy when compared to the methods of sex, age, and ancestry estimation familiar to forensic anthropologists. For this reason, the practical application of body mass estimation remains underutilized, hindering the study of a potentially advantageous aspect of the biological profile.

This study highlights body mass estimation in a forensic context while taking the osteological paradox into account through the utilization of a unique population: the US military personnel killed on the USS Oklahoma during the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1942. Because these individuals were similar in age (adults, age …

399— Rates Of Tuberculosis Mortality Rates In Urban And Rural Areas Of New York State Before The Age Of Antibiotics, Jillian Demaria

GREAT Day

From the late nineteenth and early twentieth century industrialization changed many aspects of American life. Mortality rates in the pre World War I era (1838 and 1930) changed due to many improvements of public health. The creation and emphasis over vaccinations, sewage systems, inspections of foods, and overall improvements in living and working conditions improved public health outcomes in all parts of America, in both rural and urban areas. As the changes occurred, tuberculosis mortality rates declined. This study explores death rates of tuberculosis in rural and urban areas, as well as the general population of Rochester, in the nineteenth …

280— Exploring The Geographic Distribution Of Childbed Fever Deaths In Mid-19th Century Rochester, Ny, Meaghan Parks

GREAT Day

Childbed fever, formally called puerperal fever or puerperal septicemia, is an infection typically contracted by women after childbirth. Historically, childbed fever was a serious threat to maternal health. Childbed fever is caused by exposure of open wounds or abrasions, which are common after giving birth, to group A and B Streptococcal bacteria. Ignaz Semmelweis discovered that hand washing using a chlorinated solution reduced cases of childbed fever in 1847. This project reviews the instances of death from childbed fever in Rochester, New York from 1837-1860 and later from 1907-1919 and attempts to determine which areas of the city had the …

137— Skulls Tell Tales: A Comparative Study Of Un-Provenienced Crania, Alice Lee

GREAT Day

In this study I have conducted a detailed analysis of several crania that have yet to be provenienced in the skeletal collection of the Physical Anthropology Lab. While some of these skulls have previously been matched to the correct post-cranial skeleton most of them have not and as such all were studied alone separate from any other skeletal material. The skulls were then compared analytically with a focus on any commonalities of sex, ethnicity, and age which may be present along with what determinations could actually be made with the parts of each skull that were available as some were …

Evolutionary Bioethics Advanced By Ernest Everett Just: Implications For Biology, Ethics, And Theology, Theodore Walker

Perkins Faculty Research and Special Events

Ernest Everett Just (1883-1941) is an acknowledged “pioneer” in biology, being honored with a Black Heritage postage stamp in 1996. Here we discover that Just also made pioneering contributions to general evolutionary bioethics (distinct from special medical bioethics) by advancing a cell-biology-rooted theory of the origin and continuing evolution of ethical behavior influenced by the “law of environmental dependence.”

See especially “The Origin of Man’s Ethical Behavior (1941, unpublished book manuscript) by Ernest Everett Just and Hedwig Schnetzler Just, discovered in 2018 among the collected papers of E.E. Just at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University.

Accordingly, evolution is …

Estimation Of Age From The Auricular Surface Of The Ilium Through The Utilization Of 3d Scanning And Gis, Krista Bennett

LSU Master's Theses

The ability to produce age estimations for adult skeletons has been a focus of forensic anthropologists for decades. Most age estimation methods for adult remains provide age ranges that are too narrow, too broad, or too vague. This project sought to combine 3D scans with GIS to produce morphological maps of the auricular surface of the os coxa in order to identify quantifiable characteristics for age assessment that could be used for generating narrower age range estimates for older adult remains.

A NextEngine ™ HD Desktop 3D scanner was used to scan the auricular surfaces of 384 os coxae from …

Comparing The Accuracy Of Close-Range Photogrammetry To Microct Scanning Via Surface Deviation Analysis Of 3d Digital Models Of Hominin Molars, Margaret J. Furtner

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to assess whether close-range photogrammetry is a viable alternative to microCT scanning for the construction of 3D models of isolated teeth. Photogrammetric scanning is more cost-effective and less time-consuming than CT scanning, and in paleoanthropological contexts eliminates the possibility of exposing fossils to doses of radiation that affect ESR dating. Samples of fossil (Homo naledi), archaeological, and contemporary human molars were scanned via microCT scanning and close-range photogrammetric scanning. The photogrammetric scans included 96 digital images per tooth which were used to construct a 3D triangular mesh. The resulting models of the tooth crowns …

Colonialism In Perspective: A Comparative Bioarchaeological Study Of Quality Of Life Before And During Roman Conquest, Meredith M. Amato

Student Publications

This paper analyzes the current bioarchaeological data that has been gathered from populations that lived before and in the midst of the Roman Empire. Case studies are taken from multiple areas within the boundaries of the empire, including Italy itself, Britain, Gaul (what is today known as France), Spain, North Africa, and the Near East. Geography and other factors make each individual’s experience of colonialism different, and the data that can be taken from human remains shows that colonialism was an unequal system that cannot be given a single, strict definition.

Paleopathological Research In Continental China: Introduction To The Special Section, Elizabeth Berger, Kate Pechenkina

Publications and Research

We set out to assemble this special issue of IJPP with three goals in mind: (1) to familiarize Anglophone readers with research on paleopathology conducted by Chinese scholars; (2) to enhance interest in paleopathological research among Chinese scholars, and to foster the use of differential diagnosis as the key mode of paleopathological analysis; and (3) to initiate integration of pathological analysis of human skeletal collections with historical records documenting early medical practices, epidemics, development and age-related diseases, and demographic records.

The collection of papers that follows present new data, from a range of time periods and geographic and social contexts, …

The Internal, External And Extended Microbiomes Of Hominins, Robert R. Dunn, Katherine R. Amato, Elizabeth A. Archie, Mimi Arandjelovic, Alyssa N. Crittenden, Lauren M. Nichols

Anthropology Faculty Publications

The social structure of primates has recently been shown to influence the composition of their microbiomes. What is less clear is how primate microbiomes might in turn influence their social behavior, either in general or with particular reference to hominins. Here we use a comparative approach to understand how microbiomes of hominins have, or might have, changed since the last common ancestor (LCA) of chimpanzees and humans, roughly six million years ago. We focus on microbiomes associated with social evolution, namely those hosted or influenced by stomachs, intestines, armpits, and food fermentation. In doing so, we highlight the potential influence …

Exploring Sexual Dimorphism Of The Modern Human Talus Through Geometric Morphometric Methods, Rita Sorrentino, Maria Giovanna Belcastro, Carla Figus, Nicholas B. Stephens, Kevin Turley, William Harcourt-Smith, Timothy M. Ryan, Stefano Benazzi

Publications and Research

Sex determination is a pivotal step in forensic and bioarchaeological fields.Generally,scholars focus on metric or qualitative morphological features,but in the last few years several contributions have applied geometric-morphometric (GM) techniques to overcome limitations of traditional approaches. In this study,we explore sexual dimorphism in modern human tali from three early 20th century populations (Sassari and Bologna, Italy; NewYork, USA) at intra- and interspecific population levels using geometric morphometric (GM) methods.Statistical analyses were performed using shape,form,and size variables.Our results do not show significant differences in shape between males and females, either considering the pooled sample or the individual populations. Differences in talar …

De-Coding The Impact Of Evolved Changes In Gene Expression And Cellular Phenotype On Primate Evolution, Trisha Zintel

Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of the dissertation work outlined here was to investigate the influence of proximal processes contributing to evolutionary differences in phenotypes among primate species. There are numerous previous comparative analyses of gene expression between primate brain regions. However, primate brain tissue samples are relatively rare, and my results have contributed to the pre-existing data on more well-studied primates (i.e. humans, chimpanzees, macaques, marmosets) as well as produced information on more rarely-studied primates (i.e. patas monkey, siamang, spider monkey). Additionally, the primary visual cortex has not previously been as extensively studied at the level of gene expression as other brain …

The Phylogenetic Relationships Of Middle-Late Miocene Apes: Implications For Early Human Evolution, Kelsey D. Pugh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The living great apes, humans, and their fossil relatives (family Hominidae) are among the most intensively studied mammalian groups, yet many aspects of their shared evolutionary history are not well understood. Phylogenetic relationships of fossil great apes are poorly resolved and the positions of many fossil taxa relative to crown ape clades are debated. Moreover, the relationships of Sahelanthropus, Orrorin, and Ardipithecus to hominins are disputed, with some authors suggesting that alternative positions within Hominidae are more likely. Analyzing the position of these taxa within the broader context of the Miocene ape fossil record is thus necessary to …

Nutritional Strategy And Social Environment In Redtail Monkeys (Cercopithecus Ascanius), Margaret Bryer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

An animal’s nutritional strategy involves the complex interplay between its dynamic physiology and its environment, an environment that includes a landscape of foods that vary in nutritional composition as well as a social environment of other feeding individuals. Social behavior—cooperative or competitive, with conspecifics or with other sympatric species—influences individual feeding behavior. Investigation of social feeding by estimating individual intake of multiple nutritional components, sometimes referred to as “social nutrition,” can give insight into how social variables may lead to shifts in nutritional niche.

In this study, I examined the effects of temporal shifts in diet, reproductive status and conspecific …

Ethnoprimatology And Nature-Based Tourism: An Exploration Of Macaque Ecology And Behaviour At The Sepilok Orang-Utan Rehabilitation Center In Sabah, Malaysia, Lauren J. Gilhooly

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A rise in tourism revenue worldwide has included an increase in the number of travellers seeking experiences with the natural world. Commonly referred to as ecotourists, these visitors typically hail from Western countries and favour locations that allow them to connect with nature in ways that they consider sustainable and ethical. However well-meaning, these ecotourist ventures are complex because, while tourism revenue may help protect fragile ecosystems, an increase in tourists can expose local fauna to potentially deadly diseases.

Primates are a salient example of this double-edged sword because they are a popular attraction among travellers, meaning they may …

Testing The Iron Deficiency Anemia Hypothesis Using P-Xrf, Eduardo Maya

McNair Scholars

One controversy within the field of bioarchaeology revolves around theories that describe what environmental factors and illnesses could be causing cribra orbitalia (CO) and porotic hyperostosis (PH). These two pathological conditions, which are identified by porosities on the human cranium, are used by bioarchaeologists to estimate the health of archaeological remains. In the past, iron deficiency anemia (IDA) was widely believed to be causing these conditions. A range of factors, such as parasitic infections and lack of iron through dietary consumption, cause IDA. Because of the hypothesis connecting CO and PH to IDA, archaeological remains with visible porosities have had …

Assessing Methods For Estimating Biological Sex From Subadult Skeletal Elements, Dorota Zabnicka

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

While methods for estimating the sex of adult skeletons are relatively accurate, these methods are often inconclusive when applied to subadults (non-adults), especially when many secondary sexual characteristics have not fully developed. Furthermore, existing methods for subadults are often tested on samples with relatively homogenous ancestries, calling into question their reliability in more diverse populations. This thesis reviewed techniques for estimating sex in subadult skeletal remains, and the most promising methods were retested on individuals of known sex between ages 3 and 17 years (n=39, 14 males, 25 females) from the Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection. Data collection included measurements of the …

Analyzing Lower Extremity Injury Profiles Of Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities According To Vehicle Type, Jacqulyn M. Scheer

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Skeletal trauma analysis of motor vehicle collisions has the potential to support or contradict reported collision circumstances. This project analyzed the skeletal injuries that pedestrians sustain in fatal collisions according to vehicle types (car, truck, SUV, van, bus, semi, etc.). Data were collected from reports and databases related to cases that occurred in King County, Washington. The pelvis and lower extremities of the body were analyzed for the frequency of skeletal fractures, grouped by pelvis, femora, patellae, tibiae, and fibulae skeletal groups. A Kruskal-Wallis test showed an overall no significant difference (P<0.05) in fracture quantity in skeletal regions between different vehicle groups. A multiple pairwise comparison using Dunn’s procedure also found no significant differences between vehicle type groups. A Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis showed an overall success rate of 37.29% when classifying injury profiles to vehicle type. The findings of this project can be applied to further research into the skeletal analysis of automobile versus pedestrian collisions. Low classification rates suggest that fracture frequency alone should not be used to assist in associating injuries with potential vehicle types in medicolegal investigations. Rather, the findings of this project lead the researcher to recommend that investigators and forensic practitioners move towards standardization in the quality and type of collected data—specific recommendations being the collection of actual speed and inclusion of full-body imaging in postmortem examinations to enable more detailed analyses.

The Integration Of Lidar And Legacy Datasets Provides Improved Explanations For The Spatial Patterning Of Shell Rings In The American Southeast, Dylan S. Davis, Robert Dinapoli, Matthew Sanger, Carl Lipo

Anthropology Datasets

Archaeologists have struggled to combine remotely sensed datasets with preexisting information for landscape-level analyses. In the American Southeast, for example, analyses of lidar data using automated feature extraction algorithms have led to the identification of over 40 potential new pre-European-contact Native American shell ring deposits in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Such datasets are vital for understanding settlement distributions, yet a comprehensive assessment requires remotely sensed and previously surveyed archaeological data. Here, we use legacy data and airborne lidar-derived information to conduct a series of point pattern analyses using spatial models that we designed to assess the factors that best explain …

Good Governance Of The Commons Of Rapa Nui: Present And Past, Pamela A. Mischen, Carl P. Lipo, Terry L. Hunt

Anthropology Datasets

Sustainable communities on Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile) — whether in the past or present— require good governance of shared and common pool resources. Whether managing communal land needed for cultivation, ground water, stones for tools, fishing grounds, cultural heritage, or tourism, governance structures must balance individual interests with the common needs of the community. Much of the recent history of the island has been dominated by government structures that were imposed by Chilean authorities. Recently, however, much of the island’s cultural heritage has been turned over to local native governance. This shift has challenges due to the complex contemporary …