History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons^™

Performance And Monumentality In The "Altar Of Tukulti-Ninurta", Stephanie Langin-Hooper

Art History Research

The Ancient Near Eastern monument known as the “Altar of Tukulti-Ninurta” is traditionally analyzed as a divine symbol-socle used in the cult cella of the Ištar Temple at Aššur. This chapter – which refers to the “Altar” by its ancient term, “nemedu” – presents a re-evaluation of the monument’s archaeological context, as well as a consideration of comparative art historical evidence. Both data sets suggest that the nemedu in question was actually intended for use outside the temple doorway. Based on this understanding of the nemedu’s functional context, a more public viewership must be reconstructed for the monument, necessitating, in …

Funny Pages: Comic Strips And The American Family, 1930-1960, Dahnya Nicole Hernandez

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis examines a selection of American newspaper comic strips from approximately 1930 to 1960. At the height of their runs, many strips appeared in upwards of a thousand newspapers in the United States alone, and syndicates crafted and adjusted the content of these strips according to their image of the average American. This work discusses the pop cultural significance of these strips as well as the traditional American values revealed through each of them. Three strips in particular are the focal point for this thesis: Blondie, created by Chic Young in 1930, Little Orphan Annie created by …

Continuity And Change In A 19th Century Illustrated Devi Mahatmya Manuscript From Nepal, Katherine Smith

Theses and Dissertations

In the Hindu tradition of the Indian subcontinent, worship of the goddess has long been practiced as supreme embodiment of the divine. Around the second century, a Sanskrit Purana (ancient Hindu text that extols deities) titled the Markandeya Purana details the battles of the supreme Goddess Durga against the illusions and negative energy in the universe. This textual version of the Devi Mahatmya “Praise of the Goddess” serves as the foundation for the nineteenth century Nepalese illustrated Devi Mahatmya, commissioned by Tej Bahadur Rana from Pokhara district in Nepal. Because the folios closely follow the textual Devi Mahatmya, …

The Rock-Cut Room On The Acropolis At Golemo Gradište, Konjuh: Date And Purpose, Carolyn S. Snively

Ancient Greek and Roman Studies Faculty Publications

The anonymous city at the site of Golemo Gradište at the village of Konjuh, R. Macedonia, belongs to the period of Late Antiquity; the evidence indicates that it was founded in the 5th century. The lower town on the northern terrace was reconstructed, probably during the second quarter of the 6th century, but the inhabitants abandoned it, for the most part, later in that century and fled for refuge to the acropolis, where a settlement continued to exist into the early 7th century. Earlier material, beginning with the Late Neolithic and continuing sporadically through Bronze Age to Hellenistic, has been …

Embodiment Of The Halaf: Sixth Millennium Figurines From Northern Mesopotamia, Ellen H. Belcher

Publications and Research

This dissertation answers the question, "What are Halaf figurines?" In response to that question, this study examines a corpus of anthropomorphic figurines from archaeological sites dating to the Halaf period (Sixth Millennium cal BCE) known from excavations in Turkey and Syria. Included in this dissertation is a detailed catalog of 197 figurine examples, both whole and fragmented, and analysis of their excavated contexts from seven Halaf sites in Turkey and nine sites in Syria. The study also reviews and discusses existing literature on Halaf and figurine studies and examines and critiques modern biases, assumptions, and influences, especially as related to …

Preserving The Historic Garden Suburb: Case Studies From London And New York, Jeffrey A. Kroessler

Publications and Research

The garden city or garden suburb was a response to the social and environmental ills of cities at the turn of the twentieth century. Letchworth Garden City, Hampstead Garden Suburb, and Welwyn Garden City were built outside London in the early 1900s, and each remains a highly desirable place of residence today. From the start, each was tightly regulated, and remains so a century later. By protecting the appearance and enhancing property values, the strict application of historic preservation principles contribute to the long-term sustainability of each place. Similar garden suburbs were built in the borough of Queens in New …

Smash: Ceremonial Intoxicants And Intentional Tool Destruction In The Northern Highlands Of Pre-Columbian Ecuador, Amy Krull

Wayne State University Theses

This thesis examines fragmented ground stone food processing tools referred to as, manos and metates, that were found at the palatial late imperial Inca site of Caranqui located in the highlands of northern Ecuador. This region represents the northern frontier of the Inca Empire and was the last region to come under control of the Inca just prior to Spanish invasion. Manos and metates were integral to the production of chicha, a beverage often used for it intoxicating effects by the Inca and other Andes peoples during ritual and stately events. A temple and other features found at Inca-Caranqui would …

Making The Desert Bloom: Landscape Photography And Identity In The Owens Valley American West, Kaily A. Heitz

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis analyzes the way in which landscape photography has historically been used as a colonialist tool to perpetuate narratives of control over the American West during the mid to late 1800s. I use this framework to interrogate how these visual narratives enforced ideas about American identity and whiteness relative to power over the landscape, indigenous people and the Japanese-Americans imprisoned at Manzanar within Owens Valley, California. I argue that because photographic representation is controlled by colonist powers, images of people within the American West reinforce imperialist rhetoric that positions whiteness in control of the land; thus, white settlers used …

To Die With The Buddha: The Brick Pagoda And Its Role In The Xuezhuang Tomb In Early Medieval China, Jie Shi

History of Art Faculty Research and Scholarship

The important late fifth- or early sixth-century brick tomb at Xuezhuang in Dengxian (Henan) features a brick form at the rear wall, which remained mysterious until it has recently been shown to represent a Buddhist pagoda. This discovery sheds light on the purpose of the burial chamber, featuring the novel combination of vaulted ceiling, colonnade, and pagoda, as simulating an Indian-derived Buddhist temple (caitya). To reinforce this Buddhist context, the burial chamber simultaneously imitates the structure of a Buddhist votive stele (zaoxiangbei 造像碑), in which various Buddhist images, including the Buddha and bodhisattvas, apsaras, worshippers, and guardians, are carefully organized. …

Incorporating All For One: The First Emporer’S Tomb Mound, Jie Shi

History of Art Faculty Research and Scholarship

The towering earthen mound standing at the center of the First Emperor of Qin, Qin Shihuangdi’s (259–210 B.C.E.) Lishan necropolis at present-day Lintong in Xi’an, Shaanxi province was arguably the single greatest burial marker in ancient China. For centuries, this

gigantic unopened monument has sparked curiosity and aroused interest among people regarding its nature. Without physically damaging the target, in 2001–2003 Chinese archaeologists used a new geophysical remote sensor to scan the surface of the mound, digitally probed into its inner structure, and detected a nine-stepped wall that bounds an aboveground burial shaft stretching down deep into the ground. This …

Household Economies : The Production And Consumption Of Plumbate At Miguel AlemáN, The Conquista Campesina Complex And The PiñUela Complex, Marx Navarro-Castillo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Soconusco region of Chiapas, Mexico, where the sites of Miguel Alemán, the Conquista Campesina Complex (Conq-18) and the Piñuela Complex (PIN) are located, has been an object of study by archaeologists since the beginning of the nineteenth century. My project focused at this locale is concerned with craft production as related to the organization and the development of hierarchical social relations and how this relationship is reflected through diverse indexes. Although Plumbate ceramics are my principal source of information, I studied other ceramic types as well.

Carbon And Nitrogen Isotope Analysis Of Archaeological Faunal Material From Dutchess Quarry Caves, Ny, Jessica Zuhlke

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The purpose of this study was to do an isotopic analysis to determine the carbon and nitrogen isotope concentrations of archaeological faunal material found in the Dutchess Quarry Caves in Orange County, NY. These isotope values were then used to compare the taxa from which the samples were taken to determine if and how trophic relationships were formed. The main focus of this comparison spotlighted a sample from a human femur; to establish the human's position trophically with the other large and small mammal samples collected. The human had been previously radiocarbon dated to have lived between 2877 and 3180 …

A Biocultural Perspective On The Transition To Agriculture In Ukraine, Jordan Kenneth Karsten

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The development of agriculture and its spread around the globe is one of the most consequential events in the history of our species. The transition to agriculture is associated with many cultural developments, such as craft specialization, urbanization, and the creation of social hierarchies. Many social theorists believe that these changes associated with the adoption of farming were beneficial to the human condition, however, not all agree. The goal of this research is to evaluate the impact of the adoption of agriculture on human health. To do this, bioarchaeological analysis is employed, comparing the skeletal and dental health of Mesolithic …

Turrialba, Una Encrucijada : ArqueologíA Regional Y Rutas De ComunicacióN En Un Valle Del TróPico HúMedo De Costa Rica (11.000 A.C.-1600 D.C.), Ricardo Vazquez Leiva

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Routes are related with human occupation and social changes from the end of the Pleistocene to the beginning of the Spanish colonization in the Turrialba Valley, Costa Rica. The archaeological research was conducted in conjunction with the Angostura Hydroelectric Project, within a 120-km-square survey area and 145 sites. A limited number of them were excavated.

Museum Representation : Ethnostatic Representations Of Culture, Brynna Elizabeth Tussey

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Museums act as knowledge production centers for cultural objects. The knowledge produced and distributed frequently portrays the Other as being immobilized in ethnostatic history. Models and modes of representation serve to reinforce these perceptions, rather than aid in the development of new forms of knowledge production. Through the discussion of these models, my research presents new theoretical perspectives for the agencies within the museum, and proposes possible new models for displaying objects from other cultures and the dialogues around said objects.

Lithic Analysis Of The Becker Site : Continued Reevaluation Of The Culture-Historic Approach, Christopher Joseph Sobik

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Becker Site was originally interpreted as a River Phase, Late Archaic central base camp. While excavations at the site yielded numerous Normanskill projectile points, the diagnostic artifact for this phase, several rounds of radiocarbon testing yielded dates firmly in the Woodland Period. A literature review of the history of the use of the culture historic approach in New York State Archaeology, as well as several modern critiques on the same subject was undertaken with the goal of interpreting the site free of its constraints. A lithic analysis of both the formal tools and lithic debitage was undertaken in order …

The Blackness Of Black (W)Holes, Eric M. Anderson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Blackness of Black (W)holes analyzes Toni Morrison's Sula, William Faulkner's Sanctuary, and Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man as against establishing the illusion of a coherent, recognizable self through relational identities and subservience to denotative language and categories of identity. These novel’s feature characters packing knives, I claim, because they advocate for what I term stylistic self–extrication: a rupture with prevailing forms of identity and cliché ways of speaking through rhythmic, sonorous, experimental language use. Characters who succeed at the task, I argue, are associated with a blackness in excess of racial markings, because they become unclassifiable as a result. In …

54 | Bet Yerah: The Early Bronze Age Mound, Volume Ii: Urban Structure And Material Culture, 1933–1986 Excavations, Raphael Greenberg

IAA Reports—Monograph Series of the Israel Antiquities Authority

This is the second volume in the series describing the results of 11 excavation campaigns at Tel Bet Yeraḥ over some 50 years (1933–1986). The first volume (IAA Reports 30) presented the stratigraphic framework and the Early Bronze Age pottery. This second volume comprises a companion to Volume I, presenting synthetic discussions of the excavations and finds, and the publication of further Early Bronze Age artifact assemblages, including flint, stone and other small finds.

Garry Winogrand: The Art Of Street Photography, Micayla Beuley

Honors Projects

This exhibition proposal, designed for the Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery located in the Fine Arts Center at Bowling Green State University, is designed to enhance gallery patrons’ understanding of and appreciation for street photography through a biographical analysis of the works of Garry Winogrand. In addition to presenting 30 photographs by this esteemed photographer, patrons are invited to actively participate in the creation of street photographs and provides a unique opportunity to display them alongside that of a professional in a gallery setting. This exhibition proposal includes a curator’s statement, formal exhibition catalog essay, list of works proposed, detailed floor …

From Instantaneities To The Eternal: Shifting Pictorial Temporalities In Monet's Rouen Cathedral, Kaleigh Paige Winchell

Wayne State University Theses

This paper focuses on Monet's Rouen Cathedral paintings, a set of canvases painted by the artist between February 1892 and May 1895. This series has traditionally been hailed as Monet's greatest and most significant, but historical scholarship has addressed the series within an Impressionist framework. However, this paper argues instead that the Cathedral paintings no longer represented Monet as an Impressionist, but instead as an artist with entirely original and different goals for whom the nature of time had taken on new meaning. Where Monet began his endeavors in seriality with a feverish focus on the temporary and elusive - …