Digital Commons Network^™

Landscapes Of Power And Identity: Comparative Histories In The Sonoran Desert And The Forests Of Amazonia From Colony To Republic, Andrew Sluyter

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Nebraska Anthropologist Volume 22: 2007 Table Of Contents

Nebraska Anthropologist

Cultural Identity and Continuity at the Missions of New Spain: Examining the Native American Experience at the Spanish Missions of Texas (William E. Altizer) The Impact of the Atlantic Slave Trade on West Africa: Polygyny and Female Reproductive Success (Katherine Lamie) Getting Your Hands a Little Less Dirty: An Exercise in Using Geophysics to Understand Hopewell Earthwork Construction (Erin C. Dempsey) The Past Is How We Present It: Nationalism and Archaeology in Italy from Unification to WWII (Andrew P. McFeaters) Bioprospecting and Biopiracy in Latin America: The Case of Maca in Perú (Amanda J. Landon) Overcoming the United States' Policy …

Visual Representations Of The Spatial Relationship Between Bermuda High Strengths And Hurricane Tracks, Jason T. Knowles, Michael Leitner

Faculty Publications

The 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons dramatically demonstrated the magnitude of the societal significance of hurricanes, negatively impacting on all scales from the personal to the national. Although definitive identification of the forcing mechanisms controlling hurricane tracks and landfall patterns remains elusive, increasing evidence supports the hypothesis that the increase in hurricane activity along the Gulf Coast is due to a southwestward shift in the position of the Bermuda High. This research uses multiple visualization techniques to explore the spatial correlation between Bermuda High strengths - as interpreted from the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index - and hurricane tracks. Using …

Use Of The Global Positioning System In The Field Recovery Of Scattered Human Remains, Ginesse A. Listi, Mary H. Manhein, Michael Leitner

Faculty Publications

This study examines the Global Positioning System (GPS) as a tool for field mapping of scattered human remains or other materials in forensic investigations. Two aspects of the GPS are considered: (1) the level of accuracy that can be obtained using a mid-priced GPS unit, and (2) the effectiveness of using the GPS to map scattered materials. The positional accuracy of the GPS receiver was tested using a National Geodetic Survey (NGS) point located in Baton Rouge, LA. The utility of the GPS for mapping was investigated by setting up a mock field recovery and mapping the remains using both …

Human Modifications To The Landscape Of Hunt And Sheep Mountains, Wyoming: Exploring Socially Constructed Space, Ralph J. Hartley

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Abstract The cultural topography of two adjacent mountain tops in the northern Bighorn mountain range of the state of Wyoming, USA, is examined through several field and computer aided techniques. Socially constructed space, as reflected in cumulative architectural features through time, was initially revealed by high resolution aerial photography of the mountain tops. Features observed included clusters of stone circles, solitary rock structures commonly known as vision quests, and various sized rock cairns. Field mapping of all features with high resolution GPS allowed exploratory analysis of spatial relationships of stone circles using categorical data and tessellation models in GIS. The …

Four Poems: Snakehead Fish; Departures; Capitol; And Preparations For Southeast Asia, Bryan Thao Worra

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Refugee Status On Palestinian Identity And The Impact Of Identity On Durable Solutions To The Refugee Problem, Michaela S. Clemens

Nebraska Anthropologist

Over the last fifty years the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has generated massive numbers of refugees. The scale and longevity of the conflict has made the Palestinian refugee problem the most protracted and largest refugee situation in the world today (Merhab et al. 2006). The processes of becoming a refugee and living as a refugee have had direct impacts on the formation of Palestinian identity. In this paper, I examine the influence of refugee status on identity and discuss how this identity affects potential solutions to the protracted refugee situation. I offer a brief historical background to the creation of Palestinian refugees. …

The Emergence Of The Maya Tlaloc: A Late Classic Religious Icon, Amanda Toyie Groff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Iconography has the capability to memorialize and guarantee one's place in history; iconography can also provide powerful insight into human culture, and explore social and cultural values in a visual manner. Iconography can incorporate information about group identities, allegiances, religious affiliations, propaganda, and acceptance within both modern and ancient societies. By studying a specific iconographic figure, the Central Mexican god Tlaloc, as a visual representation of a belief or identity, we can glean a greater understanding of the cultural transmission of iconographic symbols. The substantial use of this icon, in both Central Mexico and the Maya region, reveals iconography as …

Archaeology In Palestine: The Life And Death Of Albert Glock, Katherine Lamie

Nebraska Anthropologist

This paper provides a critical examination of the dynamic connection between archaeological research and programs of political and religious agendas in Israel and Palestine. This examination contributes to recent discipline-wide discussions concerning the powerful impact of archaeological research in areas of political and religious turmoil. The first section of this paper notes the absence of an Islamic counterpart to Biblical archaeology. While there is no archaeology that attempts to prove literal interpretations of the Qur'an, the rather complex archaeology advanced by Albert Glock (1984; 1994; 1995) serves to meet the needs of marginalized Palestinian villagers. Yet Glock's experience with the …

Fifth Millennium Anthropomorphic Figurines In Southeastern And Central Anatolia: Comparative Museum Research., Ellen H. Belcher

Publications and Research

The Halaf cultural horizon occurred during the fifth millennium B.C. (uncalibrated) and extended throughout upper Mesopotamia, including southeastern Anatolia. Halaf material culture is well-known for its imaginative and beautifully made architecture, polychrome-painted pottery, geometric stamp seals and figurines. The regional character and variation of Halaf figurine assemblages however, is poorly understood, particularly in southeastern Anatolia. My research and study of these figurines reveals distinct southeastern Anatolian styles and technologies, some of which demonstrate direct connections to central Anatolia.

This article presents preliminary conclusions from a comparative analysis of contemporaneous anthropomorphic figurines belonging to the Halaf and Chalcolithic cultures …

L’Espace Sexué Dans Riwan Ou Le Chemin De Sable De Ken Bugul, Antje Ziethen

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

In Riwan ou le chemin de sable by Ken Bugul, the protagonist lives in the interstice between her own house and that of her husband’s, between the life of a woman educated in Europe and the life of a wife subjected to the laws of mouridism. In her circular movement along the sandy road evoked in the novel’s title, she gradually creates a space that allows her to reconcile the two facets of her identity. Merging different genres, stories and languages, the text itself enacts the symbolism of the road as a transitional sphere.

Putting The Ninth Ward On The Map: Race, Place, And Transformation In Desire, New Orleans, Rachel Breunlin

Anthropology Faculty Publications

In this article, we consider how long-term patterns of resistance to structural violence inform citizens’ responses to displacement before and after Katrina. Drawing on Abdou Maliq Simone’s (2004) conceptualization of people as infrastructure, we recenter the discussion about the rebuilding of New Orleans around displaced residents, taking the place-making practices of members of a social club as a lens through which to examine the predicament of the city as a whole. Members have been generating alternative ways of thinking about and dwelling together in a restructuring city. Their perspectives are articulated through in-depth interviews, focus groups, and the embodied practices …

Spatial Confidentiality And Gis: Re-Engineering Mortality Locations From Published Maps About Hurricane Katrina, Andrew J. Curtis, Jacqueline W. Mills, Michael Leitner

Faculty Publications

Background: Geographic Information System (GIS) can provide valuable insight into patterns of human activity. Online spatial display applications, such as Google Earth, can democratise this information by disseminating it to the general public. Although this is a generally positive advance for society, there is a legitimate concern involving the disclosure of confidential information through spatial display. Although guidelines exist for aggregated data, little has been written concerning the display of point level information. The concern is that a map containing points representing cases of cancer or an infectious disease, could be re-engineered back to identify an actual residence. This is …

Dai Medicine: Preservation Of And Changes In Ancient Healing Practices, Geoffroy Fauchet

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This independent study project discusses the general concept and theories of Dai medicine and focuses on the conservation of and transformation that both, the traditional and modern Dai medical system have undergone over time.

The Bloomberg Way: Development Politics, Urban Ideology, And Class Transformation In Contemporary New York City, Julian Brash

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores the links between a development project, a particular urban ideology, and processes of class transformation in contemporary New York City. The city's postindustrial transformation, especially since the 1970s fiscal crisis, has created a newly dominant corporate elite consisting of executives and high-level professionals. This ruling class alliance has begun to supersede the city's older, real estate-centered traditional growth coalition, as emblematized by the political rise of billionaire ex-CEO Michael Bloomberg. Mayor Bloomberg, along with other ex-corporate executives in his administration, implemented a private-sector inspired corporate, technocratic, and antipolitical approach to governance in general and urban and economic …

Grey Suit Or Brown Carhartt: Narrative Transition, Relocation, And Reorientation In The Lives Of Corporate Refugees, Brian Hoey

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Research

This article examines relocation stories of people who leave behind corporate work culture, relocate from metropolitan areas to small towns and rural places, and attempt to reorient themselves to work and family obligations. Decisions to start over take place within the context of moral questions about what makes a life worth living and what does not through a process in which geography has a bearing. For these migrants, a choice about where to live is also one about how to live. Choices of how to live one's life are made of more than simple economics, they are also moral. The …

Growing Up With Glen, Kathryn Miles

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

Ecologists refer to it as 'shifting baselines.' Anthropologists call it 'environmental generational amnesia.' Both refer to the slow change in the ways we respond to and define the environment. As biologists and social scientists have deftly argued, definitions of environmentalism and sustainable resource use are often based on our earliest experiences with nature. We then use these memories as the basis for our understanding of the natural world and its use. Ultimately, this creates a generational approach to issues of conservation, particularly with regards to such contentious issues as water rights and the changing face of the American West. At …

A “Southern Tradition?”: Stockcar Racing As Contextual Tradition, Patrick A. Lindsay

Masters Theses

A large number of academics who have examined stockcar racing have concluded that stockcar racing is a “Southern tradition.” While the implicit definitions of tradition may vary, many generally agree that there is a clear historical relationship between stock car racing and the South. It is my contention that the idea that stockcar racing is a “Southern” tradition does not represent the reality of stockcar racing fandom for many people outside of the South. I assert that stock car racing is instead a “contextual tradition”, a practice that became labeled a tradition through specific historical and cultural circumstances. By examining …

Keeping An Eye On Privacy Issues With Geospatial Data [4], Andrew Curtis, Jacqueline W. Mills, Michael Leitner

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Interim Report Of The Viking Age Archaeofauna From Hrísheimar, Mývatn District, N Iceland, Thomas H. Mcgovern, Sophia Perdikaris, Ramona Harrison, Konrad Smiarowski, Norie Manigault

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

The excavations at Hrísheimar in Mývatnssveit in N Iceland are producing a very large archaeofauna, which can now be dated through both radiocarbon and two major volcanic tephra layers (the Landnám tephra of ca AD 871 and the Veiðivötn 930 tephra). While much of the site has been destroyed by wind erosion, substantial midden deposits (which overly earlier structures in some cases) still remain along the NE edge of the site area. While excavation is ongoing and only a small portion of the very substantial archaeofauna has been analyzed so far, it may be useful to present an interim working …

Introduction: Amerindian Modes Of Knowledge, George Mentore, Fernando Santos-Granero

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

No abstract provided.

The Chipped Stone Tool Industries Of Blackman Eddy, Belize, Matthew Patrick Yacubic

Theses and Dissertations

One of the most significant finds at the site of Blackman Eddy, Belize, is a series of superimposed structures that date between 1200 B.C.-A.D. 600 (calibrated). Because it was continuously occupied for over 1800 years, this site provides a unique opportunity to examine long-term socio-economic changes in the eastern Maya lowlands. This thesis is a diachronic study of the chipped stone tool artifacts of Blackman Eddy using technological, attribute, and use-wear analysis. The data collected for this study were examined to see what types of raw materials were used in tool production, what types of tools were produced, how they …

Before The Inca: Prehistoric Dietary Transitions In The Argentine Cuyo, Nicole Shelnut

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A dietary reconstruction was performed in order to understand changing prehistoric subsistence patterns in the Central Andean geographical area of the Argentine Cuyo that includes the provinces of San Juan and Mendoza. Archaeologically, the Cuyo is also known as a boundary between Andean agriculturalists and the foragers of Patagonia. One hypothesis being tested is whether this area was one of the last South American cultural groups to convert to maize cultivation, probably around 2000 BP. The process of stable isotope analysis is used to reconstruct the diets of individuals, as it reveals the relative proportions of C3 and C4 plants …

Interpreting Their Blood: The Contradictions Of Approaches To Menstruation Through Religious Education, Ritual And Culture In Rabat, Morocco, Nitzan Ziv

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Menstruation is often perceived by individuals of different cultural and religious backgrounds as dirty or impure, and therefore has become a demeaning feature of womanhood. The dialectical concepts of purity and impurity are integral parts of Islamic religion, thought and practice as they draw lines between those things sacred and those profane. Women’s religious education, in particular, is critical in establishing positive reinforcement for their perceptions of their physical selves and their role in society. However, education in this manner cannot be limited to schools and religious institutions; family and culture are integral parts of a women’s education about subjects …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 81, No. 25 [29], Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. Articles in this issue:

• Bosken, Nina. Speaker Reflects on Diversity – Clarence Page
• Coulter, Amber. Tuition Hike May Exceed Expectation
• Paul, Corey. Racks, Registration to Combat Bike Theft
• Coulter, Amber. Students Working More to Pay for Rising Tuition
• Brandenburg, Katie. Fees Increase to Fund Projects
• Positive Protest – Greenwood High School Dress Code
• Wilson, Brandon. Keep Opinions Out of Classrooms
• Brown, Erika. Prejudice Still Exists in 21^st Century
• Casagrande, Michael. College Heights Herald Apologizes
• Paul, Corey. Student Honored for Bravery – Ryan Russell
• Paul, Corey. Sorority Houses Get …

Community Participation In Tribal Diabetes Programs, Carolyn Smith-Morris

Anthropology Research

No abstract provided.

Testing Of A Portion Of Site 41wn104 In Advance Of Proposed Improvements To Jackson Nature Park, Stockdale, Wilson County, Texas, Antonia L. Figueroa

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

On July 25, 2006 the Center for Archaeological Research at The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted archaeological testing on portions of 41WN104 located in the Jackson Nature Park in Wilson County, Texas. The archaeological work, performed for the Office of the Wilson County Judge, was conducted on portions of 41WN104 that will be impacted by park improvements. The proposed improvements for the Jackson Nature Park will consist of the construction of a pavilion, a headquarters building and the addition of a septic tank. The three planned facilities will be connected with water and utilities lines. The construction of …

Forty-Two Thousand And One Dalmatians: Fads, Social Contagion, And Dog Breed Popularity, Harold A. Herzog

Pets Collection

Like other cultural variants, tastes in companion animals (pets) can shift rapidly. An analysis of American Kennel Club puppy registrations from 1946 through 2003 (N = 48,598,233 puppy registrations) identified rapid but transient large-scale increases in the popularity of specific dog breeds. Nine breeds of dogs showed particularly pronounced booms and busts in popularity. On average, the increase (boom) phase in these breeds lasted 14 years, during which time annual new registrations increased 3,200%. Equally steep decreases in registrations for the breeds immediately followed these jumps in popularity. The existence of extreme fluctuations in preferences for dog breeds has implications …

Isotope Sourcing Of Prehistoric Willow And Tule Textiles Recovered From Western Great Basin Rock Shelters And Caves: Proof Of Concept, Larry V. Benson, E. M. Hattori, H. E. Taylor, S. R. Poulson, E. A. Jolie

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Isotope and trace-metal analyses were used to determine the origin of plants used to manufacture prehistoric textiles (basketry and matting) from archaeological sites in the western Great Basin. Research focused on strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and oxygen (¹⁸O/¹⁶O) isotope ratios of willow (Salix sp.) and tule (Schoenoplectus sp.), the dominant raw materials in Great Basin textiles. The oxygen-isotope data indicated that the willow and tule used to produce the textiles were harvested from the banks of rivers or in marshes characterized by flowing water and not from lakes or sinks. The strontium-isotope …

Success In Identification Of Experimentally Fragmented Limb Bone Shafts: Implications For Estimates Of Skeletal Element Abundance In Archaeofaunas, Travis Rayne Pickering, Charles P. Egeland, Amy G. Schnell, Daniel L. Osborne, Jake Enk

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

A strong pattern of high hindlimb representation (especially tibiae) was recognized in our survey of zooarchaeological analyses that included limb bone shafts in estimates of element abundance in assemblages from the Old and New Worlds, from widely spread time periods and with various hominid species that acted as bone accumulators. Inter-element differences in bone mineral density and carcass transport behavior by hominids do not explain the pattern satisfactorily. We hypothesized that shaft fragments of hindlimb elements (especially tibiae) might be more “intrinsically identifiable” than are fragments from other limb bones, and constructed an experiment to test this idea. Whole limb …