Digital Commons Network^™

Estimating The Sex Of A Skeleton Using Measurements Of The Femur: Assessing Accuracy Among People Of Different Ancestry And Historic Periods, Hannah Decker

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Two of the most common elements used for sex estimation in humans are the pelvis and the skull, as measurements of these two regions can provide highly accurate results. However, in some forensic cases and archaeological sites, the skull and pelvis may be damaged or missing. As a result, it is important to develop methods for estimating the sex of an individual from other bones of the body. In this study, I specifically examined the femur and determined classification accuracy rates for six femoral measurements: the supero-inferior neck diameter, epicondylar breadth, vertical head diameter, transverse femoral head diameter, femoral shaft …

The Suburbanization Of The Assyrian Refugees And Migrant Families And Its Implications On The Assyrian Ethnic Identity, Saidouri Zomaya

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis argues that living in Albany Park, Chicago, is a personal and unique experience for Assyrian refugees and migrant families despite mutual feelings of belonging that residents may experience while living in the neighborhood. Along with the social and political factors that impact one’s experience of mobility and integration, “agency” plays an instrumental role in deciding whether to remain connected to one's community, potentially impacting one’s Assyrian identity and future generations. I utilize a qualitative research approach by interviewing Assyrian refugees and migrant families to shed light on the stories of the Assyrian community in Chicago. This research demonstrates …

Examining Diet, Mobility, And Social Dynamics In Southern Medieval France Using A Multi-Isotopic And Gis Approach, Jane Holmstrom

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Exploring dietary choices during life and status after death provides information about status and identity within an evolving and expanding Christian community. Through a combination of multi-isotopic analyses (carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, strontium), GIS mapping, and historical evidence, the life story of Medieval French Christians, buried in the elite cemetery of Saint-Jean de Todon (9th – 13th century) (n = 192) and lower-status cemetery of Saint-Victor-la-Coste (9th – 13th century) (n = 21), can be elucidated. Dietary differences were found between the two cemetery populations using carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis from bone collagen. Incorporating archaeological evidence with isotopic data, a …

Identifying Skeletal Trauma Markers Associated With Intimate Partner Violence (Ipv), Haley K. Omeasoo

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Objectives: This is a validation study of Biddle (2019), where much of the same materials are used, with the addition of new data from other databases to include more Native American and minority samples. A comparison database will also be analyzed against this data, with known cases of live individuals assaulted and assessed by health officials, some in IPV situations. All data is analyzed to discover which fracture locations are most common in IPV situations and which ethnic, sex, and age groups are most affected. Most fractures analyzed are those of the maxillofacial area, concentrating on the Zygomaticomaxillary Complex (ZMC) …

The Syndemic Landscape: A New Paradigm For Montana Suicide Prevention Grounded In Agricultural Renewal, Emory Chandler Padgett

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Montana has had one of the highest suicide rates in the nation for half a century, and since 2000, it has risen almost 50%. Despite suicide’s alarming persistence in the state, there has been minimal academic study of suicide or mental health specifically in Montana, so this thesis attempts to answer a few questions: Why does Montana have such a high suicide rate? Is there something culturally, historically, or socially unique about Montana that contributes to suicide? Are current prevention efforts helpful, harmful, or lacking? Could a consideration of culture and land benefit an understanding of suicide in Montana? What …

The Effects Humidity & Temperature Has On Dna Contamination During Storage, Samantha L. Ramey

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Studies have been conducted on DNA cross-contamination throughout the criminal investigation process in order to evaluation the possibility that DNA from one sample could potentially influence the outcome of another. However, no published studies have examined the potential for contamination during the storage of genetic evidence after samples have been taken from crime scenes or suspects. This study is a continuation of a preliminary project, which examined storage drying time in relation to cross-contamination. The current study tested temperature and humidity for the potential of cross-contamination during storage prior to extraction. Prior to storage, 50 μl of male saliva was …

Traversing Paradigms: An Environmental Journey To Body And Mind, Martin Ceja Mejia

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Traumatic life experiences altered the way I perceive the world. As a result, I embark on a journey to reshape my relationship to self, the built and natural world; to environment. In this thesis I ask: How do I want to relate to the environment? Considering I am a doubly colonized agent, I also aim to decolonize my relationship to environment along the process. Therefore, this work aims to formulate a new, personal, relationship to environment through academic literature, history, psychology, Indigenous knowledge and science, and literary studies, among other fields of knowledge. This work is interdisciplinary in nature; life …

A Comprehensive Forensic Case Report With The University Of Montana Forensic Anthropology Lab University Of Montana Forensic Case #167, Tyler J. Trettin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This report consists of an inventory of the skeletal remains of case# 167, assessment of the minimum number of individuals (MNI), a biological profile if possible, and a literature review of the assessment and understanding of ballistic trauma. The skeletal remains are consistent with an MNI of one. The remains are likely from a male individual, and skeletal features are representative of a person of Caucasian ancestry. The individual is estimated to be between of 35-65 years old with an estimated stature of between 5’5” and 5’9”.

Y-Chromosome Dna Extraction From Post-Cranial Skeletal Elements, Mykala D. Ward

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The use of DNA in forensic science has become an integral tool for victim and perpetrator identifications, missing person’s cases, paternity testing, etc. A major use of DNA is in the identification of unknown deceased individuals. With a reported number of individuals well over 8,000 in the United States, improved methods to accurately collect and analyze DNA from modern human bone are needed.

This project took the preliminary steps to improve DNA sampling and extraction methods by analyzing the Y-chromosome DNA yield from the two bone types. While both types are composed of the same materials, cortical bone is the …

A Place Of Small Canoes: An Archaeological Investigation Of Cayucos, California, Kaya E. Wiggins

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Located on the Central Coast, within the northern portion of Estero Bay, Cayucos remains an under-investigated area, and with over 8,000 years of human occupation there, it has the potential to inform about local and regional precontact history. Though relatively few archaeological investigations have occurred in Cayucos, by synthesizing studies in the area, a baseline of information emerges to build upon. This thesis reviews every recorded archaeological site with a precontact component, in the vicinity of Cayucos. These records, along with other relevant studies and theoretical framework, provide clues about the past associated with local settlement, technology, and the environment. …

Counter Archives: Unfolding Hidden Stories, Berlin Loa

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

We select what we value as history creating collective memory that can obfuscate or devalue other threads in the story intentionally or unintentionally. Through collections of material culture, curated and described by archivists, we receive information that constructs our collective memory of self. These cultural artifacts reflect and reconstruct the past. Material artifacts in the archives depend largely on the story that is told about their provenance to provide meaning. This paper takes photographic collections in archives as examples of material culture to demonstrate how archival presentation affects the stories of collections items, and examines modalities and subverted stories in …

You Can’T Build A Canoe Online: Activism And Identity In Indigenous Taiwan, Adam King Hinden

Senior Independent Study Theses

The Republic of China is the current government occupying the island of Taiwan –– a multiethnic land that has been populated by diverse groups for thousands of years. Today, these groups continue to face a range of adversities on behalf of the colonial government. Further, the island’s internet is dominated by Western social media platforms that exclude native modes of communication. Through ethnographic surveys and interviews, this study explores how indigenous Taiwanese activists understand their own identities, strategies of activism, and relationships to social media platforms to interrogate dominant postcolonial frameworks. It comes to two separate yet linked conclusions regarding …

Growth In Snapping Turtle, Chelydra Serpentina (Testudines: Chelydridae) In Northern Indiana, John B. Iverson, Geoffrey R. Smith, Jessica E. Rettig

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Classic Period Dune Settlement In The Eastern Lower Papaloapan Basin, Southern Veracruz, Mexico, Kyle Edward Mullen

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This dissertation is an archaeological investigation into the long-term settlement change of an ecologically distinct portion of the Eastern Lower Papaloapan Basin (ELPB) of southern Veracruz, Mexico, before, during, and after the fluorescence of the Tres Zapotes polity. This project examines the changing settlement history in an area of near-coastal paleodunes and estuarine lakes in the northern ELPB, addressing the question: “What processes account for variations in the distribution of occupation on the dune landscape through time?” I argue that the answer lies at the intersection of specific environmental, economic, and political factors in the ELPB over time.

Assessing Stress Biomarkers As Embodied Identity In Kentucky’S Green River Archaic, Anna-Marie Casserly

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

The primary goal of this bioarchaeology dissertation research is to investigate the relationship between evidence of social identity and indicators of biological stress in the Green River region of Kentucky during the Late Archaic period (5,000-3,000 BP). Utilizing a biocultural perspective, I examine the ways that aspects of identity and social organization are embodied through the experience of biological stress. This research explores how social differences influence the patterning of osteological stress markers in an Archaic population while problematizing categories of difference that are often naturalized in bioarchaeology, such as gender or age cohorts. In so doing, it contributes to …

Otavalan Women Weavers: Rethinking Gendered Labor And Crafts In Ecuador, Kaitlin Marie Zapel

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This research focuses on the gendered labor of craft production and distribution of Otavaleños, an indigenous group in the Imbabura Valley in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. Otavalans are often described as a society of weavers with strong gender divisions. Households typically function as units of production, with tasks ideally broken down along gender lines. Women are generally depicted as secondary workers who do not weave the textiles that make Otavalans famous; however, they are generally perceived as being responsible for selling these textiles in the market. This research argues that current gendered labor relations in Otavalan textile production can …

‘I Went To The One Game In Town’: Obstetric And Maternity Unit Closures, Dwindling Birth Choices, And Resilience In Rural Appalachia, Sia Beasley

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

Obstetric and maternity health services are being rapidly eliminated in the rural United States, making maternal care more difficult to access and causing negative birth outcomes. Service closures have a magnified impact in Appalachia due to histories of systemic regional and state policy practices which devalue the lives of people living rural areas, local economic marginalization, geographic barriers, and insufficient health infrastructures. This research investigates how women living in rural Appalachia navigate pregnancy and birth amidst constant care closures. The Sunflower Mountain Region is a seven-county area in rural Southern Appalachia. The region has experienced ongoing obstetric closures over the …

Wetland Construction, Restoration, And Integration: A Comparative Review, Douglas J. Spieles

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

“Traditional Mexican Midwifery” Tourism Excludes Indigenous “Others” And Threatens Sustainability, Rosalynn A. Vega

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Drawn by the allure of “ancient cultures,” tourists inadvertently consume deauthenticated indigenous practices, including ethnomedical traditions such as midwifery. This is especially true in the case of “Traditional Mexican Midwifery” since stark differences exist between how midwifery practices unfold in indigenous contexts and how they are represented to global tourists. “Traditional Mexican Midwifery” tourism is a unique lens for examining some of the underlying, intersectional issues threatening “sustainability” in ethnomedical tourism. When nonindigenous individuals position themselves as representatives of “Traditional Mexican Midwifery” and indigenous midwives are excluded from profit chains, this type of tourism not only fails to meet the …

“ขอเป็นเด็กเลวในประวัติศาสตร์ไทย”: การร่วมเวลาและการรื้อถอนเขตแดนเวลาในการเคลื่อนไหวทางการเมืองของนักเรียนมัธยมผ่านแคมเปญของเครือข่ายกลุ่ม “นักเรียนเลว”, กันต์ นาเมืองรักษ์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

วิทยานิพนธ์เล่มนี้ได้ทำการศึกษาความเปลี่ยนแปลงในการรับรู้ประวัติศาสตร์ของสังคมไทยจากปฏิสัมพันธ์ทางสังคมเชิงเวลาที่กลุ่มนักเรียนเลวได้สร้างขึ้นในสังคมไทยผ่านแคมเปญและกิจกรรมทางการเมืองต่างๆ โดยงานวิจัยชิ้นนี้ได้ใช้มโนทัศน์ “การร่วมเวลา” และ “เขตแดนเวลา” ที่เกิดจากการบรรจบกันของปฏิสัมพันธ์ทางสังคมภายใต้พลวัตของ "ความเป็นสังคม” แบบสมัยใหม่ที่แยก “ความเป็นประวัติศาสตร์” และ “ความเป็นประวัติการณ์” ออกจากกัน และใช้ชาติพันธุ์วรรณนาเชิงสถาบันที่ใช้จุดยืนทางสังคมของผู้ถูกศึกษาอย่างกลุ่มนักเรียนเลวและแนวร่วมเป็นวิธีวิทยาหลักในการสืบเสาะกระบวนการทางสังคมและเล่าผ่านการเขียนวิทยานิพนธ์ชิ้นนี้ จากการศึกษาปฏิสัมพันธ์ทางสังคมในระดับต่างๆ ของกลุ่มเครือข่ายนักเรียนเลวและแนวร่วม ผู้วิจัยได้ทำการเล่าออกมาเป็น 3 บท โดยการใช้การข้องเกี่ยวทางสังคมเชิงเวลา 3 แบบเป็นแกนในการเล่า ได้แก่ ความทรงจำของการเป็นนักเรียน การต่อสู้สิทธิเสรีภาพเหนือเรือนร่างของนักเรียน และสถานะของนักเรียนในฐานะเยาวชนในการเมืองระดับชาติ อันสะท้อนถึงการร่วมอดีต ปัจจุบัน และอนาคตในการต่อสู้ทางการเมืองร่วมสมัย ซึ่งกลุ่มนักเรียนเลวได้ใช้กลวิธีและทรัพยากรต่างๆ ในการเคลื่อนไหวได้อย่างโดดเด่น จนทลาย "พรมแดนเวลา" ของการเติบโตทางความคิดเกี่ยวกับความเป็นผู้เยาว์แบบอนุรักษ์จารีตนิยมในวัฒนธรรมไทยได้สำเร็จ ซึ่งมีนัยยะสำคัญต่อแนวคิดเรื่องความก้าวหน้าทางสังคม แต่ก็ทำให้เห็นถึงการแบ่งขั้วทางเวลาที่เข้มข้นขึ้นในสังคมไทยไปด้วย ส่งผลให้ความเป็นผู้เยาว์กลายเป็นวาระทางการเมืองในสังคมไทยไปโดยสมบูรณ์

จิตอาสาใต้โลกแห่งความเสี่ยงทางสิ่งแวดล้อม: การคิดย้อนสะท้อนกลับและการสื่อสารของนักดำน้ำอาสาสมัครในประเทศไทย, จุฑามณี สมบูรณ์สุทธิ์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

การวิจัยเรื่อง "จิตอาสาใต้โลกแห่งความเสี่ยงทางสิ่งแวดล้อม: การคิดย้อนสะท้อนกลับและการสื่อสารของนักดำน้ำอาสาสมัครในประเทศไทย" มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อ 1) ศึกษาการคิดย้อนสะท้อนกลับของนักดำน้ำอาสาสมัครที่เกี่ยวข้องกับการเปลี่ยนแปลงของสื่อ 2) ศึกษาสาเหตุ ปฏิบัติการการคิดย้อนสะท้อนกลับและการตอบโต้ของนักดำน้ำต่อสถานการณ์สังคมเสี่ยงวิกฤตทะเลไทย และ 3) ศึกษาสังคมเสี่ยงของการท่องเที่ยวที่ส่งผลกระทบต่อนักดำน้ำและการคิดย้อนสะท้อนกลับ ปรับตัว วิธีการวิจัยใช้การสัมภาษณ์ระดับลึกควบคู่กับการเข้าไปมีส่วนร่วมทำงานเป็นนักดำน้ำอาชีพ นักดำน้ำอาสาสมัครและเข้าฝึกเพื่อเป็นนักดำน้ำเพื่อการอนุรักษ์ในค่ายทหาร พื้นที่หลักในการศึกษา ประกอบด้วย เกาะเต่า จังหวัดสุราษฎร์ธานีและเกาะพระ จังหวัดชลบุรี กลุ่มตัวอย่างประกอบด้วย นักดำน้ำอาชีพ นักดำน้ำอาสาสมัคร ผู้มีส่วนได้ส่วนเสียและหน่วยงานที่เกี่ยวข้อง รวมจำนวน 53 คน ผลการวิจัยพบว่า การนำเสนอข่าวสังคมความเสี่ยงของสื่อส่งผลให้เกิดการคิดย้อนสะท้อนกลับและนำไปสู่การเปลี่ยนแปลงรูปแบบการดำน้ำให้เป็นนักดำน้ำอาสาสมัครในบริบทต่างๆ นอกจากนี้ ปัจจัยที่ส่งผลให้นักดำน้ำเกิดการคิดย้อนสะท้อนกลับและผันตัวเป็นอาสาสมัครใต้ทะเล ประกอบด้วย ประสบการณ์ตรงจากการลงไปสัมผัสโลกใต้ทะเล ความขัดแย้งทางทะเลและการเข้าร่วมอบรมด้านการอนุรักษ์ นักดำน้ำใช้วิธีจัดการปัญหาสังคมเสี่ยงและโต้ตอบผ่านสื่อด้วยการทำหน้าที่เป็นนักสื่อสารพลเมืองใต้ทะเล โดยใช้กล้องถ่ายรูปใต้น้ำควบคู่กับเครือข่ายสังคมออนไลน์ วิธีปรับตัวของนักดำน้ำภายใต้สังคมเสี่ยงแบบทุนนิยม คือการพัฒนาทักษะความรู้ สร้างจุดเด่น สร้างความเชี่ยวชาญเฉพาะด้านและนำความรู้มาใช้ในงานอาสาสมัครเพื่อเคลื่อนไหวสังคม

Invited Perspective - Engaging Aspirations To Nurture Communities, Kentaro Toyama

Subsistence Marketplaces

For subsistence communities, the question is whether aspirations can be applied to motivate behavior that is, on the one hand consistent with people’s aspirations, but which might otherwise be difficult to elicit. Could poorer households be encouraged to save, to spend more on their children’s education, or to act against unhealthy social norms? A couple of examples suggest this is not only possible, but highly successful in contexts where other appeals fail.

A Language For The World: The Standardization Of Swahili, Morgan J. Robinson

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

This intellectual history of Standard Swahili explores the long-term, intertwined processes of standard making and community creation in the historical, political, and cultural contexts of East Africa and beyond.

Morgan J. Robinson argues that the portability of Standard Swahili has contributed to its wide use not only across the African continent but also around the globe. The book pivots on the question of whether standardized versions of African languages have empowered or oppressed. It is inevitable that the selection and promotion of one version of a language as standard—a move typically associated with missionaries and colonial regimes—negatively affected those …

Cargoes In Motion: Materiality And Connectivity Across The Indian Ocean, Burkhard Schnepel, Julia Verne

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

An innovative collection of essays that foregrounds specific cargoes as a means to understand connectivity and mobility across the Indian Ocean world.

Scholars have long appreciated the centrality of trade and commerce in understanding the connectivity and mobility that underpin human experience in the Indian Ocean region. But studies of merchant and commercial activities have paid little attention to the role that cargoes have played in connecting the disparate parts of this vast oceanic world. Drawing from the work of anthropologists, geographers, and historians, Cargoes in Motion tells the story of how material objects have informed and continue to shape …

Traditional Healing In Psychology On The Caribbean Island Of Montserrat, West Indies, Yvette Adelcia Cabey

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In Montserrat, traditional healing medicines consist of herbal treatments and customary therapeutic methods such as ritual practices and herbal teas also known as “Bush and Weed” (Duberry, 1973, p.1). The purpose of this study is to discuss herbs known as “Bush,” in Montserrat, and how they benefit psychological wellbeing among the communities in Montserrat. A subsequent intention of this study is to address how an understanding of Montserratian Traditional Healing remedies can be beneficial to Western Psychological practice and enhance the efficacy for psychological healing. The gap in the literature indicates that few studies are examining mental health methods in …

Experimental Archaeology: Assessing Methods In Lithic Debitage Analysis, Eva Larson

Departmental Honors Projects

Although often referred to as ‘waste’ flakes, lithic debitage can provide a great deal of information about how past peoples lived and created their stone tools. While we can never have all the answers, lithic debitage analysis can help us fill in these historic gaps. This thesis employs lithic debitage analysis of nine experiments provided by expert flintknapper Dan Wendt to better understand early biface, late biface, and core/flake reduction techniques. Recording attributes including flake class, raw material, general size characteristics, platform grinding, platform lip, percussion bulb, and flake termination allow for a thorough and impressive dataset. Additionally, Wendt’s experiments …

Assessment Of Lithic Reduction Methods, Hannah Dory Bergene

Departmental Honors Projects

The way lithic artifacts are analyzed is critical to understand human behavior. How lithic attributes are measured can add important context to archaeological sites and experimental lithic collections. By re-evaluating the way we analyze lithic reduction strategies and measure lithic attributes, we can come to a conclusion as to how they compare. In the project that will be described, nine lithic experiments created by expert flintknapper, Dan Wendt, will be measured and analyzed in accordance with the Hamline University Archaeology Lab Debitage Analysis Protocol. Assessing the data collected from these nine experimental collections allowed me and my fellow researcher, Eva …

Utilizing Geographic Information Systems To Explore The Mortuary Landscape At Kuelap, Peru, Hannah Haynes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The placement of the dead is important for considering social memory, a source of collective knowledge and experiences that shapes social group identity. Mortuary placement is one form of ritual action that communities undertake to remember the dead. This allows anthropologists to ask questions about how humans engaged socially with each other and the landscape. This thesis utilizes an innovative methodological approach combining geographic information systems (GIS) and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis to investigate mortuary variation and social identity within the Late Intermediate Period site (A.D. 800 – 1535) Kuelap in the northern Peruvian Andes. Spatial, demographic, and …

Examining The Function Of Stone Wrapping Behavioral Pattern In Balinese Long-Tailed Macaques (Macaca Fascicularis), Patricia Mitchell

All Master's Theses

Long-tailed macaques (LTMs, Macaca fascicularis) have multiple stone handling (SH) patterns that vary in form and complexity across different populations, but little is known about the group of Balinese LTM’s motivation to wrap stones in the Monkey Forest of Ubud, Indonesia. This study focuses on whether the SH pattern, wrap (WRP), is an object play behavior with the potential of becoming a more functionally complex behavior (e.g., tool use). SH sequences were collected using all-occurrence and focal sampling and examined using the program Behavioral Observation Research Interactive Software (BORIS). In total, 322 minutes of footage were reviewed for both stones …

Geomorphic History And Preservation Of Archaeologically Significant Areas In The Hanford Reach Of The Columbia River, Washington State, Benjamin Deans

All Master's Theses

Archaeological sites near rivers may be preserved through burial, altered by exposure, or destroyed through erosion. Preserved because of the unusual needs of the Manhattan Project, the Hanford Reach is the only remaining free-flowing reach of the Columbia River and ideal for research into the geomorphic settings of archaeological sites along this river. The 1894 (742,000 cfs [20,900 m³/s]) and 1948 (690,000 cfs [19,000 m³/s]) floods were the largest in the historical record through the reach, but their relationship with geomorphic change and site preservation are less understood. To understand how floods have preserved and destroyed …