Digital Commons Network^™

Front Matter & Editorial, The Editorial Board

'Atiqot

Wine consumption is an ongoing social act practiced on domestic, religious and state level, and as such, it defines social status, cultural affiliation and identity. The current volume presents a varied range of studies that broadly consider wine, wine production and trade in the Southern Levant.

A Comparative Study Of Weavings Of Two Disparate Cultures: Finding The Similarities In Handcrafts, Monica Lowe

Theses

This thesis is a study of the similarities between the traditional weavings of two indigenous cultures who appear to be culturally unrelated, the West African Ewe and the Peruvian Quechua located in the Cusco Province. Its purview includes the purpose it serves, who does the craft, and meanings woven into the textiles. The focus of this thesis is based on a theory that across human cultures, iconographies and archetypes are demonstratively the same, with similar collective, unconscious meanings. The overall theory is that handcrafts are an important consideration when demonstrating a reflection of human cultural similarities in beliefs, community, and …

Rural Complexity In The Intermediate Bronze Age: Settlement Patterns And Intra-Site Spatial Organization In Lower Galilee, Karen Covello-Paran

'Atiqot

This study explores the settlement patterns in Intermediate Bronze Age Lower Galilee, focusing on the Ḥorbat Qishron sites and their socio-economic organization. The spatial arrangement and the hierarchical structures of the settlements are analyzed, particularly in light of the discovery of a walled settlement at Ḥorbat Qishron South, a unique feature in this period. The study also considers the implications of settlement patterns for economic activities, social organization and communal endeavors, shedding light on the role of households as basic economic units and the potential of centralized economic models. Furthermore, it discusses the significance of ceramic assemblages, radiocarbon dating and …

The Village People: Social Aspects Of Rural Settlements—Comments On Method And Theory, Eyal Regev

'Atiqot

The village is usually viewed as a basic geographic and economic unit, characterized by unsophisticated social organization, limited interpersonal ties and weak external social networks. However, studies in rural archaeology and anthropology revealed that village life was more complex. This article offers a survey of several key theoretical issues relevant for interpreting archaeological remains of villages, farmsteads and estates/villas from a social perspective. It focuses mainly on the organization of the settlement as a holistic unit and the specific houses/households within it. The article seeks to explore the complex correlation between the spatial and social aspects of rural housing—the way …

Front Matter & Editorial, The Editorial Board

'Atiqot

Table of Contents and Editorial

Usa Archaeology Museum Newsletter - October 2024, Archaeology Museum

Archaeology Museum Newsletters

In this edition of the museum's newsletter:

• Fall Semester Exhibitions
• Alabama Archaeological Society, Southwest Chapter Presents
• Alabama Archaeology Day
• Arkhaios Film Festival and Movie Cosplay Contest
• USA By the Bay: Archaeological Studies on the Gulf Coast
• Project Archaeology Educator's Conference
• Legacies of Slavery & the Shared History of the South
• Museum Fall Semester Closures
• Giving to the Archaeology Museum

Palette Of Perspective: Designing An Inclusive Art History Curriculum, Amy Bettencourt

Theses

This project aims to develop an inclusive art history curriculum as a high school level course, addressing the traditional Western-centric focus that has been marginalized non-Western contributions. By pairing Western and non-Western artworks within a chronological framework, students can compare artistic expressions across cultures, emphasizing parallel histories rather than a single Eurocentric narrative. The curriculum employs diverse interpretive methodologies to foster critical thinking and challenge conventional narrative. Designed for a 20-week semester, it focuses on a smaller number of key artworks per unit to encourage meaningful engagement and projects. While still rooted in Western art, the course connects global artistic …

Hatshepsut And Akhenaten: Dualities Of Gender, Religion, And Implementation Of Queer Theory, Sadie Anderson

Theses

This paper discusses 18th Dynasty pharaohs Hatshepsut and Akhenaten and the images they portrayed during their reigns. Hatshepsut, though being female, adhered to the preconstructed image of a traditional male pharaoh while Akhenaten defied the long-established artistic canon in order to create a more androgynous pharaonic identity. Both did this to legitimize their rule, connect themselves to divinity, and interpret the duality of gender innate to Egyptian religion through their iconography. Hatshepsut’s masculine depictions cemented her as the father of the polytheistic Egyptian empire over which she reigned. Akhenaten’s more androgynous representations, on the other hand, portrayed him as both …

Human Remains In Now-Extreme Cave Settings: Exploring Ancient Funerary Practices, Andrea Demjén, Florin Gogaltan, Szilárd Gall, Călin Ghemiș, Viorel Traian Lascu, Bogdan Petroniu Onac, Ioana Nicoleta Meleg

FRONTIERS UNBOUND: Exploring Extreme Environments

No abstract provided.

Technoculture And Language Models In Archaeology: Reconstructing And Preserving Cultural Narratives Through Digital Humanities, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

Technoculture, which examines the intersection of culture and technology, has increasingly permeated archaeological practice, transforming both scholarly research and public engagement [1-3]. The introduction of digital tools such as virtual reality (VR), geographic information systems (GIS), and large language models (LLMs) has democratized access to archaeological knowledge, enabling communities to engage more actively with their cultural heritage [4-6]. This short article explores the mutual influence of technocultural studies and AI technologies on archaeology, with a focus on the preservation and reconstruction of cultural narratives through digital means.

The first aspect of this intersection lies in how technocultural tools are creating …

Archaeology In Space: The Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (Square) On The International Space Station. Report 1: Squares 03 And 05, Justin St. P. Walsh, Shawn Graham, Alice C. Gorman, Chantal Brousseau, Salma Abdullah

Art Faculty Articles and Research

Between January and March 2022, crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) performed the first archaeological fieldwork in space, the Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (SQuARE). The experiment aimed to: (1) develop a new understanding of how humans adapt to life in an environmental context for which we are not evolutionarily adapted, using evidence from the observation of material culture; (2) identify disjunctions between planned and actual usage of facilities on a space station; (3) develop and test techniques that enable archaeological research at a distance; and (4) demonstrate the relevance of social science methods and perspectives for improving life …

Segundo Congreso Internacional De Iconografía Precolombina, 2023. Actas, Victòria Solanilla Demestre

Zea E-Books Collection

El objetivo de este II Congreso fue, como en el anterior, abrir un espacio de reflexión propositiva y multidisciplinaria para que, a partir de análisis de objetos plásticos u otras manifestaciones concretas, así como de documentos escritos, se pudiera replantear la importancia de la imagen y de la interpretación iconográfica como fuente de conocimiento de las culturas precolombinas. Es el momento de seguir aceptando nuevos enfoques pluridisciplinares o si se quiere más “humanísticos” que nos den una visión lo más completa posible, a través de la iconografía, del pasado precolombino tan rico en imágenes y símbolos.

Contribuciones de Luz Adriana …

Imperial Architecture And Absolute Chronology In The Inka State: The View From Northern Chile, Beau G. Murphy

Anthropology ETDs

Scholars often evaluate the political aspects of imperial architecture in terms of the symbolism of specific buildings, leaving a gap in our understanding of the political calculations of overall site layouts. This study of the architecture of the Inka provincial capital of Turi, located in the Atacama of northern Chile, identifies aspects of planning in the site’s layout that extend our knowledge of the use of architecture by past empires to communicate political messages. In so doing, the study addresses multi-scalar issues of a neglected Inka chronology, including the chronology of Turi itself, of Inka rule of the Upper Loa …

Building Materials Cut From The Earth: A Look At Sod Construction Around The World And In New Mexico, Giulia Caporuscio

Architecture and Planning ETDs

Terrón, or sod, is an earthen building technology that is being lost. The blocks are cut directly from the ground, generally along banks of bodies of fresh water, marshlands, or grassland valleys. The resulting blocks are clay rich with plant root systems that provide strength to the construction material. This building material is found in archeological and modern structures around the world. Today the material and knowledge behind this earthen technology is being lost.

This paper starts by summarizing other studies of sod construction in Indigenous cultures of the Americas, homesteaders of the Plains of the United States and Canada …

Three Zafimaniry Carvings From The Southern Highlands Of Madagascar And Their Symbolic Meaning, Emily Krupp

Theses

The Zafimaniry people are a community living in the southern highlands of Madagascar, most known for their geometric, low-relief works of art that they carve onto wooden surfaces throughout their villages. The shapes that make up the designs signify the Zafimaniry people's ideologies, but motifs carved into the homes specifically represent their beliefs about marriage and societal structure. Three metaphorical symbols have been translated within the motifs by the Zafimaniry people as the patriarch, the family, and the community. A comparative cultural study between the motifs on Zafimaniry window shutters and Swahili doorways reveal similarities in material culture, visual elements …

Mill Point (8hi16-20) And Mosaic Park (8hi6747) In The Pre-Columbian And Historic Periods, Dennis Pierson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the participation of the Mill Point archaeological complex (8HI16-20) and the adjacent Mosaic Park archaeological site (8HI6747) in the changing cultural, economic, and geopolitical relationships that took place among the Indigenous polities present in the Tampa Bay region of southwest Florida during the pre-Columbian and early Spanish colonial periods. Political economy theory provides a framework for understanding the interactions that occurred among them.

Historical accounts, ground reconnaissance, surface survey, repeat aerial photography, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were used to gain a better understanding of the archaeological significance of the sites. The …

Applying Decolonizing Theories And Methodologies In Archaeology To Two Collaborative Cultural Resource Management Projects, Cydney K. Lanthier

Dissertations and Theses

Decolonizing theories and methods were employed during two separate graduate research projects. The methods of the initial project were informed by political ecology, the landscape-level historical ecology theory, Tribal sovereignty, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), Indigenous archaeology, and community based participatory research (CBPR). The initial project was based entirely on CBPR and purposed to gain National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) nomination as a Traditional Cultural Property (TCP) over a portion of the traditional landscape. This project was cancelled before completion. However, several methods involved in CBPR were employed before then. The second project took on more of the historical ecology …

Korean Newspapers And The “Irish Problem”: Japanese Censorship In Colonial Korea, 1920-1930, Jaehyun Kim

Student Work

Jaehyun Kim’s thesis, “Korean Newspapers and the ‘Irish Problem’: Japanese Censorship in Colonial Korea, 1920-1930,” touches upon a subject that scholars of colonial Korea have given insufficient attention to. Kim asks why there featured so many colonial Korean run newspaper articles on the Irish Independent movement in the 1920s and 1930s when the Japanese colonial government actively censored Korean newspapers. Indeed, in the wake of the March First Independent Movement, the colonial authorities shifted its harsh military rule to a more conciliatory cultural policy, allowing Koreans to vent their nationalistic sentiments within the confines of state control. However, the level …

The One-And-A-Half Chinas’ Problem: Taiwan And The Origins Of Peaceful Reunification, 1978–1988, Lucas Miner

Student Work

Lucas Miner’s thesis, “The One-and-a-Half Chinas’ Problem, Taiwan and the Origins of Peaceful Reunification, 1978–1988,” deals with attempts by the Chinese Communist Party and the Guomindang to achieve unification between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan during the early phase of China’s reform era. The thesis seeks to update our interpretation of Cross-Strait relations by exploring the origins of peaceful reunification, tracing its early evolution from 1978 to 1985. Primary sources from both sides of the strait—especially from the rich repository at the Academia Historica in Taipei—allows Miner to construct a nuanced and significant narrative that uniquely incorporates …

Threading With Hair // Intertwined Stories, Cloris Ding

Masters Theses

“Threading with Hair // Intertwined Stories” is a poignant exploration that navigates the nuanced landscape of women's growth and identity recognition amidst biased societal influences, tracing the trajectory from the artist’s mother's generation to her own. Through a deeply personal lens, the thesis transcends individual narratives to articulate some shared female experiences. Employing reflective works in the form of jewelry, objects and writings, the study delves into female-centric topics, including the fluidity of identity, the transformative journey through various life stages, and the profound impact of societal expectations and family heritage. At the heart of this exploration is the metaphorical …

Aita O Paul Gauguin I Ite I Te Parau I Te Reo Tahiti: The Colonial Implications Of Paul Gauguin’S Incorrect Tahitian, Elise Hatch

Pacific Studies

No abstract provided.

Industrial Tenderness, Elbert Girón

Masters Theses

Industrial Tenderness surveys the relationship between visual language, cultural expression, and diasporic practices through the design of functional sculptures. These designed objects seek to communicate cultural legibility, or intuitive cultural belonging, to Mexican-American peoples by challenging legacy notions of design language. Through a proposed design language framework and designed objects, Industrial Tenderness seeks to affirm a pluriversal practice of industrial design.

Legacy industrial design confines design language to a heavily prescriptive canon, resulting in a stark monocultural language that is unrepresentative of perspectives outside of a legacy dominant white eurocentricity founded in thinking from the Bauhaus and Ulm schools. Through …

Forbidden Fruit: Mary Cassatt’S Mural Of “Modern Woman” At The World’S Columbian Exposition, Chicago 1893, Tricia Cusack

Dublin Gastronomy Symposium

This paper considers a large mural of “The Modern Woman” painted in France by the American artist Mary Cassatt for the Woman’s Building at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. It focuses in particular on the large central panel of the mural titled Young Women Plucking the Fruits of Knowledge or Science that depicts women and girls apple-picking. Cassatt’s mural drew on various traditions and myths. Apple harvesting was a common sight in America. Cassatt’s title though points to the story of Eve and forbidden fruit, in which Eve seeks knowledge, but is severely punished for it. Cassatt …

Knowledge Production And The Unthinkable: Weaving Stories Of Art, Gender, And Land, Christin Huntsman

Master's Theses

Colonialism is deeply and violently embedded in Western knowledge formation—dominant power structures produce epistemes that uphold and perpetuate colonial narratives. This kind of knowledge production forecloses other possibilities. Western discourse of truth becomes universalized to the point that other worldviews, other knowledges that do not conform to hegemonic norms, are suppressed or silenced. This thesis examines three areas of hegemony and erasure: art, gender, and land. First, the history of art clearly marks a delineation between Western elitist artistic masterpieces and non-Western ethnographic artifacts. Eurocentrism of art in the academy determines what counts as art and how art is categorized. …

Texas Gothic, Taryn Uribe Turner

Art Theses and Dissertations

The emotional and the ecological combine to create my body of work titled, “Texas Gothic.” My thesis tells the stories of my oil paintings created through personal connections to a variety of landscapes, animals and experiences that share the setting of Texas.

Desire and regret take shape as animals and figures not fully formed or real. Unreliable narratives of the past are entangled with present tensions to create a painting that haunts and stalks.

And yet, there is hope!

Through nostalgia and sweetness and burdens, my paintings confront a shrouded future. The contradictions of time passing are explored in my …

The Question Of Design In The Context Of The First Australian Nations: Designing Reparations Through Decolonial Architecture, Eli Abamonte

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Forget about tourist postcards and picture-perfect landscapes. Australia's true heart beats in the ancient stories of the Indigenous communities that tell them, their vibrant cultural tapestry woven beneath the surface. My research dives into this tapestry, not as an Architect with blueprints imposing my own vision, but as a student with an open ear and collaborative spirit. Australia’s vastness holds countless stories, but my research led me deep into the heart of East Arnhem Land, where ancient legends whisper in the wind and the Yolngu people dwell. Anthropologists like Bruno Descola shattered my singular view of the world, revealing a …

Southern And Caribbean Transnational Black Feminist Dialogues In Contemporary Art, Adria Gunter

Theses and Dissertations

“Southern and Caribbean Black Feminist Transnational Dialogues in Contemporary Art” presents a Black feminist reading of the transnational cultural forms, as well as the political and social histories between the Southern United States and the Caribbean through the works of Andrea Chung, Allison Janae Hamilton, and Tamika Galanis.

Picturing Consumer Culture, Cultural Hybridity, And Womanhood: Farah Al Qasimi’S Photographs From 2012 To 2020, Minji Lee

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines Farah Al Qasimi’s 2012-2020 color photographs, arguing that this work presents a distinctive and salient critique of domesticity, material culture, and womanhood in the UAE. Through her lens as a woman and a culturally hybrid subject, Al Qasimi explores the tensions of modernization, globalization, consumerism, and gender.

Simulacra And Historical Fidelity In Digital Recreation Of Lost Cultural Heritage: Reconstituting Period Materialities For The Period Eye, Trent Olsen, James Hutson, Charles O'Brien, Jeremiah Ratican

Faculty Scholarship

The advancement of digital technologies in art history has opened avenues for reconstructing lost or damaged cultural heritage, a need highlighted by the deteriorated state of many artworks from the 1785 Salon. Grounded in the concept of the “Period Eye” by art historian Michael Baxandall, which emphasizes understanding artworks within their original historical and cultural contexts, this study proposes a subfield focused on Reconstituting Period Materialities for the Period Eye. This methodology bridges comprehensive historical research with generative visual artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, facilitating the creation and immersive virtual reality viewing of artworks. Beyond mere visual replication, the approach aims …

Origin Stories., Danielle Deeley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an investigation into the Peruvian pre-Columbian collection at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. The Speed Art Museum acquired this collection in 1934 and it has largely remained unresearched for nearly a century after acquisition into the museum’s collection. This investigation is not an attempt to make broad characterizations of pre-Columbian ceramics. Nor is its goal to fill in all the gaps of the collection’s history. Instead, this thesis follows the evidence the collection presents: the physical attributes of the ceramics, the donor’s history, U.S. history, and information from the collection file provided by the Speed …