Digital Commons Network^™

Prehistoric Human Impact On Tree Island Lifecycles In The Florida Everglades, Traci Ardren, Justin P. Lowry, Melissa Memory, Kelin Flanagan, Alexandra Busot

United States National Park Service: Publications

The current study provides a fine-grained analysis of evidence for sustained pre-Columbian human occupation and socio-ecological interaction within Everglades National Park. Utilizing archaeological data on dietary and cultural patterns recovered from recent excavations at a prehistoric tree island site, we argue the role of ancient human populations in the formation or augmentation of tree islands should be incorporated into environmental models of the tree island lifecycle. High phosphorus levels in human waste, especially the largely organic waste of prehistoric populations, as well as other anthropogenic factors have not been adequately factored into current environmental models of tree island formation or …

Class Iii Archaeological Survey Report: Madison Buffalo Jump State Park, Gallatin County, Montana, Brandon J. Bachman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Through a cooperative agreement between the University of Montana (UM) Department of Anthropology and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, the University of Montana, between 17 May and 1 June 2014, conducted an archaeological inventory of the 640-acre Madison Buffalo Jump State Park. Douglas Macdonald, Ph.D. and Sara Scott, Ph.D. managed the project for each institution, respectively. Copious amounts of artifacts and features alike were recorded at Madison Buffalo Jump during the survey, including: 1) 3-4 drive lines used in the funneling of bison to jump locations; 2) bison bone concentrations below the kill/nick point on the face of the jump; …

Exploring Mortuary Behaviors During The Rural Cemetery Movement In The Capital District Of New York State, Jeanette Carioto

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation investigates the leading causes behind mortuary behaviors in the Capital District of New York during the Rural Cemetery Movement. Four cemeteries were sampled: Oakwood Rural Cemetery, an established rural cemetery; Waterford Rural Cemetery and Blooming Grove Rural Cemetery, two smaller, non-sectarian cemeteries; and St. John’s Cemetery, a Catholic cemetery. The built and natural landscape was the focus during data collection and analysis, to reveal how the cemetery was experienced and how that experience was affected by and affected society. This study combines a quantitative statistical analysis and a qualitative phenomenological study of the cemeteries’ designs, gravestone data and …

Hegranesþing On Hegranes: Geophysical Prospection Interim Report 2013 – 2015, Brian N. Damiata, John M. Steinberg, John W. Schoenfelder, Douglas J. Bolender

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

Geophysical surveys were conducted at Hegranesþing on Hegranes in North Icelad during the summers of 2013 and 2015.

Cleaning Up Minnesota's Archeological Record With Maid: The Minnesota Archeological Integrated Database, Andrew Allen Brown

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Minnesota archeologists face many difficulties in conducting archeological research and managing the state's cultural resources such as a lack of standardized data formats and field/lab procedures, a lack of a centralized data repository, and insufficient existing databases. The purpose of this thesis is to build the foundation for a database system that addresses these difficulties along with being efficient and effective for entering, managing, and analyzing archeological data produced in the field and in the lab. The Minnesota Archeological Integrated Database is being built to be a long-lasting, constantly evolving system to be used by archeologists and cultural resource managers …

Archaeological Investigations And Historical Survey, Fort Wilkins Historic State Park: Keweenaw County, Michigan, Eric T. Pomber

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Michigan Technological University has been performing archaeological and historical surveys at Fort Wilkins Historic State Park as part of a multi-year contract since 2013 with each year’s work focused on different properties held by the Park. The 2015 field season focused on the 6 acre Copper Harbor Range Lighthouse (20KE33) property immediately west of Fanny Hooe Creek resulting in the identification of eight archaeological features through a combination of pedestrian survey, shovel pit testing, and excavation. Among the features identified are the Astor House (20KE83), an early hotel in the region which was noted in the writings of travelers visiting …

Burial Klinai And Totenmahl?, Elizabeth P. Baughan

Classical Studies Faculty Publications

How can burial furnishings help to clarify the meanings of banqueting imagery in funerary art and the place of banqueting in funerary ideologies? Should tombs furnished with klinai or replicas of banquet couches be understood as representations of banqueting, meant to equip the dead for an eternal ‘Totenmahl’? Or do funeral couches mark their occupants as members of the elite class that enjoyed banqueting and/or luxury furniture while alive? These questions are not so easily answered, because klinai in the ancient Greek world were multifunctional furnishings, used for sleeping and resting as well as for dining and revelry, …

From Turkeys To Tamales: Paleoindian To Preclassic Period Faunal Use At Maya Hak Cab Pek Rockshelter In Southern Belize, Stephanie Raye Orsini

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Very little is known about Paleoindian and Archaic subsistence strategies of the people of Mesoamerica prior to the development of ceramics. Rockshelters with good preservation and stratigraphic deposits can provide excellent contexts for a comparative faunal analysis though time. In February of 2014 the Bladen Paleoindian and Archaic Project (BPAP), directed by Dr. Keith Prufer, began excavations at the rockshelter Maya Hak Cab Pek (MHCP). The site has evidence for human activities from the Paleoindian period (11,500 BC to 8,000 BC) through the Preclassic Maya period (2,000 BC to AD 250). This research uses zooarchaeological analysis to investigate animal use …

Preserving Fields Of Conflict: Papers From The 2014 Fields Of Conflict Conference And Preservation Workshop, Steven D. Smith

Faculty Publications

From 12 through 15 March 2014 conflict archaeologists and preservationists met in Columbia, South Carolina, to present 54 papers and 14 posters at the 8^th Biennial Fields of Conflict Conference. In conjunction with the conference, a workshop was held on the preservation of battlefields across the globe entitled “Call to Action: National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program Battlefield Preservation Workshop.” The 33 papers in this volume are extended abstracts of those papers presented in a popular format. The goal of this volume is to make conflict archaeology assessable to the public and raise the awareness of the critical …

3d Tool Evaluation And Workflow For An Ecological Approach To Visualizing Ancient Socio-Environmental Landscapes: A Case Study From Copan, Honduras, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Shona Sanford-Long, Jack Kerby-Miller

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Architectural reconstructions are the centerpieces of ancient landscape visualization. When present, vegetation is relegated to the background, resulting in underutilized plant data—an integral data source for archaeological interpretation—thus limiting the capacity to take advantage of 3D visualization for studying ancient socio-environmental dynamics. Our long-term objective is to develop methods of 3D landscape visualization that have value for examining changes in land use and settlement patterns. To begin to work toward this objective, we have (1) identified 3D tools and techniques for vegetation modeling and landscape visualization, (2) evaluated the pros and cons of these tools, (3) investigated biological and ecological …

Maritime Alpine Cairns In Southeast Alaska: A Multidisciplinary Exploratory Study, William J. Hunt Jr., Ralph J. Hartley, Bruce Mccune, Nijmah Ali, Thomas F. Thornton

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

This report describes the goals, data recovery methods, data analysis, and conclusions of a pilot project “A Multidisciplinary Exploratory Study of Alpine Cairns, Baranof Island, Southeast Alaska,” funded by the National Science Foundation under Project No. 1230132. The project brought together experts in the disciplines of archaeology (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), lichenology (Oregon State University), and Tlingit oral history (Oxford University) to address questions regarding artificial prehistoric, high altitude cairns. Data were collected in 2013 and 2014. Pedestrian archaeological inventory recorded 50 cairns at 5 sites. Archaeological data includes cairn dimensions, GPS positions, still photographic images, and video documentation. Four cairns …

Species Identification Of The Stylohyoid Bone For North American Artiodactyls, Thomas A. Hale

All Master's Theses

Zooarchaeologists cannot identify mammal species by their stylohyoid bones. Current trends in zooarchaeological research stress the need for rigorous and accessible identification methodology. I examined the stylohyoids of 15 hooved mammals: cattle, bison, domestic sheep, bighorn sheep, Dall sheep, mountain goat, domestic goat, elk, caribou, white-tailed deer, mule deer, moose, pronghorn antelope, domestic pig, and horse. Objectives included documenting how to side the stylohyoid (left or right), and producing species identification criteria based on large samples. A total of 325 samples were measured from eight repositories. Written descriptions, photographs, and success ratios for metrics and distinct traits are included for …

Mapping And Radiocarbon Dating Archaic Period Monuments: La Alberca Structure Complex, Highland Michoacán, Mexico, Mark F. Steinkraus

All Master's Theses

Ongoing collaborations with the Comunidad Indígena de Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro hold great potential for exploring the origins of sedentary ranked communities that predate others in Mesoamerica by as much as one thousand years. Three carbon samples from the lower buried portions of the Central Structure at La Alberca Complex yield a date range of 7245-6470 cal B.P. The carbon sample laying on an upper tier of the feature yields a date of 4780 cal B.P. These dates suggest that the feature is 7000 to 6000 years old and may have been in use as recently as 5000 to 4000 …

Alternatives To Charcoal For Improving Chronometric Dating Of Puget Sound Archaeological Sites, James W. Brown

All Master's Theses

Radiocarbon dating of archaeological sites in the Puget Lowlands can be problematic. Dating specific cultural events associated with features and sites is difficult due to the ubiquity of charcoal in forest soils and poor preservation of bone in acidic soils. These conditions have impeded the development of regional cultural chronologies. The lack of dates for critical time periods also inhibits testing processual models of cultural change. Evidence for the timing and rate of ecological, economic, and political change is critical for testing evolutionary models in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). Radiocarbon dating highly burned bone (calcined bone) and luminescence dating fire-modified …

A Comparison Of Field Methods At Camp Lawton (9js1), William C. Brant

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Camp Lawton was a Confederate POW Camp located in Jenkins County, Georgia during the latter part of the Civil War. This research uses shovel testing, metal detection, magnetometry, soil phosphate analysis, and terrestrial LiDAR scanning to attempt to ascertain which method, or combination of methods, is more effective on mid-19^th century components in the Georgia Coastal Plain. Findings were inconclusive, but indicate that shovel testing and metal detection are the more effective methods. Data also suggest that areas of Confederate occupation at Camp Lawton probably covered a much larger area than previously anticipated.

Excavating The Catacomb Of Santa Lucia, Gabby Coggin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 733 B.C., Archias (a Corinthian) founded the city of Syracuse in Sicily. This began Syracuse’ history as a Greek colony, and also a history of cultural influences and changes produced by different occupations. The catacomb of St. Lucy is located in Syracuse, and contains evidence for the Greek, Roman Christian and Byzantine cultures. Excavations have been occurring here since 1916, beginning with Paolo Orsi, and most recently occurring in 2015 with Dr. Davide Tanasi. St. Lucy is an excellent case study for examining how different cultures have used this site as a burial location for centuries. The research done …

The Problematical, The Cave, And The Maya: A Theoretical Discussion And Ethnoarchaeological Investigation, Haley N. Austin

Senior Independent Study Theses

This project concerns itself with the theoretical framework and application of ethnoarchaeological research methods in the Maya region. Following an in-depth discussion of ethnoarchaeology and its theoretical locus within archaeology as well as the transformations it has seen in recent year, the current work focuses on the following source- and subject-side cultural groups and phenomena: cave use at La Ventana and La Ventana Campana by Maya peoples from the Suchitepéquez and Sololá Department of Guatemala in comparison with Problematical Deposit 21 at Tikal, Petén, Guatemala. The purpose of this work is not only to investigate the case study mentioned above …

The Queen’S Serpent: An Examination Of The Serpent Vessel From Burial 61 From El Perú-Waka’, Sarah Van Oss

Senior Independent Study Theses

In 2012, Dr. Olivia Navarro-Farr and her team uncovered the tomb of a Maya ruler in a large ceremonial structure at the site of El Perú-Waka’ in the Petén region of Guatemala. Specialists, subsequently, identified these remains as those of Lady K’abel, a queen already well known from texts associated with the ancient city. This study will explore one of the artifacts found in the tomb, called the War Serpent Vessel, found at the Kaloompte’s feet. I will propose that the iconographic depcitions on this artifact represent a supernatural Serpent that emerges from this vessel. I suggest that this …

Landscapes Of Interaction: Understanding Social Landscapes Through Quantitative Models Of Artifact Distributions, James R. Allison

Faculty Publications

Exchange of material goods is one of the most basic forms of human interactions. By tracing the distribution of ceramics, stone tools, and other materials archaeologists are often able to make inferences about the nature of interactions, and about the economic and social relationships of the people involved. These artefact distributions are a fundamental feature of social landscapes, with the potential to reveal much about the structure of social life. But artefact distributions are often complex and difficult to describe, especially at large spatial scales, and they often require some form of abstraction to make them comprehensible. Archaeologists have therefore …

Excavations At Vista Del Valle, A Viejo Period Site Of The Casas Grandes Cultural Tradition In Chihuahua, Mexico, Michael T. Searcy, Todd Pitezel

Faculty Publications

In the summer of 2015 we conducted excavations at a site located along the Palanganas River, just south of the Casas Grandes River Valley in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico. This represents the first excavation of a Viejo Period site (A.D. 700–1200) in this vicinity since the 1960s. We discovered remnants of at least five structures, and fully excavated three. This paper reports our findings and compares them to previous work carried out in the region.

Dietary Patterns Of Paquimé: New Evidence From Dental Calculus And Microfossils, Daniel King, Michael T. Searcy, Kyle Waller

Faculty Publications

As part of a larger multinational project, we gathered and analyzed 112 samples of dental calculus (fossilized plaque) from human remains discovered at Paquimé and other sites in the Casas Grandes river valley to identify various microfossils still present in the silica matrix. Once identified, we used the prehistoric plant remains to reconstruct human/plant relationships present during the Viejo and Medio periods in and around Paquimé. Our data suggest that maize was used throughout both time periods, which supports current theories regarding Paquimean diet. Various types of grasses were also found, as were unspecified types of algae. Using our data, …

The Early Pottery Of San Antonio, Department Of Chinandega, Nicaragua, Kelsey I. Willis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

I analyzed the potsherds (n=732) recovered from the 2009 archaeological excavations at the site of San Antonio in Chinandega, Nicaragua. I classified the pottery in accordance with the Type: Variety-Mode system that is used almost exclusively in Mesoamerica and the Greater Nicoya Sub-Region. Identifications of known ceramic wares, groups, types, and varieties were made through comparisons with reference specimens from type collections housed at several institutions. New taxa were defined as needed in accordance with the established protocols of the Type: Variety system (e.g., Smith et al. 1960) and as subsequently amended (e.g., Rice 1976). In the thesis, I describe …

Interpreting Megalithic Tomb Orientations And Siting Within Broader Cultural Contexts, Frank Prendergast

Articles

This paper assesses the measured axial orientations and siting of Irish passage tombs. The distribution of monuments with passages/entrances directed at related tombs/cairns is shown. Where this phenomenon occurs, the targeted structure is invariably located at a higher elevation on the skyline and this could suggest a symbolic and hierarchical relationship in their relative siting in the landscape. Additional analysis of astronomical declinations at a national scale has identified tombs with an axial alignment towards the rising and setting positions of the Sun at the winter and summer solstices. A criteria-based framework is developed which potentially allows for these types …

Common Ground: Uniting Archaeology And Secondary Social Studies Curricula, Jeremy Allen Haas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Archaeologists have been attempting to establish stronger connections with communities for several decades. Concepts such as stewardship can be presented to a larger audience, and archaeology can be a valuable tool for public education. Public schools across the nation are struggling to improve with limited resources. Archaeology can provide teachers with inexpensive resources that improve student learning while simultaneously helping teachers meet more rigorous standards. Using historical, archaeological, and cultural resources from the World War II Japanese American internment camp, Amache, I created a new supplementary curriculum that focused on the experience of Japanese and Japanese Americans during that era. …

The Middle Stone Age On The Margins: Chronological And Archaeological Contexts For Hominin Behavioral Evolution In The Middle And Late Pleistocene Of East Africa., Nicholas T. Blegen

Doctoral Dissertations

The later Middle through early Late Pleistocene (~100–400 ka) of East Africa is an important time and place for the evolution of our species. This period records the first appearance of Homo sapiens and spans significant technological changes including the decline of large handheld stone tools characteristic of the Acheulean, the development of stone tool technologies collectively known as the Middle Stone Age (MSA). These include diverse Levallois prepared core techniques and the manufacture and use of pointed weapons. It is in association with MSA technologies in sub-Saharan Africa that most of the behaviors characteristic of modern humans first appear. …

Investigations At Kinlock (22su526), A Freshwater Mussel Shell Ring In The Delta Region Of Mississippi, James Bradley Carlock

Theses and Dissertations

Kinlock is a freshwater mussel shell ring site located in Sunflower County in the Mississippi Delta. Little work has been done at freshwater mussel shell rings, and therefore little is known about them. This thesis uses four different data collection methods to answer questions of chronology, site layout, etc. These four methods are controlled surface collection, excavation, coring, and magnetometry. Based on the results of these methods, Kinlock was found to be a Woodland period mussel shell ring with a later Mississippian period component built on top of the shell. This later component consisted of five mounds situated around a …

Legacy - December 2015, South Carolina Institute Of Archaeology And Anthropology--University Of South Carolina

SCIAA Magazine - Legacy & PastWatch

Contents:

UofSC Archaeologists Raise Trio of Civil War Cannons.....p. 1
Archaeologists Pluck 3 Civil War Cannons from River Site.....p. 1
Director's Notes.....p. 2
Arkhaios Cultural Heritage and Archaeology Film Festival.....p. 2
Recovery of CSS Pee Dee Armament from the Great Pee Dee River.....p. 4
Parris Island Canoe and Exhibit Reconstruction.....p. 10
In Search of Yamasee Indian Villages in Upper Port Royal Waters.....p. 12
Chicasa: Searching for de Soto in Mississippi, June 2015.....p. 15
Fort Motte Research-2015 Update.....p. 18
Trench Maps: Military Cartography on the Western Front, 1914-1918.....p. 21
Santa Elena Foundation Opens History Center.....p. 22
Early Archaic Settlement Along the …

“Men Of Good Timber”: An Archaeological Investigation Of Labor In Michigan’S Upper Peninsula, Aaron Howe

Masters Theses

This study approaches the material assemblage of Coalwood, a cordwood camp that operated from 1900-1912 in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, with a dialectal method and a theory of internal relations in order to understand how daily life was produced and reproduced. Common sense notions often see home and work as separate entities that only relate to one another externally. My archaeological and historical research abstracts domestic labor as a set of social relations that are dialectically and internally connected to the processes of capital accumulation. My archaeological analysis concludes that both productive and reproductive labor was conducted within the home and …

Patterns In Faunal Remains At Fort St. Joseph, A French Fur Trade Post In The Western Great Lakes, Joseph Hearns

Masters Theses

Faunal studies have the potential to detect a variety of patterns in animal processing activities at an archaeological site. The spatial relationships of taphonomic mechanisms observed within the animal bone assemblage illuminate the use of space on a site as well as the patterns of waste discard. Patterns within the formation processes influencing the distribution of faunal remains serve as the basis for interpretation of animal processing behaviors. This study analyzes a sample of animal bones from Fort St. Joseph (20BE23), an eighteenth-century French fur trade post in the western Great Lakes region. This post was a hub of exchange …

Picrolite And The Cypriot Neolithic: An Experimental Study, Forrest Dayton Jarvi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Picrolite, a fibrous green stone originating in the Troodos mountains on the island of Cyprus, appears in the archaeological record almost from the very earliest sites on the island. Thus far, few publications have addressed the material from anything but a descriptive perspective. Research at the Aceramic Neolithic site of Kritou Marottou Ais Giorkis has uncovered a wide variety of picrolite artifacts since excavations began in 1997. Preliminary experimental studies have begun to explore the ease of both obtaining and manipulating the material using only local materials and unassisted manpower. This thesis presents a three-part investigation into the place of …