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A Public Humanity: The Application Of Isotopic Analysis To The Intersection Between Body And Law At The Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery, Shannon Kate Freire

Theses and Dissertations

The Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery is an umbrella term used to describe the four cemeteries that were used by Milwaukee County from 1878 through 1974 for the burial of the indigent, unclaimed, institutionalized, and anatomized. Three of these cemeteries remain undisturbed. The primary focus of this research is the twice-excavated Cemetery II (Wisconsin Burial Site 47BMI0076), in use between 1882 and 1925. Archaeological excavations in 1991-1992 and again in 2013 resulted in the recovery of over 2,400 individuals from this cemetery location.

In Wisconsin, legislative efforts to govern indigent burial and dissection mediated competing aspirations between medical education and …

The Influence Of Body Size On Sexual Dimorphism, Haley Elizabeth Horbaly

Masters Theses

Accurate sex estimation of human skeletal remains is imperative for skeletal biologists, and relies upon the sexual dimorphism between males and females in a population. The degree of dimorphism, and hence the accuracy of sex estimation methods, are known to vary among populations, and while such global patterns have been well studied, the underlying causes of this variation are relatively unclear. Body size—a sexually dimorphic trait that also varies among populations—has previously been shown to affect skeletal morphology, yet whether specific body size parameters, such as stature and body mass, influence the expression of traits used for nonmetric sex estimation …

Violence In The Canyons: The Human Cost Of Raiding And Warfare In Northeastern Arizona (Ad 300-~1300), Caryn Elizabeth Tegtmeyer

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Canyon de Chelly sits on the Northeastern border of the Kayenta region in Arizona. Because of the position in which they sit, those who lived there likely lived a unique experience when compared to the rest of the Kayenta cultural tradition, of which they are considered a part. By examining the skeletal remains of the canyon occupants, this study is able to reconstruct the demographic profile (age and sex), aspects of health (pathology, stature), analysis of trauma, and aspects of labor (robusticity and entheses) to create the first, modern, complete skeletal analysis of remains recovered from Canyon de Chelly. This …

Laying The Foundation For A Fremont Phytolith Typology Using Select Plant Species Native To Utah County, Madison Natasha Pearce

Theses and Dissertations

Archaeobotanical evidences for the presence of wild plants at Fremont archaeological sites are numerous. However, little can be positively argued for why those plants are present, if they were used by site inhabitants, and how they were used. Additionally, there are likely several wild plants that were used but that do not appear in the archaeobotanical record as pollen or macrobotanicals, the two most commonly identified plant remains. I argue that it is possible to provide better interpretations for how and why the Fremont used plants by researching how their historic counterparts, the Goshute, Shoshone, Ute, and Southern Paiute, used …

Scaling Relationships Between Cranial Morphological Features And Cranial Capacity In Modern Humans, Jacob Jesch

LSU Master's Theses

Certain cranial morphologies referred to here as “cranial predictor features” are known to allometrically scale with body mass at statistically significant levels. Brain size likewise is known to scale with body mass, with brain-to-body-mass ratio being expressed numerically via the encephalization quotient. The study at hand aims to demonstrate whether brain size via its skeletal proxy of cranial capacity also scales with cranial predictor features. Correlation analysis was employed on two samples of contemporary male and female modern humans, respectively, in order to determine the statistical significance and degree of association between cranial predictor features and cranial capacity, as well …

Who Ate The Subfossil Lemurs? A Taphonomic And Community Study Of Raptor, Crocodylian And Carnivoran Predation Of The Extinct Quaternary Lemurs Of Madagascar., Lindsay Meador

Doctoral Dissertations

Madagascar’s Quaternary predator-primate guild included seventeen species of relatively large extinct lemurs. Sharing the landscape with the lemurs, were several relatively large now-extinct predators, including three raptors (two species of Aquila and Stephanoaetus mahery), a euplerid (Cryptoprocta spelea), and a crocodile (Voay robustus). This is the first research to systematically study predator-prey relationships among these extinct animals. Here I examine the bones of the extinct lemurs at six subfossil localities (Ampasambazimba, Ankarana, Grotte d’Ankazoabo, Beloha Anavoha, Manombo Toliara, and Tsirave) for evidence of and also collected metric data on these bones. I examined 1141 specimens …

The Human First Metatarsal In Bioarchaeological Research: New Insights Into Human Variation And Bone Health Research From Kellis 2, Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt (50-450ce), Mathew A. Teeter

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Objectives: This research tests the efficacy of using the human first metatarsal (MT1) in bioarchaeological research, specifically to investigate human variation (nonmetric traits and sexual dimorphism) and skeletal health (Osteo-Volumetric Density and µCT analysis) in antiquity. To date, this bone has had limited applications in bioarchaeology.

Materials and Methods: This study used human remains from the Kellis 2 (K2) cemetery, located in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt (50-450CE). Specifically, 377 MT1s, representing 212 individuals were used to investigate human variation and osteo-volumetric density (OVD) in the K2 skeletal population. Additionally, skeletal health was further assessed in a female sub-sample (n=44) of …

The Richness Of Food: A Zooarchaeological Analysis Of Huaca Santa Clara And Huaca Gallinazo, North Coast Of Peru, Arwen M. Johns

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis is a zooarchaeological study examining the entangled nature of human-animal relations within processes of food production, preparation, and consumption at Huaca Santa Clara and Huaca Gallinazo in the Virú Valley, North Coast of Peru. It assesses how the consumption of animal products influenced social differentiation and identities during early state development in the Early Intermediate Period (200B.C.E – 800 C.E.). This thesis takes a social zooarchaeological approach and utilizes the framework of relational ontology to emphasize the social and symbolic roles of animals. Faunal remains suggest that individuals at Huaca Santa Clara had comparatively equal access to animal …

Dental Microwear Textures Of Paranthropus Robustus From Kromdraai, Drimolen, And An Enlarged Sample From Swartkrans: Ecological And Intraspecific Variation, Alexandria Sachiko Peterson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The original microwear texture baseline for South African hominins was done by Scott et al. (2005) and concluded that Paranthropus robustus exhibited higher complexity values (Asfc) that are seen in occasional hard object feeders. Australopithecus africanus has higher anisotropy values (epLsar) consistent with consuming tough objects. This study expands upon this baseline by increasing the sample size from n = 9 for P. robustus and n = 10 for Au. africanus to n = 66 and n = 44, respectively. Additionally, this study incorporates multiple different sites and deposits. The P. robustus sample includes Drimolen, Kromdraai, and an expanded sample …

The Effects Of Industrialization And Urbanization On Growth And Development: A Comparison Of Boys And Girls From Three Industrial European Skeletal Collections, Sarah Reedy

Doctoral Dissertations

Exposure to poor environments, malnutrition, and labor during childhood can lead to stunted height and increased mortality. Studies of skeletal samples from Industrial Era Europe show height is stunted when compared to Medieval samples, suggesting harsher conditions. While poor conditions can negatively impact all children, boys may be particularly disadvantaged, because girls can reserve nutritional components buffering them during times of stress. This study examines the environmental effects on growth in three Industrial European skeletal samples. Juveniles (0-18 years) from varied SES backgrounds were used to test three hypotheses. H1) Industrial Era children will exhibit shorter femora relative to a …

Can Long Bone Structural Variability Detect Among-Population Relationships?, Gina Agostini

Doctoral Dissertations

Phenotypic traits develop and are maintained by complex interactions between intrinsic (molecular) and extrinsic (environmental) factors. While the influence of intrinsic factors on adult craniomandibular variation has been intensively studied, less is known about limb bones, in part because it is assumed that their plasticity obscures intrinsic signals, especially those fixed early in life. While diaphyseal regions are plastic in response to activity, the extent to which they also reflect (phylo)genetic autocorrelation has not been sufficiently addressed, particularly given the common practice of comparing long bones across populations unevenly dispersed in space and time. Here I investigate the degree to …

Archaeology Of Void Spaces, Cory Look

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The overall goal of this research is to evaluate the efficacy of pXRF for the identification of ancient activity areas at Pre-Columbian sites in Antigua that range across time periods, geographic regions, site types with a variety of features, and various states of preservation. These findings have important implications for identifying and reconstructing places full of human activity but void of material remains. A synthesis for an archaeology of void spaces requires the construction of new ways of testing anthrosols, and identifying elemental patterns that can be used to connect people with their places and objects. This research begins with …

Biological Stress Indicators Among Historically Documented Populations (1913-1935): An Analysis Of Labor Through Entheses And Joint Disease, Anna Paraskevi Alioto

Masters Theses

Recent studies about the American past have aimed to examine multiple lines of evidence to reanalyze the American lived experience. Despite this, there has been limited research conducted using methods from biological anthropology. Skeletal analysis of a sample from the Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection, consisting of individuals (n=118) who lived in Cleveland, Ohio was utilized to understand how the American lived experience impacted the biological stresses of these individuals. The objective was to investigate entheseal changes and degenerative joint disease on the upper limb to reconstruct activity patterns and to test for possible disparities which may represent differing biological stress experiences. …

The Impact Of The Medieval Climatic Anomaly On The Archaeology At Edwards Air Force Base, Jessica Amanda Porter-Rodriguez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

A series of severe and prolonged droughts occurred throughout the Northern Hemisphere between approximately 1150 BP to 600 BP. This phenomenon is referred to as the Medieval Climatic Anomaly and has been shown to have differentially impacted various regions of the world. Previous studies have suggested causal links between the Medieval Climatic Anomaly and observed culture change.

The goal of this study was to examine the Antelope Valley region of the Mojave Desert for evidence of impacts on human populations related to the Medieval Climatic Anomaly. To achieve this goal, a sample selection of archaeological sites was chosen from lands …

Coexistence Of Confamilial, Folivorous Indriids, Propithecus Diadema And Indri Indri, At Betampona Strict Nature Reserve, Madagascar, Lana Kerker Oliver

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I examine how two confamilial and ecologically similar indriids, indri (Indri indri), and diademed sifakas (Propithecus diadema) maintain coexistence in Betampona Nature Reserve (BNR), an eastern lowland rainforest in Madagascar. These two species occur sympatrically throughout much of their species ranges and are similarly-sized folivorous primates. As anatomic folivores, they present an opportunity to investigate how niche differentiation and resource partitioning allow two sympatric primate species with similar feeding patterns to coexist. I examined coexistence strategies and the general behavioral ecology of each species by examining their activity patterns, dietary profiles, home range use, and daily path …

Population Genomics Of A Baboon Hybrid Zone In Zambia, Kenneth Lyu Chiou

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hybridization is increasingly recognized as a common, important process shaping the evolution of organisms including humans. Across hybrid zones, the genomes of incipient species are mixed and recombined through hybridization and backcrossing, creating conditions ideal for evaluating the actions of natural selection on gene variants in novel genomic contexts. This dissertation aims to increase our understanding of hybridization using a Zambian baboon study system in which two species, Kinda baboons (Papio kindae) and grayfoot baboons (Papio griseipes), hybridize despite exhibiting pronounced differences in body size and behavior. Using genome-wide genotypic data prepared using double-digest RADseq, I scan for genomic regions …

The Accuracy Of The Biological Profile In Casework: An Analysis Of Forensic Anthropology Reports In Three Medical Examiners’ Offices, Hillary Renee Parsons

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the accuracy of the biological profile from forensic anthropology reports among 204 resolved and 284 unresolved skeletal cases at the medical examiners’ offices in New York City, NY; Harris County, TX; and Pima County, AZ. Current forensic anthropological methods used to estimate the biological profile are developed from skeletal reference collections conferring variable degrees of accuracy. Evolving standards for evidence and expert witness testimony have ushered in an era of robust statistical validation for forensic methods, yet accuracy rates are unknown in anthropological casework. Considering 40,000 sets of unidentified human remains persist in medical examiner’s offices in …

Analysis Of Neanderthal Biodistance Using Non-Metric Features Of The Dentition, Michel C. Tchang

Culminating Projects in Cultural Resource Management

The Neanderthals lived in small communities of hunters and gatherers and were present in a large geographical area extending from Portugal to Siberia. This expansive range implies that Neanderthals lived in a great diversity of climatic conditions. Paleoanthropologists agree, in their observations, that there are differences between European and Middle Eastern Neanderthals, and that this variation covers an east to west cline. Research based on mtDNA simulation has defined three subgroups, a Western subgroup, a Southern subgroup and an Eastern subgroup. This study of Neanderthal biodistance, based on non-metric features of the dentition, aims to address the dental character variability …

Changes In Body Fatness Among Mohawk Youth From 1979 To 1996-2000, Danielle Maria Garry

Anthropology

The research question is: Have the Mohawk people been affected by the obesity epidemic that has occurred in this country and globally? My research compares the data on height, weight, and skinfold thicknesses collected from 1979 by Dr. Susan Pfeiffer from Native American youth (10 to 15 years of age) of the Akwesasne tribe, located at St. Regis, with similar data collected by Gallo and Schell, from 1996-2000. I performed t-tests to compare the same measurements from the two studies. There is a significant difference in weight, triceps skinfolds, and subscapular skinfolds in all male age groups except for age …

The Saints Peter And Paul Parish And The Milwaukee County Poor Farm: A Comparative Osteological Analysis Between Two Historic Cemeteries In Wisconsin, David Michael Strange

Theses and Dissertations

The constituents of the Saints Peter and Paul Parish of Independence, Wisconsin contracted Commonwealth Heritage Group in 2015 to excavate and analyze 108 individuals located in an unmarked portion of the parish cemetery during a large church renovation project. This thesis is an osteological analysis of the excavated cemetery population, providing an estimated age, sex, and pathological profile of the individuals interred therein. In addition, a comparative analysis is conducted between subadult segments of the Ss. Peter and Paul Parish sample and the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery located in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. The parameters of the analysis include the investigation …

Identity By The Numbers: Cancerous Lesions And Likelihood Ratios, William Daniel Cawley

Masters Theses

The use of Bayesian theory has been gaining popularity within the forensic anthropology community for its ability to model the way in which decisions are made based upon varying levels of confidence. However, many forensic anthropologists have been reticent to adapt Bayesian approaches given the general lack of knowledge in regards to this approach (Konigsberg and Frankenburg, 2013:153). The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate how the application of an establish Bayesian framework can be used to determine likelihood ratios representing the probative value of skeletal lesions consistent with cancer for use in forensic personal identification. To do this, …

The Plight Of Undocumented Female Migrants: Identifying Structural Factors That Contribute To The Proliferation Of Sex Trafficking And The Failings Of International Law, Hannah K. Valles

Arts and Sciences Dean's Office Undergraduate Honors Theses

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the conditions at two specific border zones, the United States-Mexico border and the Mexico-Guatemalan border, that render undocumented female migrants vulnerable to abduction or recruitment into sexual exploitation. In addition to exploring the factors that expose women to trafficking networks, the study scrutinizes the legal failings of the international law-making community with regards to the safeguarding of women whose socio-economic conditions and environment of perpetual violence prompt their extralegal international movement. The paper provides an overview of the social, economic, and historical factors that underpin the flourishing of sex trafficking operations in …

Addressing The Challenges Of Identifying Migrant Remains, Jamie C. Bazen

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Please Forget To Floss: Developing An Assay For Identifying Tuberculosis In Dental Calculus From The Smithsonian’S Huntington Collection (1893-1921), Soleil Young

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Tuberculosis is one of the most ubiquitous diseases in human history. Despite the long history of human interactions with the disease, tracking it retroactively is difficult because of its low rate of associated, diagnostic bony changes. Ancient DNA, also called aDNA, is a novel method for examining the presence of disease in the past. Currently, the only way to isolate tuberculosis aDNA is to drill and section bone, a method that is both invasive and expensive, limiting its use in the archaeological record. This capstone examines new ways of tracking and understanding tuberculosis in the past, utilizing the DNA trapped …

The Bioarchaeology Of Inequality During The Middle Bronze Age In Central Anatolia, Cheryl Anderson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation research study focused on the bioarchaeology of Kaman-Kalehöyük and the goal was to provide baseline data for investigating the effects of social inequalities on rural communities during the Middle Bronze Age (MBA) (ca. 2000-1750 years Before Current Era) in central Anatolia (present-day Turkey). In particular, this project addresses the impact of the political landscape during the MBA on population health at the village site Kaman-Kalehöyük using multiple lines of evidence. This is accomplished through the thorough documentation and analysis of human skeletal remains at Kaman-Kalehöyük. More specifically, all MBA skeletal remains from this site were examined for health …

The Diet And Subsistence Methods Of The Maya: Their Health And Cultural Consequences From The Pre-Classic Era To Today, Rachel E. Watson

Honors Undergraduate

The Maya, a once great civilization, seemingly vanished without an obvious reason, before the Spanish landed in the region. Some say that their downfall was a result of famine and inadequate nutrition. Surprisingly, most of the archaeological evidence surrounding the Classic Maya diet and subsistence methods indicates that they both adequately sustained the population to the point where there has been practically no change over hundreds of years. Change did not occur to the Maya diet or the classic subsistence methods until the late twentieth century when the tourism industry exploded in the area of the former Maya empire. The …

(Not) Everything Is Good And Easy: Language-Related Healthcare Experiences Of Two Groups Of Low-Income Latina Mothers, Aria Anna Walsh-Felz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This cross-sectional, comparative, qualitative study explored language-related issues experienced by low-income Spanish-speaking mothers navigating pediatric care for their children in Hillsborough County, Florida. Hospitals, pediatric clinics, specialists, and dental care have differing degrees of linguistic accessibility and accommodations for limited English proficient families. Two groups of mothers were interviewed: bilingual (n=9) and Spanish-speaking limited-English proficient (SSLEP) mothers (n=21). These groups perceived the effect of language on navigating pediatric healthcare differently, creating tension in perceptions and experience between them. Such tensions included SSLEP mothers expressing satisfaction with pediatric care simultaneously with shortcomings in communication. SSLEP mothers said that everything was easy, …

From Rochel To Rose And Mendel To Max: First Name Americanization Patterns Among Twentieth-Century Jewish Immigrants To The United States, Jason H. Greenberg

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There has been a dearth of investigation into the distribution of and the alterations among Jewish given names. Whereas Jewish surnames are a popular topic of study, first names receive far less analysis. Because Jewish immigrants to the United States frequently changed their names, this thesis can serve as a guide to genealogists and other scholars seeking to trace the paths of Jewish immigrants from Europe. Data was drawn from about 1500 naturalization records from Brooklyn in order to determine the correspondences between the given names featured on passenger lists and their Americanized counterparts. More than three-quarters of surveyed immigrants …

An Assessment Of Trace Elements Distribution In Teeth Utilizing A Sample Group From Postclassic Lamanai: The Application Of La-Icp-Ms In Bioarchaeology And Forensics, Michelle Hawkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Trace element analysis of skeletal remains and teeth is a common research technique in biological and forensic anthropology. In particular, LA-ICP-MS has become a widely-accepted tool for analyzing and mapping the distribution of trace elements in teeth. Investigation into the relative spectral intensities and spatial distribution of thirteen trace isotopes (13C, 24Mg, 27Al, 31P, 44Ca, 47Ti, 52Cr, 55Mn, 56Fe, 66Zn, 88Sr, 138Ba, 208Pb) within teeth was undertaken using LA-ICP-MS. The total archaeological sample of teeth (N=26) was comprised of four tooth types (UCI, ULI, UPM1, and UPM2) and 18 individuals from a Postclassic Lamanai site. In preparation for analysis, teeth …

Codeswitching In Hiaki Conversational Discourse: An Evaluation Of Myers-Scotton's Matrix Language Frame Model, Sofia Gottlieb Pierson

Honors Papers

Through the lens of Hiaki-Spanish codeswitching, this paper provides evidence that the languages that engage in bilingual codeswitching are grammatically asymmetrical. With the exception of a few counterexamples addressed at the end, this research supports Myers-Scotton's theory that the surface word order and certain types of morphemes should always come from the grammatically dominant language (the Matrix Language) in mixed language constituents. If the other (Embedded Language) contributes morphemes that violate either of these principles, the remainder of its constituent must be finished in that language. Although the Hiaki language has been thoroughly studied, this study is one of the …