History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons^™

Man’S Best Friend? Dogs And Pigs In Early Modern Germany, Alison Stewart

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Faculty Publications and Creative Activity

When Jacob Seisenegger and Titian painted individual portraits of Emperor Charles V around 1532, a dog replaced such traditional accouterments of imperial power as crown, scepter, and orb.3 Charles placed one hand on the dog’s collar, a gesture indicating his companion’s noble qualities including faithfulness.4 At the same time, another more down-to-earth meaning for the dog had become prominent in the decades before the imperial portraits: the interest in and ability to eat anything in sight. This pig-like ability resulted in dogs, alongside pigs, becoming emblems of indiscriminate and gluttonous eating and drinking during the early sixteenth century when humanists, …

John Dewey And Art, Michael Schreyach

Art and Art History Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

Decollations, Joseph Mcbirnie

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The following presents the critical preface to the unpublished manuscript, Decollations. Through the tapestry metaphor, the author describes the process of creating the collection through the lenses of aesthetics, psychology and mythology.

Viking Age Revninge Woman: An Exceptional Find

Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art and Architecture

No abstract provided.

The Coffret Of John Of Montmirail: The Sacred Politics Of Reuse In Thirteenth-Century Northern France, Anne E. Lester

Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art and Architecture

No abstract provided.

Severan Marble Plan Of Rome Data Files, Justin St. P. Walsh

Art Faculty Data Sets

In its original state, the Severan Marble Plan of Rome, placed on the wall of the Temple of Peace between 203 and 211 CE, showed viewers the locations of buildings throughout Rome, and even the groundplan of each of those buildings. It is today an extraordinary piece of evidence for understanding the city in that time period, despite its ruinous state. It survives in over 1,100 fragments, representing only about 10% of its original surface area. To date, scholars have successfully placed only about 100 of those fragments with respect to the buildings they depict. Using GIS and CAD software, …

Stalin's Russia: Visions Of Happiness, Omens Of Terror, Mark Konecny, Wendy Salmond

Art Faculty Creative Works – Exhibitions

"In 1970 an American high school teacher began a thirty-year journey into Stalin’s Russia. The items you see here were selected from more than 8,000 artifacts conserved on that journey.

Tom Ferris (the teacher) began collecting early, and he collected just about everything. But in 1970 Tom found a focus for his collecting and a new love and passion – Russia herself...

Tom’s dream was that his collection of Russian memorabilia be preserved, kept safe, and made available for study so people could understand how Stalin came to be; so Soviet history would be real, not abstract; so future generations …

Athenian Black Glass Pottery: A View From The West, Justin St. P. Walsh, Carla Antonaccio

Art Faculty Articles and Research

Excavation of archaic Morgantina (c.700–450 BC), Sicily, has brought to light a significant pattern in the distribution of imported Greek pottery. This pattern, which shows a preference for imports with features that referred to metal vessels, is echoed at sites around the western Mediterranean. We argue that the preference for certain types was communicated back to Greek producers, and that it also reflects the particular local interests of non-Greeks, who associated metallic features not only with wealth, but also with their own ancestral traditions.

Funny Pages: Comic Strips And The American Family, 1930-1960, Dahnya Nicole Hernandez

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis examines a selection of American newspaper comic strips from approximately 1930 to 1960. At the height of their runs, many strips appeared in upwards of a thousand newspapers in the United States alone, and syndicates crafted and adjusted the content of these strips according to their image of the average American. This work discusses the pop cultural significance of these strips as well as the traditional American values revealed through each of them. Three strips in particular are the focal point for this thesis: Blondie, created by Chic Young in 1930, Little Orphan Annie created by …

The Rock-Cut Room On The Acropolis At Golemo Gradište, Konjuh: Date And Purpose, Carolyn S. Snively

Ancient Greek and Roman Studies Faculty Publications

The anonymous city at the site of Golemo Gradište at the village of Konjuh, R. Macedonia, belongs to the period of Late Antiquity; the evidence indicates that it was founded in the 5th century. The lower town on the northern terrace was reconstructed, probably during the second quarter of the 6th century, but the inhabitants abandoned it, for the most part, later in that century and fled for refuge to the acropolis, where a settlement continued to exist into the early 7th century. Earlier material, beginning with the Late Neolithic and continuing sporadically through Bronze Age to Hellenistic, has been …

Smash: Ceremonial Intoxicants And Intentional Tool Destruction In The Northern Highlands Of Pre-Columbian Ecuador, Amy Krull

Wayne State University Theses

This thesis examines fragmented ground stone food processing tools referred to as, manos and metates, that were found at the palatial late imperial Inca site of Caranqui located in the highlands of northern Ecuador. This region represents the northern frontier of the Inca Empire and was the last region to come under control of the Inca just prior to Spanish invasion. Manos and metates were integral to the production of chicha, a beverage often used for it intoxicating effects by the Inca and other Andes peoples during ritual and stately events. A temple and other features found at Inca-Caranqui would …

Making The Desert Bloom: Landscape Photography And Identity In The Owens Valley American West, Kaily A. Heitz

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis analyzes the way in which landscape photography has historically been used as a colonialist tool to perpetuate narratives of control over the American West during the mid to late 1800s. I use this framework to interrogate how these visual narratives enforced ideas about American identity and whiteness relative to power over the landscape, indigenous people and the Japanese-Americans imprisoned at Manzanar within Owens Valley, California. I argue that because photographic representation is controlled by colonist powers, images of people within the American West reinforce imperialist rhetoric that positions whiteness in control of the land; thus, white settlers used …

To Die With The Buddha: The Brick Pagoda And Its Role In The Xuezhuang Tomb In Early Medieval China, Jie Shi

History of Art Faculty Research and Scholarship

The important late fifth- or early sixth-century brick tomb at Xuezhuang in Dengxian (Henan) features a brick form at the rear wall, which remained mysterious until it has recently been shown to represent a Buddhist pagoda. This discovery sheds light on the purpose of the burial chamber, featuring the novel combination of vaulted ceiling, colonnade, and pagoda, as simulating an Indian-derived Buddhist temple (caitya). To reinforce this Buddhist context, the burial chamber simultaneously imitates the structure of a Buddhist votive stele (zaoxiangbei 造像碑), in which various Buddhist images, including the Buddha and bodhisattvas, apsaras, worshippers, and guardians, are carefully organized. …

Incorporating All For One: The First Emporer’S Tomb Mound, Jie Shi

History of Art Faculty Research and Scholarship

The towering earthen mound standing at the center of the First Emperor of Qin, Qin Shihuangdi’s (259–210 B.C.E.) Lishan necropolis at present-day Lintong in Xi’an, Shaanxi province was arguably the single greatest burial marker in ancient China. For centuries, this

gigantic unopened monument has sparked curiosity and aroused interest among people regarding its nature. Without physically damaging the target, in 2001–2003 Chinese archaeologists used a new geophysical remote sensor to scan the surface of the mound, digitally probed into its inner structure, and detected a nine-stepped wall that bounds an aboveground burial shaft stretching down deep into the ground. This …

Household Economies : The Production And Consumption Of Plumbate At Miguel AlemáN, The Conquista Campesina Complex And The PiñUela Complex, Marx Navarro-Castillo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Soconusco region of Chiapas, Mexico, where the sites of Miguel Alemán, the Conquista Campesina Complex (Conq-18) and the Piñuela Complex (PIN) are located, has been an object of study by archaeologists since the beginning of the nineteenth century. My project focused at this locale is concerned with craft production as related to the organization and the development of hierarchical social relations and how this relationship is reflected through diverse indexes. Although Plumbate ceramics are my principal source of information, I studied other ceramic types as well.

Carbon And Nitrogen Isotope Analysis Of Archaeological Faunal Material From Dutchess Quarry Caves, Ny, Jessica Zuhlke

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The purpose of this study was to do an isotopic analysis to determine the carbon and nitrogen isotope concentrations of archaeological faunal material found in the Dutchess Quarry Caves in Orange County, NY. These isotope values were then used to compare the taxa from which the samples were taken to determine if and how trophic relationships were formed. The main focus of this comparison spotlighted a sample from a human femur; to establish the human's position trophically with the other large and small mammal samples collected. The human had been previously radiocarbon dated to have lived between 2877 and 3180 …

A Biocultural Perspective On The Transition To Agriculture In Ukraine, Jordan Kenneth Karsten

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The development of agriculture and its spread around the globe is one of the most consequential events in the history of our species. The transition to agriculture is associated with many cultural developments, such as craft specialization, urbanization, and the creation of social hierarchies. Many social theorists believe that these changes associated with the adoption of farming were beneficial to the human condition, however, not all agree. The goal of this research is to evaluate the impact of the adoption of agriculture on human health. To do this, bioarchaeological analysis is employed, comparing the skeletal and dental health of Mesolithic …

Turrialba, Una Encrucijada : ArqueologíA Regional Y Rutas De ComunicacióN En Un Valle Del TróPico HúMedo De Costa Rica (11.000 A.C.-1600 D.C.), Ricardo Vazquez Leiva

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Routes are related with human occupation and social changes from the end of the Pleistocene to the beginning of the Spanish colonization in the Turrialba Valley, Costa Rica. The archaeological research was conducted in conjunction with the Angostura Hydroelectric Project, within a 120-km-square survey area and 145 sites. A limited number of them were excavated.

Museum Representation : Ethnostatic Representations Of Culture, Brynna Elizabeth Tussey

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Museums act as knowledge production centers for cultural objects. The knowledge produced and distributed frequently portrays the Other as being immobilized in ethnostatic history. Models and modes of representation serve to reinforce these perceptions, rather than aid in the development of new forms of knowledge production. Through the discussion of these models, my research presents new theoretical perspectives for the agencies within the museum, and proposes possible new models for displaying objects from other cultures and the dialogues around said objects.

Lithic Analysis Of The Becker Site : Continued Reevaluation Of The Culture-Historic Approach, Christopher Joseph Sobik

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Becker Site was originally interpreted as a River Phase, Late Archaic central base camp. While excavations at the site yielded numerous Normanskill projectile points, the diagnostic artifact for this phase, several rounds of radiocarbon testing yielded dates firmly in the Woodland Period. A literature review of the history of the use of the culture historic approach in New York State Archaeology, as well as several modern critiques on the same subject was undertaken with the goal of interpreting the site free of its constraints. A lithic analysis of both the formal tools and lithic debitage was undertaken in order …

The Blackness Of Black (W)Holes, Eric M. Anderson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Blackness of Black (W)holes analyzes Toni Morrison's Sula, William Faulkner's Sanctuary, and Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man as against establishing the illusion of a coherent, recognizable self through relational identities and subservience to denotative language and categories of identity. These novel’s feature characters packing knives, I claim, because they advocate for what I term stylistic self–extrication: a rupture with prevailing forms of identity and cliché ways of speaking through rhythmic, sonorous, experimental language use. Characters who succeed at the task, I argue, are associated with a blackness in excess of racial markings, because they become unclassifiable as a result. In …

From Instantaneities To The Eternal: Shifting Pictorial Temporalities In Monet's Rouen Cathedral, Kaleigh Paige Winchell

Wayne State University Theses

This paper focuses on Monet's Rouen Cathedral paintings, a set of canvases painted by the artist between February 1892 and May 1895. This series has traditionally been hailed as Monet's greatest and most significant, but historical scholarship has addressed the series within an Impressionist framework. However, this paper argues instead that the Cathedral paintings no longer represented Monet as an Impressionist, but instead as an artist with entirely original and different goals for whom the nature of time had taken on new meaning. Where Monet began his endeavors in seriality with a feverish focus on the temporary and elusive - …

Mediated Histories: Representations Of Nineteenth-Century American Life At Greenfield Village And Crossroads Village, Jaclyn Millichamp

Wayne State University Theses

Living history museums are a prevalent form of history museum in which periods in history are portrayed through the use of artifacts and structures from the era, as well through the use of interpreters, which demonstrate processes from the past or discuss events with visitors. These sites have been scrutinized in the last few decades due to their constructed nature that often downplays negative aspects of the past. Since history is multi-faceted, it is impossible to present a clear recreation of history, and therefore, the creators of these sites have considerable leeway in how they choose to depict aspects of …

Review Of The Imagery Of The Athenian Symposium, Justin St. P. Walsh

Art Faculty Articles and Research

A review of Kathryn Topper's The Imagery of the Athenian Symposium.

Glass Beads From Champlain's Habitation On Saint Croix Island, Maine, 1604-1613, James W. Bradley

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

One of the earliest French attempts at settlement in northeastern North America occurred on a small island in the St. Croix River along the Maine/New Brunswick border. Built under the auspices of Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons, and his young lieutenant, Samuel de Champlain, this settlement barely survived the winter of 1604-1605 and was abandoned the following summer. Given its clear historical association and brief occupation, the glass beads from St. Croix Island are an important archaeological marker for reconstructing French influence during the first decades of the 17th century. Knowing who used these beads in trade, however, does not …

Captions And Color Plates (V. 26, 2014)

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Beads: Journal Of The Society Of Bead Researchers - Volume 26 (Complete)

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Review Of Portraits Of The Artist As A Young Woman: Paintings And The Novel In France And Britain, 1800-1860 By Alexandra K. Wettlaufer, Heather Belnap Jensen

Faculty Publications

Alexandra K. Wettlaufer’s ambitious study of real and fictitious woman painters in early nineteenth-century France and Britain explores the subject of female artistic self-fashioning at a critical historical juncture. Characterizing this as an auspicious time for the development of the woman artist, the author seeks to examine how historical figures and fictional characters both marked as well as facilitated this process. The stated rationale for the use of a comparative approach is that it enables the author “to highlight the dialogic context in which these novels and paintings were produced and consumed, and to map out aesthetic and political intersections …

Performance And Monumentality In The "Altar Of Tukulti-Ninurta", Stephanie Langin-Hooper

Art History Research

The Ancient Near Eastern monument known as the “Altar of Tukulti-Ninurta” is traditionally analyzed as a divine symbol-socle used in the cult cella of the Ištar Temple at Aššur. This chapter – which refers to the “Altar” by its ancient term, “nemedu” – presents a re-evaluation of the monument’s archaeological context, as well as a consideration of comparative art historical evidence. Both data sets suggest that the nemedu in question was actually intended for use outside the temple doorway. Based on this understanding of the nemedu’s functional context, a more public viewership must be reconstructed for the monument, necessitating, in …

Anxiety Of The Unknown In Art: Xu Bing's A Book From The Sky, Abigail Sease

Undergraduate Research Awards

Discusses Xu Bing's A Book from the Sky, an art installation piece composed of books, scrolls and banners written in pseudo-Chinese characters. The author posits that the purpose of the piece is to reflect the viewer's anxieties about the comprehension of language and information back onto themselves. The author's entry essay for the 2014 Undergraduate Research Awards is included.