Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Ecological-Niche Modeling Reveals Current Opportunities For Agave Dryland Farming In Sonora, Mexico And Arizona, Usa, Hector G. Ortiz-Cano, Robert Hadfield, Teresa Gomez, Kevin Hultine, Ricardo Mata-Gonzalez, Steven L. Petersen, Neil C. Hansen, Michael T. Searcy, Jason Stetler, Teodoro Cervantes-Mendivil, David Burchfield, Pilman Park, J. Ryan Stewart

Faculty Publications

For centuries, humans occupying arid regions of North America have maintained an intricate relationship with Agave (Agavoideae, Asparagaceae). Today Agave cultivation, primarily for beverage production, provides an economic engine for rural communities throughout Mexico. Among known dryland-farming methods, the use of rock piles and cattle-grazed areas stand out as promising approaches for Agave cultivation. Identifying new cultivation areas to apply these approaches in Arizona, USA and Sonora, Mexico warrants a geographic assessment of areas outside the known ranges of rock piles and grasslands. The objective of this study was to predict areas for dryland-farming of Agave and develop models to …

Los Impactos Del Cambio Climático En Las Comunidades Aymaras En Putre, El Valle De Azapa Y Arica, Lindsey Kaufman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research Question: How is climate change affecting Aymara communities in Putre, the valley of Azapa, and Putre?

Objectives: To understand the effects of climate on communities by 1) describing which environmental problems exist and their impact on agriculture and ranching, 2) understanding the patterns of migration away from the ancestral land, 3) exploring the connections to the social determinants of health that exist with these change, and 4) analyzing the significance of these changes in the agriculture for the communities’ traditions and connection to the land.

Background: Aymara communities have historically inhabited agricultural and ranching lands in …

Toxicants, Entanglement, And Mitigation In New England’S Emerging Circular Economy For Food Waste, Cindy Isenhour, Michael Haedicke, Brieanne Berry, Jean Macrae, Travis Blackmer, Skyler Horton

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

Drawing on research with food waste recycling facilities in New England, this paper explores a fundamental tension between the eco-modernist logics of the circular economy and the reality of contemporary waste streams. Composting and digestion are promoted as key solutions to food waste, due to their ability to return nutrients to agricultural soils. However, our work suggests that food waste processors increasingly find themselves responsible for policing boundaries between distinct “material” and “biological” systems as imagined by the architects of the circular economy—boundaries penetrable by toxicants. This responsibility creates significant problems for processors due to the regulatory, educational, and structural …

A Landscape Perspective On Climate-Driven Risks To Food Security: Exploring The Relationship Between Climate And Social Transformation In The Prehispanic U.S. Southwest, Colleen Strawhacker, Grant Snitker, Matthew A. Peeples, Ann P. Kinzig, Keith W. Kintigh, Kyle Bocinsky, Brad Butterfield, Jacob Freeman, Sarah Oas, Margaret C. Nelson, Jonathan A. Sandor, Katherine A. Spielmann

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Spatially and temporally unpredictable rainfall patterns presented food production challenges to small-scale agricultural communities, requiring multiple risk-mitigating strategies to increase food security. Although site-based investigations of the relationship between climate and agricultural production offer insights into how individual communities may have created long-term adaptations to manage risk, the inherent spatial variability of climate-driven risk makes a landscape-scale perspective valuable. In this article, we model risk by evaluating how the spatial structure of ancient climate conditions may have affected the reliability of three major strategies used to reduce risk: drawing upon social networks in time of need, hunting and gathering of …

Oppression And Dispossession Out Of Fields Of Plenty: Colonialism And Indigenous Agricultural Transformation, Brandon R. Katzung Hokanson

Student Publications

Colonial encounters generate incredible degrees of societal transformation. Such transformations most often occur at the expense of the colonized majority and ultimately serve as means to benefit the colonizer minority. A specific case where this kind of unbalanced societal change can be observed is colonialism-induced transformations to indigenous agriculture. In this paper I use both ancient and modern examples of colonial encounters —Roman Gaul and French West Africa—to show that a number of conclusions can be drawn on how colonialism impacts indigenous agriculture. I argue that in both Roman Gaul and French West Africa, colonial-induced changes to agriculture brought forth …

German Immigration And Its Ties To Landscape Change In Nebraska, Lindsey Labrie

Honors Theses

This thesis uses a multidimensional approach to frame the different waves of German immigration within the context of land use change in Nebraska. By recounting the historical challenges and struggles Germans faced in their homelands, this thesis provides similarities between historical immigration patterns throughout the state. Observing the timing of these movements of people paints a clearer picture of how these immigrants might have helped change the farming and cultural landscapes of Nebraska. Knowing and recognizing historical immigration in Nebraska cultivates a deeper appreciation for the current relations between immigrants and Nebraska’s physical landscape.

Climate-Smart Agriculture: Building Resilience For Women Farmers In Kalchebeshi, Nepal, Annika Ruben

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This case study outlines women’s involvement in climate-smart agriculture and key climate adaptation strategies which are being implemented in the town of Kalchebeshi, Nepal. Kalchebeshi is considered a Resilient Mountain Village because of the town’s integrated approach to addressing climate change and building resilience for farmers. Key findings examined gender differences in farming responsibilities and the significance of farmers’ groups in women’s overall decision making and community involvement. Additionally, changes in water management and pesticide use have been shown to have a positive impact on the lives of women farmers in Kalchebeshi. This paper reinforces the importance of involving vulnerable …

Barnes, Mada (Fa 1317), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1317. Paper titled "Farming Lore" by Mada Barnes for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University. Barnes provides brief farming lore collected chiefly from farmers in the Monroe County, Kentucky area. Some categories include: Chickens and eggs, Cattle, Snakes, Hunting and fishing... Informant names are provided and sometimes an address.

Harper, Laura (Fa 1277), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1277. Student paper titled “Beliefs, Planting and Weather Signs, and Place Names” in which Laura Harper gathers together a number of practices and ideas based on traditional folklore wisdom. Harper collected the information from family members and neighbors. The paper includes handwritten note cards arranged by theme.

Aaron, Phillip Reeves (Fa 1247), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1247. Student paper titled “The Scarevenger Hunt” in which Phil R. Aaron documents the use of scarecrows throughout Adair County. By using an ad in the local newspaper, a radio ad, and a telephone book, Aaron was able to interview residents about their connections, traditions, and beliefs surrounding the construction, decoration, and implementation of scarecrows. The paper contains photographs of various scarecrows, hand drawn illustrations of charts and data sets, and maps of the research area.

Miller, Marcia (Fa 1126), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1126. Student paper titled “Farm Methods” in which Marcia Miller speaks with Henry Oliphant, a Bowling Green, Kentucky, native, about traditional farming practices . Topics covered include raising tobacco, harvesting hay, clearing top fields, and breaking new ground. Paper includes typed transcript of recorded interview.

Mansfield, Sherry R. And Bruce Greene (Fa 1112), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1112. Student folk studies project titled: “Just a Man—Captain William Hicks” which includes an interview of C. Jeff Hicks, the son of Confederate Captain William Hicks. The interview includes a description of the life of the son and his father while living in Barren County, Kentucky and Sumner County, Tennessee.

African Environmental Change From The Pleistocene To The Anthropocene, Colin Hoag, Jens-Christian Svenning

Anthropology: Faculty Publications

This review explores what past environmental change in Africa—and African people's response to it—can teach us about how to cope with life in the Anthropocene. Organized around four drivers of change—climate; agriculture and pastoralism; megafauna; and imperialism, colonialism, and capitalism (ICC)—our review zooms in on key regions and debates, including desertification; rangeland degradation; megafauna loss; and land grabbing. Multiscale climate change is a recurring theme in the continent's history, interacting with increasingly intense human activities from several million years onward, leading to oscillating, contingent environmental changes and societally adaptive responses. With high levels of poverty, fast population growth, and potentially …

Stewart, Karen (Fa 1084), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project FA 1084. Student folk studies project titled: “Broommaking in Western Kentucky,” which includes a description of broom making practices in Ohio County, Kentucky. Survey sheets may include photos of a tool, brooms, and descriptions.

Marbury, Marjorie (Fa 1064), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1064. Paper titled “Early Methods of Cotton Farming” by Marjorie Marbury in which she discusses information collected from her family and acquaintances in Holly Springs, Marshall County, Mississippi. The paper contains transcriptions of interviews done with informants. They discuss the cultivation, care, harvesting, packing and marketing of cotton in northern Mississippi.

Jaggers, Katie (Fa 1066), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project FA 1066. Paper titled “Folk Beliefs” in which Katie Jaggers details various proverbs, remedies, superstitions, and predictions relating to childhood, agriculture, medicine, and other facets of daily life. Paper is based on data collected by Jaggers from immediate family in Edmonson County, Kentucky.

Watson, Betty Lou (Fa 959), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 959. Paper titled: “Under the Waves.” Includes survey sheets with brief descriptions of the valley and its farm life to be flooded by the Green River Reservoir in the Pennyroyal Region of Kentucky. Sheets include a brief description, informant’s name, illustrations, and photos of the area.

Sullivan, Barbara D. (Fa 922), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 922. Paper titled: “Food Preservation.” Includes paper with introduction of food preservation methods in Barren County, Kentucky.

Line, Kenny (Fa 921), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 921. Project titled: “Folk Beliefs and Superstitions.” Includes paper with introduction of folk beliefs in Barren Grayson and Jefferson counties in Kentucky.

Conner, John (Fa 891), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Collection 891. Project titled: “Development of Tobacco.” Project includes brief descriptions of different types of tobacco, terms, beliefs, and implements used in its cultivation in McLean County and Shelby County, Kentucky. Sheets include a brief description; when discussing implements, an illustration is included.

Abney, William Irving (Fa 871), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 871. Paper titled “A Collection.” Project includes survey sheets with brief descriptions of various aspects of life in Tompkinsville according to informant, Ulysses Gee Boyles of Monroe County, Kentucky. Sheets include a description of each topic.

Folklorist In The Park - Mammoth Cave (Fa 839), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archive Project 839. This collection consists of ethnographic interviews, oral histories and photographs. Topics include basket and quilt making, beekeeping, and hunting. Also includes interviews with various artists from the Mammoth Cave region about their work. Conducted by Josh Chrysler a former graduate student at Western Kentucky University.

The Viejo Period, Michael T. Searcy, Jane H. Kelley

Faculty Publications

Farming peoples thrived in the mountains, basins, and river valleys of northwestern Chihuahua for hundreds of years prior to the construction of platform mounds and ball courts at Paquime. Their small pithouse villages dotted the landscape near the rich floodplain of the Casas Grandes River, where they farmed maize, beans, and other goods. It was during this time (AD. 400-1200), known as the Viejo Period, that the foundations of the Chihuahuan culture were formed. While recognized as forming the roots of a more complex society, Viejo Period sites lack the monumental architecture and ornate pottery of the Medio Period (AD. …

Settlement-Size Scaling Among Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Settlement Systems In The New World, W. Randall Haas, Cynthia J. Klink, Greg J. Maggard, Mark S. Aldenderfer

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Settlement size predicts extreme variation in the rates and magnitudes of many social and ecological processes in human societies. Yet, the factors that drive human settlement-size variation remain poorly understood. Size variation among economically integrated settlements tends to be heavy tailed such that the smallest settlements are extremely common and the largest settlements extremely large and rare. The upper tail of this size distribution is often formalized mathematically as a power-law function. Explanations for this scaling structure in human settlement systems tend to emphasize complex socioeconomic processes including agriculture, manufacturing, and warfare-behaviors that tend to differentially nucleate and disperse populations …

Taylor, William B. (Fa 808), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archvie Project 808. This collection contains information about south central Kentucky, folklore collected by Western Kentucky University student William B. Taylor for credit in folklore class. Information included in the collection includes such things as agricultural practices, beliefs, and legends from the county.

The Influences Of The Musselman Family, Yifei Zhang

Student Publications

For almost a century, the Musselman family has had huge influences on Adams County, PA. Many of those contributions are unknown by people today. So, based on the research of the Musselman Canning Company and the two Musselman Foundations, this paper is a study of the impacts the Musselman family has had on others and how it has achieved that influence. The main primary sources include the company’s publication, The Processor, the articles on local newspaper, and the collections in the Special Collection in Gettysburg College’s Musselman Library.

The Impact Of Agricultural Emergence On The Genetic History Of African Rainforest Hunter-Gatherers And Agriculturalists, Etienne Patin, Katherine J. Siddle, Guillaume Laval, Hélène Quach, Christine Harmant, Noémie Becker, Alain Froment, Béatrice Régnault, Laure Lemée, Simon Gravel, Jean-Marie Hombert, Lolke Van Der Veen, Nathaniel J. Dominy, George H. Perry, Luis B. Barreiro, Paul Verdu, Evelyne Heyer, Lluís Quintana-Murci

Dartmouth Scholarship

The emergence of agriculture in West-Central Africa approximately 5,000 years ago, profoundly modified the cultural landscape and mode of subsistence of most sub-Saharan populations. How this major innovation has had an impact on the genetic history of rainforest hunter-gatherers—historically referred to as ‘pygmies’—and agriculturalists, however, remains poorly understood. Here we report genome-wide SNP data from these populations located west-to-east of the equatorial rainforest. We find that hunter-gathering populations present up to 50% of farmer genomic ancestry, and that substantial admixture began only within the last 1,000 years. Furthermore, we show that the historical population sizes characterizing these communities already differed …

Kentucky State University - Frankfort, Kentucky - Homecoming (Fa 639), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 639. This collection features documentation of the October 2007 Kentucky State University (KSU) Homecoming festivities, as well as KSU's presentation at the Kentucky Folklife Festival.

Mccreary County, Kentucky - Cultural Resource Survey (Fa 623), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 623. This collection features information and oral histories gathered from traditional artisans and musicians of McCreary County, Kentucky.

The Shifting Landscape Of Amish Agriculture: Balancing Tradition And Innovation In An Organic Farming Cooperative, Matthew J. Mariola, David L. Mcconnell

All Faculty Articles

In the context of the recent proliferation of alternative operations and marketing schemes across the agricultural landscape, this article examines an Amish organic farming cooperative in northeast Ohio. Contrary to popular perception, the large majority of Amish are not full-time farmers, and those who do farm typically use conventional, chemical-intensive methods. The adoption of certified organic among the Amish is a pragmatic decision that stems from concerns over the sociocultural effects of losing their agrarian heritage, but it also raises challenges that require a careful balance between market imperatives and cultural traditions. We investigate these challenges and the Amish response …