Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Utah State University

Anthropology

2020

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

A Tale Of Two Sandals: Analysis Of Two Sandals From The Gordon Keller Collection, Emily Morris-Larsen Dec 2020

A Tale Of Two Sandals: Analysis Of Two Sandals From The Gordon Keller Collection, Emily Morris-Larsen

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This paper presents a comparative analysis of sandals from the Utah State University Museum of Anthropology Gordon Keller collection. The sandals were recovered by Dr. Gordon Keller during fieldwork in southeastern Utah. Through a discussion and analysis of sandal styles and their temporal reaches, how these sandals relate to known specimens and greater Desert West sandal trends is uncovered. One sandal is a plaited vegetable fiber sandal, believed to be yucca. Pending radiocarbon analysis, stylistically the sandal appears to date to approximately 1200 AD. The second is a pair of unusual leather hide sandals, constructed in a shape more common …


The Sacred Circle: Ostension In Native American Hoop Dancing, Emma George Aug 2020

The Sacred Circle: Ostension In Native American Hoop Dancing, Emma George

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This thesis examines the role of the semiotic concept ostension in folk dance, specifically in Native American hoop dance. Although the discipline of folklore is well-versed in ostension, folk dance has not been examined through this lens. I argue that dance is a form of ostension, of demonstrating a narrative, and this is especially apparent within Native American hoop dancing. I begin with a brief history of Native Americans in North America before discussing the origins of powwows, intertribal culture, and hoop dance. I then look at both the sacred nature and material culture of the modern hoop dance before …