Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Impacts Of Site Formation Processes On Excavation Methodology: The Study Of A World War Ii B-24 Crash Site In Munster, Germany, Mariska Molnar

Anthropology Department: Theses

In the Fall of 2018, Matthew Hansen monitored the destruction of a parking lot two blocks north of the Capitol Building for the subsequent building of a geothermal system. During this period, and excavation was conducted with the aid of the UNL Campus Archaeology Project, and 12 features were identified. Five features produced artifacts, with Feature 11, a cistern, being the most fruitful. The collection was named the Capitol Wellfield, and a portion of the artifacts, which includes diagnostic glass and ceramic pieces, are housed on campus for studying.

Most research and publication have been focused on older excavations and …

Implications Of Ancestry Estimation: An Analysis Of Identification Rates In Unidentified Persons Cases, Mason Mckinney

Anthropology Department: Theses

During times of war, the remains of fallen U.S. military service members overseas are often difficult to track postmortem as they move from their recovery location to a permanent cemetery. After a recovery, remains are typically sent to multiple temporary cemeteries, morgues, and/or identification points before reaching their final resting place. Repeated disinterments and reinterments among vast numbers of remains in multiple temporary locations may lead to unintended commingling. This analysis is meant to examine the postmortem movement of multiple U.S. military members and assess their potential for commingling based on historical records and identification reports supplied by the Defense …

Insular Interconnectivity In The Viking Age: A Geospatial View From Norse Jarlshof, Andrea Sbei

Anthropology Department: Theses

Forensic anthropologists are responsible for estimating the biological profile—the age, sex, population affinity, and stature—of unknown deceased individuals. Many methods used for estimating the biological profile are sex-specific, which implicates sex estimation as one of the most important components of the biological profile. Historically, the skull and postcranial elements have been heavily utilized for morphological and metric sex estimation methods, whereas odontometric methods have been overlooked and underutilized. Odontometric data has proven to be a worthwhile avenue for the estimation of sex in several population-based studies (Acharya et al., 2011; Adams & Pilloud, 2019; Angadi et al., 2013; Cardoso, 2008; …

Systemic Stress In Mid-Century American Military Service Members: The Impact Of Socioeconomic Status And Military Service Length On The Human Skeleton, Erik Schulz

Anthropology Department: Theses

With the Covid-19 global pandemic and the increasing need for a better way to teach on a global scale, this study focuses on a possible alternative to standard teaching that would address these issues. This research study examines the effectiveness of using 3D-scanned images vs cast bones in teaching human osteology. There are two main teaching concepts examined: the first examines the pedagogy of teaching and assessing if a 3D or online virtual classroom assessment compares favorably to a more traditional method of teaching osteology and other similar courses in a hands-on setting. The second consideration is to assess the …

Late Paleoindian Land Tenure In Southwest Wyoming: Towards Integrating Method And Theory In An Analysis Of Taphochronometric Indicators Of Time-Averaged Deposits In The Wyoming Basin, Wyoming, Usa, Maxwell Rooney

Anthropology Department: Theses

Current methodologies in body mass estimation are lacking in accuracy when compared to the methods of sex, age, and ancestry estimation familiar to forensic anthropologists. For this reason, the practical application of body mass estimation remains underutilized, hindering the study of a potentially advantageous aspect of the biological profile.

This study highlights body mass estimation in a forensic context while taking the osteological paradox into account through the utilization of a unique population: the US military personnel killed on the USS Oklahoma during the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1942. Because these individuals were similar in age (adults, age …

Lithic Analysis Of An Early Archaic Assemblage On The Great Plains: The Spring Creek Site (25ft31), Sara L. Anderson

Anthropology Department: Theses

In the two papers that comprise this thesis, I will be discussing Bone Spatulate Tools (BSTs) specifically those made of artiodactyl humeri found within Chaco Canyon, NM. These archaeological tool types permit the investigation of androcentric biases by way of legacy data acquired using the Chaco Research Archive (CRA). By redressing these archaeological biases, I hope to resuscitate an understudied tool type and highlight their function and importance in Chacoan toolkits. In chapter two, I investigate women and gendered activities by examining Humeri Spatulate Tools (HSTs) that are found at Chacoan great and small house sites. In this study, I …

Preliminary Studies In Using X-Ray Diffraction For Analyzing The Atomic Structure Of Central Plains Tradition Constituents, Aaron C. Pattee

Anthropology Department: Theses

This research explores the methodology and application of photogrammetric and laser-scanning recording methods to a castle ruin, with the primary purpose of digitally preserving the castle. Both methods generated interactive 3D models via the combination of still images (photogrammetry) and precise laser measurements (laser-scanning), which were then combined into a single model. The case study is the medieval castle ruin Burg Hohenecken located in the city of Kaiserslautern in southwest Germany. The castle was active from 1212-1689, as one of over fifty castles within the region of the Pfalz. The inhabitants included the noble von Hoheneck family and various …

Geometric Morphometric Analysis Of Pan Frontal Bone Morphology, Maria G. Lapera

Anthropology Department: Theses

As the global obesity epidemic spreads, scientists struggle to understand the biological, cultural, and evolutionary bases for modern fatness. Understanding the contributions of the interaction between physical activity and the endocrine system to regulating metabolism could potentially help people who are overweight or obese in losing weight and illustrate one of the evolutionary pathways that encourages modern obesity. This study used an innovative approach that integrated a lifestyle physical activity and diet questionnaire coupled with endocrine analysis (leptin, osteocalcin) and anthropometric measures in order to create baseline measurements of fit individuals. The mean osteocalcin level was 4201.46 pg/mL and the …