Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Prehistoric Human Ecodynamics In The Rub Al-Khali Desert: Results Of Remote Sensing And Excavations In Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Jason T. Herrmann

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Archaeological investigations in the Emirate of Dubai, UAE conducted by the Dubai Department of Archaeology and the University of Arkansas demonstrate that the desert inland of the Oman Peninsula was occupied not only during the Arabian Neolithic (8000-4400 BC), when the region experienced a moist period referred to as the Holocene Climatic Optimum (HCO), but also during the more arid millennia following the decline of the HCO into the Christian Era. During this period, desert settlement clustered near a band of oases, in contrast to the more widespread spatial distribution of remains of nomadic pastoralists from the Neolithic. Excavations at …

Contextualizing The Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site (40wg59): Understanding Landscape Change At An Upland South Farmstead., Daniel Whitaker Howard Brock

Masters Theses

This thesis focuses on a contextual archaeological approach to investigate the historic landscape of the Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site. Tipton-Haynes is a late eighteenth- through twentieth-century upland south farmstead located in Johnson City, TN. Home to two prominent Tennessee families and occupied until acquired by the state in the 1960s, the site has experienced many alterations to the landscape over time. The analysis presented views the landscape as material culture investigated through a multidisciplinary approach including historic research, architectural survey, geophysical survey, dendrochronology, and archaeology. To make sense of the complex nature of the Tipton-Haynes site, multiple methods were used …

An Analysis Of Personal Adornment At Fort St. Joseph (20be23), An Eighteenth-Century French Trading Post In Southwest Michigan, Ian B. Kerr

Masters Theses

Since 1998 Western Michigan University archaeologists have investigated Fort St. Joseph (20BE23), an 18th century mission, garrison and trading post located in present day Niles, Michigan. The project’s research directive focuses on exploring notions of identity formation and its material expression in light of the prolonged and persistent cultural contact between Native Americans and Europeans at the site.

This thesis seeks to further this directive by exploring how personal adornment materiality both structures and broadcasts individuals’ social identities. By employing an intrasite spatial analysis of the assemblage of adornment artifacts from recognized domestic contexts at Fort St. Joseph this thesis …

Kites For Low Cost Near Earth Aerial Archaeological Photography, Robert Joseph Brandon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents an overview of kite aerial photography (KAP) as a platform for archaeologists to acquire time sensitive unmanned near earth aerial photography for archaeological research. The methods and tools reviewed in this thesis are limited to those that make this technology accessible to the typical poorly funded archaeologists working in remote locations. The KAP methods detailed here have a low start up cost, are easy to transport, and a can be easily learned by archaeologists. The goal of this thesis is to promote KAP as a significant and regularly utilized tool for archaeological projects.

Archaeological Investigations Of Control And Autonomy At The Colony Farm Of The Michigan State Asylum, 1880-1950, Alison Thornton

Masters Theses

This project is designed to look into mechanisms of control and patient autonomy in institutional confinement, using Colony Farm in Kalamazoo, Michigan as a case study. I have chosen to specifically examine landscape, architecture, foodways, and personal goods/dress as avenues in which to parse out information regarding control and autonomy. The main themes throughout this paper are work as a cure, patient labor, and the blurring of roles between patients, staff members, and paid hired workers. These themes are intertwined with landscape, architecture, foodways, and personal goods/dress and highlight the contradictions inherent in institutional confinement, especially in the context of …

Predictive Geospatial Modeling For Archaeological Research And Conservation: Case Studies From The Galisteo Basin, Vermont And Chaco Canyon, Wetherbee Bryan Dorshow

Anthropology ETDs

Geospatial modeling of ancient landscapes for predictive scientific research and hypothesis testing is an important emerging approach in contemporary archaeology. This doctoral dissertation is comprised of three published North American case studies that clearly demonstrate the value of predictive geospatial modeling to address explicit goals of contemporary archaeological research, conservation and cultural resource management. The case studies consist of a GIS-based prioritization analysis of natural and cultural resources conservation value in the Galisteo Basin of north-central New Mexico, an archaeological sensitivity analysis (site-discovery potential) for the state of Vermont, and a predictive model of agricultural potential during the Bonito Phase …

Reappraising The Land Behind Baghdad: Using Corona Satellite Imagery To Reassess The Archaeological Landscape Of The Diyala Plain, Iraq, James Henry Wesolowski

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

High-resolution low-cost declassified CORONA spy satellite imagery is used to detect archaeological sites and relict canals in the Diyala Plain to the east of Baghdad, Iraq. This project seeks to improve upon the ground survey conducted there in the 1950s by providing better geographic control and discovering sites and canals that were not included in the original survey. CORONA imagery provides a sub-2-meter spatial resolution and was acquired shortly after the original ground survey was conducted, providing an excellent medium for comparison. CORONA imagery is subject to significant spatial distortions because of its camera technology and the LPS package for …

Plant Remains, Investment Strategies, And Site Processes: Two Sites Along The Nolichucky River In Greene County, Tennessee, Jessie Luella Johanson

Masters Theses

Sites 40GN228 and 40GN229, located in Greene County, Tennessee, provide a record of subsistence change and variation in landscape management practices spanning from the Late Paleoindian to the Pisgah phase of the Mississippian period. The botanical remains from these sites detail changing plant-human relationships over a 12,000-year time span in the upper Ridge and Valley of eastern Tennessee. The expansive temporal and spatial scale of the two sites presented an opportunity to evaluate the plant assemblages on several levels. The substantial cultural deposits allowed a synchronic and diachronic look into plant use. In addition, the geographic proximity of the two …

Chenopodium Berlandieri And The Cultural Origins Of Agriculture In The Eastern Woodlands, Daniel Shelton Robinson

Masters Theses

The development of agriculture in the New World has been a topic of prominent historic interest, but one that has ignored some regions in favor of others. The woodlands of Eastern North America have felt this bias in the investigation of agricultural origins, but this has not prevented the development of theories to explain the emergence of a complex of indigenous agricultural plants in the region. Data collection and technological advances have in large part validated these theories, creating a model for domestication. By emphasizing farming over other cultural practices, however, these theories lack explanatory power with regards to the …

Ritual Use Of The Human Form: A Contextual Analysis Of The "Charlie Chaplin" Figure In The Maya Lowlands, Lisa M. Lomitola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Small anthropomorphic figures, most often referred to as “Charlie Chaplins,” appear in ritual deposits throughout the ancient Maya sites of Belize during the late Preclassic and Early Classic Periods and later, throughout the Petén region of Guatemala. Often these figures appear within similar cache assemblages and are carved from “exotic” materials such as shell or jade. This thesis examines the contexts in which these figures appear and considers the wider implications for commonly held ritual practices throughout the Maya lowlands during the Classic Period and the similarities between “Charlie Chaplin” figures and anthropomorphic figures found in ritual contexts outside of …

Sailing On The Edge: A World-Systems Analysis Of Pirates And Privateers In The Atlantic And Caribbean In The Seventeenth And Eighteenth Centuries, Emily Butcher

Senior Independent Study Theses

Despite modern conceptions, pirates were not typically cruel, greedy, and dishonest men of the lowest social ranks, but often began as privateers for local navies. It was only when they attacked an unassigned target that their status changed to that of piracy in the eyes of their patrons. However, if the illegal attack was against an enemy, the Crown often allowed the action to continue. This created a fluid status between legality and treason. This study examines the nature of piracy in the Atlantic and Caribbean in a broader context, using Edward Teach as a key figure to place piratical …

Who Needs A Plow-Zone? Using A Common Site Mapping Method In A New Way At The Silvernale Site (21gd03), Kyle Gary Harvey

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Agricultural activities are responsible for extensive disturbance and destruction of archeological sites throughout the region and beyond. Plowing moves the artifacts from their original locations thus making it difficult to tie them back to the contexts in which they belong. It has become a relatively common practice for many archeologists when faced with this problem is to simply blade off the disturbed area of the site, usually the upper 30 to 40 centimeters, so that they can better access undisturbed areas. They do this because they believe that since the artifacts have been moved out of context that they are …

The Identification And Historic Context Of Mining Archaeology Of The Wenatchee Mountains Within The Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Jared Valenta

All Master's Theses

A historically important metal mining region within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness of the Wenatchee Mountains was studied employing archival research and systematic pedestrian archaeological survey. The objective of the study was to provide a historical context for hardrock mining activities within the study area and vicinity and document any new historic archaeological sites within the study area. The results serve the scientific, scholarly, and general public by providing both a more complete archaeological record and aid in the formulation of land use policy within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Three loci of activity containing a total of 27 features with associated …

Oysters And Catfish: Resource Exploitation At Rollins Shell Ring, Ft. George Island, Florida, Julie Ann Doucet

LSU Master's Theses

Detailed faunal analyses were conducted on two major subsistence resources, oysters and marine catfish, at Rollins Shell Ring, a Late Archaic (5000 – 3000 B.P.) site on the northeast coast of Florida. The focus of this investigation was on resource exploitation, and, specifically, whether there was evidence that oysters from this site were over-exploited. Three units from previous excavations at the site were selected for analysis, and represent the span of occupation recorded for this site. Measurements were obtained from oysters to determine habitat, and, along with shell height, were compared across time for any changes in the pattern of …