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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Aging Bison Teeth With A Gis: A New Tooth Age Prediction Methodology And Its Archaeological And Ecological Implications, Andrew Edward Owens Aug 2022

Aging Bison Teeth With A Gis: A New Tooth Age Prediction Methodology And Its Archaeological And Ecological Implications, Andrew Edward Owens

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Archaeologists use teeth to estimate the age an animal died based on tooth eruption, growth, and wear. Animal age estimations then inform archaeologists about when and why archaeological sites were occupied. However, to date, no concise and repeatable practice exists to age estimate teeth. Therefore, we propose a new tooth age estimation methodology, in this case using bison teeth. The new tooth aging method uses GIS mapping software to draw tooth surfaces and then calculate tooth surface areas of known-age bison teeth. Then, this known-age tooth sample is used to derive algebraic equations that can estimate the age of prehistoric …


Reconstructing Bison And Mammoth Migration During The Late Pleistocene And Early Holocene Of Central Texas Using Strontium Isotopes, Joshua John Porter May 2022

Reconstructing Bison And Mammoth Migration During The Late Pleistocene And Early Holocene Of Central Texas Using Strontium Isotopes, Joshua John Porter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

During the Late Pleistocene (LP; past 130,000 years), over two-thirds of large mammal (>45kg) species went extinct globally. While the role of humans is hotly debated, the effect of these extinctions is growing clearer; the extinctions resulted in widespread and lasting faunal community reorganization. However, the impact of these extinctions on dietary and migratory behavior within faunal communities is unknown. Our study examines the impact of the megafaunal extinctions on the dietary and migratory behavior of surviving Bison individuals in Texas using carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotopes. Strontium isotopes are incorporated into mammalian enamel during their tooth development and …