Anthropology Commons^™

Can Palm Logs Float? Evaluating The Physical Viability Of Raft Transport For Rapa Nui Moai, Carl Philipp Lipo, Terry L. Hunt

Anthropology Datasets

Recent suggestions that palm log rafts may have transported moai statues on Rapa Nui require evaluation of whether fresh palm wood can provide sufficient buoyancy for multi-ton cargo. This analysis integrates experimental flotation tests, structural analyses of palm stem anatomy, and buoyancy calculations using modern palm analogs to reconstruct the extinct Rapa Nui palm. Fresh palm logs sink when placed in water because of their internal structure: stems consist of approximately 20% liquid by volume, contained within thousands of water-filled vascular tubes, surrounded by a thin, brittle cortex. This yields effective densities of 800-1,200 kg/m³ that approach or exceed seawater …

Yafo, Ha-Te‘Uda Ha-Aduma Street: The Military Finds / יפו, רחוב התעודה האדומה: ממצא צבאי, Alexander Glick

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavation on Ha-Te‘uda Ha-Aduma Street in Yafo uncovered fourteen military items, including two cannonballs and twelve small-caliber bullets. A correlation of these finds with historical sources and with modern and eighteenth–nineteenth-century maps suggests that the military items uncovered in the excavation were related to one or more of the historical sieges of Yafo: the siege laid by Muhammad Beq Abu-Dahab in 1775–1776, during which a siege battery was constructed within the area of the present excavation; or Napoleon’s siege in 1799, whose batteries were likewise positioned within the excavation area.

Yafo, Ha-TeʻUda Ha-Aduma Street: The Glass Finds, Brigitte Ouahnouna

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavation at Ha-Te‘uda Ha-Aduma Street in Yafo yielded about fifty glass items dating from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries CE. These include imported and locally produced medicine, cosmetic and beverage bottles, as well as bracelet fragments of common types that first appeared in the Mamluk period and remained in use through the Ottoman period and into recent times. The finds reflect a modest repertoire associated with local daily life at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Yafo, Ha-TeʻUda Ha-Aduma Street: Late Ottoman Porcelain And Ceramics, Anna De Vincenz

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The salvage excavations on Ha-Teʻuda Ha-Aduma street in Yafo yielded a small Late Ottoman ceramic and porcelain vessel assemblage. Porcelain and hard-paste vessels were imported from Europe, whereas glazed earthenware vessels were imported from Europe and Turkey. Among the locally made vessels were Black Gaza Ware and other coarse ware vessels. Many roof tiles, complete and fragmentary, as well as bricks, were imported mainly from Marseille, France. Only a few smoking pipes and narghile were found; these were either locally produced or originated in Turkey.

Yafo, Ha-Te‘Uda Ha-Aduma Street: Remains Of The Al-Hureish Neighborhood From The Late Ottoman Period And British Mandate Era / יפו, רחוב התעודה האדומה: שרידי שכונת אל־הורייש משלהי התקופה העות'מאנית וימי המנדט הבריטי, Ayelet Dayan, Yoav Arbel

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavation at the corner of Yehuda Ha-Yamit and Ha-Te‘uda Ha-Aduma Streets in Yafo uncovered remains dating to the eighteenth–twentieth centuries CE, including those of the late Ottoman and British Mandate neighborhood of al-Hureish. The earliest construction remains at the site, dated to the second half of the nineteenth century CE, suggest agricultural activity in the area or early residential structures with channels installed for drainage. This construction was later disrupted by a wall, possibly part of the eastern wall of the al-Hureish neighborhood, built in a subsequent phase. The main significance of the excavation was the al-Hureish neighborhood, founded …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of The One Paleopathology Workshop, Julianne R. Stamer, Mario Apata Mamani, Bernardo Arriaza, Robin Bendrey, Kelly Blevins, Tessa Campbell, Nicole Gottdenker, Rebecca Gowland, Haagen Klaus, Carina Marques

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Background and objectives: One Paleopathology is a novel concept in Paleopathology that extends the One Health paradigm into the past. A workshop at the University of Durham, UK, was held prior to the 2024 International Society for Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health (ISEMPH) meeting, firstly to define and expand the concept of One Paleopathology and secondly to generate transdisciplinary research and outreach under this framework. This article presents a logic model to evaluate how effectively the workshop met its goals.

Methodology: Two surveys were conducted, one immediately following the workshop and at the 1-year mark. These surveys assess the direct …

Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): The Textile Impressions, Orit Shamir

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

During the excavations at Kibbutz Megiddo (al-Lajjun), thirteen linen textile impressions and coiling marks on pottery were discovered. The textile impressions exhibit either a delicate or a crude texture. Textiles were used to cover ceramic vessels to prevent them from drying too quickly, which could cause the vessel to crack. Impressions on the interior of vessels suggest that they were modeled, apparently using clay coils, around a textile bag filled with wet sand, which provided their general rounded shape. The basketry impressions on the bases of pottery vessels were not created intentionally but resulted from placing freshly shaped pots on …

Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): The Faunal Remains, Guy Bar-Oz, Laila Abado

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

This report discusses a small bone assemblage retrieved from the Hellenistic–Mamluk strata at Kibbutz Megiddo (al-Lajjun). The assemblage is predominantly composed of livestock taxa, including sheep, goats, cattle and chickens. Notably, camel bones are present in almost all strata, with the exception of the Hellenistic period stratum. Pathological analysis of cattle foot bones suggests that these animals were also used as beasts of burden.

Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): The Coins, Ariel Berman, Gabriela Bijovsky

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The 61 coins discovered during the excavations at Kibbutz Megiddo provide modest numismatic evidence for a multi-period site, dating from the Seleucid to the Mamluk periods. However, the starting date of occupation could not be established, as the early coins were found in disturbed loci. The majority of the Islamic coins belong to the Mamluk dynasty. Of special interest is an Il-Khānid fals found in a Mamluk context.

Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): The Glass Finds, Tamar Winter

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The glass finds from the site at Kibbutz Megiddo cover a long chronological range, from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries CE. The significance of this assemblage lies predominantly in the presentation of glass finds from the Early Islamic and Mamluk periods, as published specimens from these periods in the Megiddo region are quite scarce. Moreover, many of the vessels from the Early Islamic and Mamluk periods are elaborately decorated, supporting the notion of an affluent population at the site in these periods.

Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): Remains From The Hellenistic–Mamluk Periods / קיבוץ מגידו (א־לג'ון): שרידים מהתקופות ההלניסטית עד הממלוכית, Yotam Tepper, Edna J. Stern

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavation at Kibbutz Megiddo revealed eight strata dating to the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Abbasid, Crusader and Mamluk periods, as well as a modern stratum. The remains indicate an almost continuous sequence of settlement at the site from the third century BCE to the present. For the first time, remains dated to the Hellenistic, Early, Middle and Late Islamic periods are documented in the Legio-Megiddo region. The Roman finds likely represent a settlement in the vicinity of the Roman legion base and the Jewish village of Kefar ‘Othnay. Its inhabitants maintained trade connections with nearby settlements and urban centers …

Interpreting “Vampire” Burials In Medieval Eastern Europe, Arleen Chau

UROP Posters

Since the early twentieth century, various atypical or deviant graves have been excavated across Eastern Europe, particularly in Poland. These discoveries have prompted much speculation, as the individuals were interred with items such as sickles placed over their necks or abdomens, along with other mortuary artifacts not considered normative compared to those found in typical community burials. Such practices suggest that these individuals were regarded as deviant or pariahs within their social contexts. Consequently, many have been quick to label these as “vampire burials,” interpreting them as measures intended to keep the dead from rising. However, this definition is problematic, …

Did Our Prehistoric Ancestors Engage In Mortuary Practices?, Regina E. Mcrae

UROP Posters

Abstract

Mortuary practice is defined as how humans dispose of and treat their dead. We are familiar with elaborate burials such as the entombment of pharaohs in the pyramids at Giza; Necropolises of the Valley of the Kings and Queens; the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus; the Taj Mahal in India; Viking funeral pyres on boats; and the modern jazz funerals of New Orleans. Caring for our dead is believed to be a modern concept, practiced by Homo Sapiens. However, archeological excavations and scientific analyses show burial practices predate modern man, practiced by our ancient ancestors such as Neanderthal, Homo Naledi, and …

A Literature Review Of Cultural Resource Management (Crm) Law, Matthew Glumac

A with Honors Projects

An academic poster on CRM law.

A Stable Isotope Comparison Of The Biogenic Carbonate Of Mammalian Tooth Enamel From The Modern Ohio River Valley And Fort Ancient Buffalo Sites, Sara Elizabeth Slack

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values change in response to anthropogenic factors (Ghosh & Brand, 2003). Little is known about the effects of anthropogenic climate and land use change on the ecology of the Ohio River Valley. The goal of this research was to quantify the effects of European colonization on the native ecology of the region. The specific questions of this research were: (1) How have mammalian tooth enamel δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C compositions shifted over time within the Ohio River Valley in response to anthropogenic climate change and vegetation? (2) Are there differences …

Chapter 3: Diamonds In The Rough: The Development And Occurrences Of The Rhombus Motif, Its Components, And Its Variations In Olmec And Olmec-Related Textiles, Billie J. A. Follensbee

Precious Pattern: The Dotted-Diamond Motif in Indigenous American Textiles, Explorations in Mesoamerica, the American Southwest, and the Andes

Discusses the development of textiles in the Mesoamerican Preclassic/Formative period from the Gulf Coast, the rhombus textile patterns and motifs in Olmec and Olmec-related imagery, and includes further reflections on the dotted-diamond motif, its components, and their correlations.

Afro-Indigenous Burial Ground Gpr Survey Data From Umass Boston Archaeological Work, Shelter Island, Ny, John M. Steinberg, John Schoenfelder, Nedra Lee, Stephen Mrozowski, Chiara M. Torrini, Tess Ostoyich, Claire Ross, Kristen Delatour, Joseph E. Kinney

Data and Datasets

Survey data from the ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey at the Afro-Indigenous Burial Ground (AIBG) at Sylvester Manor, Shelter Island, NY. Zip folder contains raw recorded data (radargrams). Additional files include zipped shapefiles for GPR transects, trees and rocks; and  dat file. Fieldstone marker files include zipped folders with an excel sheet listing numbered fieldstone markers, and a sheet listing the photographs of the fieldstone markers. Fieldstone marker number allows tor joining the photographs, and the "rock" shapefile to the list of markers.

The .rd7 files are the type generated by MALA GPR systems to record raw data (they are …

Datums And Benchmarks From Sylvester Manor Umass Boston Archaeological Work, Shelter Island, Ny, John M. Steinberg, John Schoenfelder, Chiara M. Torrini, Joseph E. Kinney, Stephen A. Mrozowski, David B. Landon

Data and Datasets

Datums from Sylvester Manor Archaeological work (2019-2026).  Includes zipped shapefile of points and complementary csv, that includes the site areas for each datum.

Excavation Units From Sylvester Manor Umass Boston Archaeological Work, Shelter Island, Ny, John M. Steinberg, John Schoenfelder, Chiara M. Torrini, Joseph E. Kinney, Stephen Mrozowski, David B. Landon, Nedra Lee

Data and Datasets

Excavation units from Sylvester Manor archaeological work (1998-2025). Includes zipped polygon shapefile with outlines of excavation units.

Shovel Test Pits From Sylvester Manor Umass Boston Archaeological Work, Shelter Island, Ny, John M. Steinberg, John Schoenfelder, Chiara M. Torrini, Joseph E. Kinney, Stephen Mrozowski, David B. Landon, Nedra Lee

Data and Datasets

Shovel test pits (STPs) from Sylvester Manor archaeological work (1998-2025). STPs were excavated as 50cm-x-50cm squares and sometimes expanded into larger excavations. These points typically represent the southwest corner of test pits but not always. See shapefile metadata for more information. Includes zipped point shapefile with points each representing one corner of a STP.

Family Cemetery Gpr Survey Data From Sylvester Manor Umass Boston Archaeological Work, Shelter Island, Ny, John M. Steinberg, John Schoenfelder, Stephen Mrozowski, Nedra Lee, Chiara M. Torrini, Tess Ostoyich, Claire Ross, Joseph E. Kinney

Data and Datasets

The .rd7 files are the type generated by MALA GPR systems to record raw data (they are unprocessed binary data files containing the recorded electrical signals), along with .cor (coordinate data), .mrk (markers on radargrams), .mrkj (modern version of .mrk), and .rad (header file; contains survey parameters, antenna frequency, samples per trace, time window, and velocity) files. The info.dat file was derived from GPR-Slice. It is a critical ASCII text file that maps the GPR radargram filenames to their specific spatial positions. It defines the survey grid layout, including line lengths, survey direction (X or Y), and profile spacing. These …

Artifact Catalog From Sylvester Manor Umass Boston Archaeological Work, Shelter Island, Ny, Christa M. Beranek, Stephen Mrozowski, David B. Landon, Nedra Lee, John M. Steinberg, John Schoenfelder, Chiara M. Torrini, Joseph E. Kinney

Data and Datasets

Artifact catalog from Sylvester Manor archaeological work (1998-2025) as of May 2026. The Artifact_List.rtf is a text file listed by unit and context.  Artifact_Table.xlsx is the same data, but in tabular form.  Unit_Contexts.xlsx is a table listing all the contexts by unit.

Artifact_Table and Artifact_List are very large files.

Datum Reference Photos From Sylvester Manor Umass Boston Archaeological Work, Shelter Island, Ny, John M. Steinberg, John Schoenfelder, Chiara M. Torrini, Joseph E. Kinney, Stephen Mrozowski, David B. Landon, Nedra Lee

Data and Datasets

Photographs of site datums used during UMass Boston archaeological work at Sylvester Manor. File names contain the datum name followed by a sequential number. Each datum contains a set of multiple photographs showing its location at a near and far scale, illustrating its exact spot and place in the broader landscape, respectively. Some datums have photographs showing how the survey rod needs to be placed, and some have images that include a pin flag with the datum name written on it. Includes zipped folder.

The Lithic Assemblage From The 700,000 Year-Old Butchery Site Of Kalinga (Luzon Island, Philippines): New Insights Into Technological Variability In The Early Palaeolithic In Island Southeast Asia, Alfred F. Pawlik, Justin Guilbert, Jean-Baptiste Lambard, Gerald Palaya, Jackie Despriee, Xavier Gallet, John De Vos, Andrea Dominique Cosalan, Maria G. Chacon

Archaeology

Despite a long history of archaeological and paleoanthropological research, our understanding of the Early Palaeolithic in Island Southeast Asia remains limited, as only a few sites with clear stratigraphic contexts - Mata Menge (Flores Island), Ngebung 2 (Java Island), Calio and Talepu (Sulawesi Island) - have been documented. This scarcity of well-stratified assemblages has led to a poor characterisation of technological variability and cultural sequences, which mainly rely on surface collections and early typological classifications/facies (e.g., Pacitanian, Cabengian, Cabalwanian, Liwanian, Arubian, etc). These classifications mostly based on a handful of cobble artefacts, have long obscured the technological diversity of early …

An Ideological Target Through The Archaeological Archive: The Islamic State’S Destruction Of Palmyra And Its Impact On Local Syrian Identity, Tristen A. Leone

Pomona Senior Theses

This paper investigates how Palmyra's multicultural archaeological archive incited ISIS's destruction of the site during the Syrian Civil War through an analysis of sepulchral and religious architectural structures and onomastic practices. In contributing the cultural heritage scholarship, this paper places the motives of Islamic extremist groups in conversation with intellectual discourse around the multicultural identities of the Ancient Near East during the Roman Imperial Period. Further, through anthropological methodological frameworks and the photographic archive of excavation efforts at Palmyra, I aim to center modern local communities' experiences of living on and near an archaeological site like Palmyra. In consulting modern …

Forging Industry: Craft Practice At The Delaware Mine Blacksmith Shop, Lucy A. Gibbs

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This thesis examines the archaeological remains of a nineteenth-century blacksmith shop associated with the Delaware Mine Site in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. Blacksmiths played an important role in early mining operations, providing the metalworking services and tool maintenance necessary to support mineral extraction. Drawing on evidence from the 2025 Michigan Technological University field school, the study investigates the shop’s operational lifespan, organization, and potential activities as it supported daily mining operations. Artifact analysis, spatial reconstruction, soil testing, and archival sources assist in reconstructing shop functions and history.

Results indicate that the shop was likely constructed during the earliest development of the …

Ceramics And Trade In Mesoamerica: Identity And Resistance In The Maya Culture, Mason A. Swanson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The region of Mesoamerica has been researched extensively by archaeologists over the past decades. There are numerous cultures and civilizations that occupied Mesoamerica over thousands of years. This paper will focus on the Maya, one of the most researched and examined of the cultures of Mesoamerica. By examining the ceramics and trade of the Maya one can reconstruct how the Maya identity was viewed in the past. Often the Maya are suggested to have experienced a collapse at the end of the Classic period around (AD 900). This, however, is an oversimplification of the events that occurred. The goal of …

A Collection Of Mussels: Ancestors, More-Than-Human Relations, And The Transformation Of Shell-Bearing Places In The Green River Valley, Kentucky, Karen A. Stevens

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

For over a century, archaeological investigations in the Lower Ohio River Valley have provided extensive evidence of Indigenous Ancestors’ lifeways and practices. However, interpretations of shell-bearing sites have largely been shaped by Eurocentric and Western perspectives, often framing Indigenous actions as responses to environmental shifts rather than as expressions of dynamic social, spiritual, and ecological relationships. Within this historical context, explanations for the relatively abrupt decline of freshwater mollusk collection at the end of the Archaic Period (ca. 3000 cal yr BP) have primarily emphasized environmental change, particularly fluctuations in riverine conditions and resource availability. Yet, these explanations often overlook …

Pvn-Ceramics-Op 202-Ceramic Analyses, Edward Schortman, Patricia Urban

Four Valleys Archive

No abstract provided.

Pvn-Ceramics-Op 202-Ceramic Analyses, Patricia Urban, Edward Schortman

Four Valleys Archive

No abstract provided.