Anthropology Commons^™

Reclaiming The Sacred Within The Legal Pluralism Phenomenon: Ndigenous People's Rights Over Cultural Property, Angela Mae C. Buenafe

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Indigenous Peoples’ (IPs’) collective rights over their sacred and cultural properties are inherent human rights recognized in international declarations like the United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN-DRIP) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The incorporation of these international declarations’ standards within the United States (US) and Philippine federal laws conflicts with the attainment of Indigenous Peoples’ collective rights to protect and preserve Indigenous Peoples’ sacred cultural properties. Through a critical and Indigenous methodological framework of legal pluralism, this study describes how the Omaha sacred (medicine) bundle and the Ifugao sacred bulul …

Alternative Individual Cartridge Case Identification Techniques, Curtis H. Sedlacek

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Individual cartridge case identification is an essential component of historic battlefield archeology. With individual cartridge case identification archeologists are able to track the movement of the combatants as they move across the battlefield, giving a highly detailed view of the past. While useful, current methods of individual cartridge case identification require expensive equipment and extensive training and time to conduct. In this thesis two alternative methods of cartridge case identification are evaluated in order to determine if recent developments in the areas of 3D scanning and statistical analysis can be utilized to develop new methods of individual cartridge case method. …

Sex Differences In Spatial Abilities: Methodological Problems In Hoffman Et Al., Drew A.H. Bailey, Richard A. Lippa, Marco Del Giudice, Raymond Hames, Dave C. Geary

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Hoffman et al. (1) claimed to provide evidence that “nurture” (i.e., residing in a patrilineal vs. matrilineal tribe in India) critically affects sex differences in spatial abilities. Unfortunately, their conclusion is undermined by major problems with their measures of spatial ability and sex equality.

The first and biggest problem is with their measure of spatial abilities. “Spatial abilities” are a complex cognitive domain, with facets ranging from location memory (favoring women) to navigation in 3D virtual space (favoring men) (2). The puzzle used by Hoffman et al. (1) is similar to the Object Assembly subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence …

Ice Raids, Children, Media And Making Sense Of Latino Newcomers In Flyover Country., Edmund T. Hamann, Jenelle Reeves

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Extant cultural models articulated in “Flyover Country” print media responses to ICE workplace raids showed a welcome of sorts of Latino newcomers. These models suggest a place for Latino students at school and more broadly for Latino children and parents in these communities. Thus, they index an unwillingness to see Latino newcomers in dehumanizing reductive terms, like “alien” or “illegal,” even as these more debilitating models may also be extant elsewhere in the public sphere.

Signifying The Place Of Unforgettable Memory: Atrocity And Trauma In A Post-Conflict Landscape, Ralph J. Hartley

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

After active inter-group lethal violence subsides places at which atrocities occurred are often assigned significance, reflecting an altered social topography influenced by ideology that may foster the hardening of socio-ethnic boundary distinctions. While using a comparativist approach, this paper explores the relationships between socio-cultural trauma, places of atrocity, and socio-political polarization. Two sites in the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda, where highly publicized massacres occurred, illustrate the power of place significance in social environments vulnerable to flare-ups of violent conflict.

Body Size And Pubertal Development Explain Ethnic Differences In Structural Geometry At The Femur In Asian, Hispanic, And White Early Adolescent Girls Living In The U.S., Daniel L. Osborne, C.M. Weaver, L.D. Mccabe, G.P. Mccabe, R. Novotny, M.D. Van Loan, S. Going, V. Matkovic, C.J. Boushey, D.A. Savaiano

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Variation in structural geometry is present in adulthood, but when this variation arises and what influences this variation prior to adulthood remains poorly understood. Ethnicity is commonly the focus of research of skeletal integrity and appears to explain some of the variation in quantification of bone tissue. However, why ethnicity explains variation in skeletal integrity is unclear.
Methods: Here we examine predictors of bone cross sectional area (CSA) and section modulus (Z), measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and the Advanced Hip Analysis (AHA) program at the narrow neck of the femur in adolescent (9–14 years) girls (n …

Protection Of The Natural And Cultural Heritage Of The Mongolian Altai, Ulikpan Beket, Hans D. Knapp

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

The Altai-Sayan Ecoregion is known as a hotspot of biodiversity with large wilderness landscapes and a high rate of endemism in Central Asia and Siberia. There are many large and important protected areas of different categories. Parts of the Russian Altai, the “Golden Mountains of Altai”, are inscribed as World Natural Heritage. Also the neighbouring countries contain pristine landscapes, which could be a potential for an extension to a transnational serial World Heritage Site.

The Mongolian part of the ecoregion is characterized by very diverse landscapes and vegetation complexes: Deserts, semi-deserts and desert steppes in arid basins, river floodplains, salt …

Anthropological Data Regarding The Adaptiveness Of Hebephilia, Raymond B. Hames, Ray Blanchard

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Hebephilia is the sexual attraction to early pubertal children in Tanner Stages 2 and 3, generally ages 11 through 14.

The second author of this letter (R.B.), a member of the Paraphilias Subworkgroup of the Work Group on Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders for DSM-5, proposed a diagnostic entity for DSM-5 that resembles the ICD-10 model, but with a different name: Pedohebephilic Disorder. In the original proposal (Blanchard, 2010a), this disorder would have three subtypes: pedophilic, hebephilic, and pedohebephilic. In the current version of the proposal, which is still under consideration, the name has been changed to Pedophilic Disorder, in …

Kinect And 3d Gis In Archaeology, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Fabio Remondino, Jim Robersson, Jennifer Von Schwerin, Giorgio Agugiaro, Gabrio Girardi

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

This paper explores the potential of using Microsoft's Kinect to create a low-cost and portable system to virtually navigate, through a prototype 3D GIS, the digitally reconstructed ancient Maya city and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Copan in Honduras. The 3D GIS, named QueryArch3D, was developed as part of the MayaArch3D project (http://mayaarch3d.unm.edu), which explores the possibilities of integrating databases and 3D digital tools for research and teaching on ancient architectures and landscapes. The developed system, based on the Flexible Action and Articulated Skeleton Toolkit (FAAST), controls in a remote and touchless mode the movements in the 3D environment in …

Binford, Lewis R., Alan J. Osborn

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Binford challenged anthropologists and archaeologists to expand the scope of their research, to develop more rigorous methodologies for data collection and analysis, and to think more critically. Science is a marathon without a finish line. Our understanding of past and present human behavior and cultural systems does not come easily. Social scientists can produce reliable knowledge by means of an iterative process that involves generating, testing, and refining (or rejecting) explanatory models. These models are, then, combined to construct scientific theories. The robust consequences of these theories are then continually scrutinized and evaluated. Binford continually made use of the complex …

Nebraska Anthropologist, Volume 27 : 2012 -- Contents And Frontmatter, Anthrogroup, Christine A. Nyez, Holly Staggs, Kristine Sudbeck, Allison Young

Nebraska Anthropologist

There are not many student-run academic journals, and even fewer student-run anthropological journals. We are happy to provide a forum in which anthropologists and other similarly-interested students can present their interests and intellectual work. Anthropology is the study of humanity in all walks of life, and Nebraska Anthropologist is a small testament to what can be accomplished when a community works together.

This 27th anniversary volume would not have been possible without the guidance and support of the editors that have gone before us, notably Benjamin Grant Purzycki aDd all those whose work has instilled Nebraska Anthropologist with its quality …

Social Interaction At The Maya Site Of Copan, Honduras: A Least Cost Approach To Configurational Analysis, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

In this article, I employ least cost paths using GIS to measure the relationship between site configuration and social connectivity at the ancient Maya site of Copan, Honduras. I investigate two questions. First, did people of different social classes experience varying degrees of social connectivity? Second, did people living in different parts of the city experience difference degrees of social connectivity? Ultimately, the goal is modify traditional configurational analysis using least cost analysis (LCA) to identify how social hierarchy was embedded in landscapes and how ancient people may have strategically manipulated landscapes to structure social interaction and community organization.

Zoonotic And Human Parasites Of Inhabitants Of Cueva De Los Muertos Chiquitos, Rio Zape Valley, Durango, Mexico, F. Agustín Jiménez-Ruiz, Scott Lyell Gardner, Adauto Araújo, Martín Horacio Fugassa, Richard H. Brooks, Elizabeth Racz, Karl J. Reinhard

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

We present the first reconstruction of the parasitoses among the people of the Loma San Gabriel culture, as represented by 36 coprolites excavated from the Cueva de los Muertos Chiquitos in Durango, Mexico. The coprolites date to approximately 1,400-yr ago. Species identified based on eggs recovered include the trematode Echinostoma sp., the tapeworms Hymenolepis sp. and Dipylidium caninum, and the nematodes Ancylostoma duodenale, Enterobius vermicularis, and Trichuris trichiura. After rehydration and screening, 2 methods were used to recover eggs from these samples including spontaneous sedimentation and flotation. Samples were analyzed by 3 different laboratories for independent …

Synthesizing Parasitology With Archaeology In Paleopathology, Karl Reinhard, Adauto Araujo

Karl Reinhard Publications

Parasitology is the study of organisms that are symbiotic with other organisms. In this form of symbiosis, the parasite species by definition benefits from the interaction while the host is harmed to some degree. In actuality, some parasites benefit their hosts. The animals traditionally studied by parasitologists range from protozoa to arthropods, and include all types of internal and external worms. Ticks, fleas, lice, and a variety of insects that transmit parasites are also studied by parasitologists. Recently, a more holistic view of parasitism appeared, including bacteria and viruses. In essence, parasitology is the study of a certain kind of …

Development And Application Of Methods Used To Source Prehistoric Southwestern Maize: A Review, Larry Benson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Archaeological cobs free of mineral contaminants should be used to source the soils in which they were grown. Mineral contaminants often contain much higher concentrations of metals than vegetal materials and can alter a cob’s apparent metal and heavy-isotope content. Cleaning a cob via immersion in an acid solution for more than a few minutes will result in the incongruent and sometimes complete leaching of metals, including strontium (Sr), from the cob. When using ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr to determine the location of potential agriculture fields, it is best to either integrate several depth-integrated soil samples or to integrate several …

Nebraska Phase Occupational History Through The Study Of Various Taphochronometric Indicators, Brittany A. Brooks

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

I report on an analysis of materials from several Nebraska phase sites, 25SY31 (i.e., Patterson site), 25RH69, and 25RH70 to better understand the occupation history of these sites. This study focuses on retouched flakes and the interpretation of them in terms of indices of reduction. The significance of this work lies in the production of a more nuanced understanding of structure use and abandonment within the Nebraska phase. The Nebraska phase occupation histories may allow for a better understanding of land use dynamics on the Central Plains.

Experiential Interior Design: Branding Entertainment And Nightlife For The Postmodern Young Urban Professional, Niccole S. Skomal

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Past study on Interior Design has been primarily looked at through the lenses of aesthetics and functionality. Only recently have scholars begun to see the influence marketing, in the form of branding, can have on the Interior Design process in targeting specific lifestyle groups. The purpose of this research is to understand the fabric of the postmodern Young Urban Professional lifestyle as a marketing tool for branding and designing services in the form of entertainment and nightlife. With an increasing lack of community and social connectedness in today’s postmodern society, Young Urban Professionals tend to consume entertainment and nightlife as …

Ecological Revival And Sustainable Living In The Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest Of Tamil Nadu: A Measurement Of Residential Perception In Sadhana Forest, Elizabeth Collette Mcguire

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Since 1970, the role and function of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been to promote environmental quality and to form strategies for carrying out environmental policy¹. The EPA has committed to sustainability as the next level of environmental protection. The agency states that sustainability calls for policies and strategies that meet society’s present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs². Presently, society’s requirements have resulted in natural resource exploitation and population distention- projected to reach 10 billion people within two human generations³. These paired occurrences are …

Virtual Communities As Egalitarian Societies: Why Contributions Matter And What They Mean, Kristen E. Rodgers

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

This study involves a content analysis of participation and contributions within a virtual community message board. Research focuses on evaluating virtual communities as egalitarian societies and determining what benefits group members receive from participating in and contributing to these communities. Two message board virtual communities were selected for analysis using the methodological approach of netnography. Though many past studies have labeled virtual communities as egalitarian, no clear application of the social structure theory has been applied and analyzed against such a community; this study aims to fix that and identifies key components of egalitarian societies present in virtual communities. Furthermore, …

America Hates The Westboro Baptist Church: The Battle To Preserve The Funerals Of Fallen Soldiers, Kendra L. Suesz

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) has gained national attention over the past several years with their fiery protests at the funerals of soldiers killed in action. Citizens outraged by the actions of the WBC pressured the lawmakers in 45 states to enact legislation curtailing the protesters’ access to funerals. Claiming that the laws infringe upon their First Amendment rights, the WBC has challenged these legislations in court, and will continue to do so. While the lawmakers are struggling to enact effective barriers against the WBC’s access to funerals, the American public has taken matters into their own hands. At many …

Nebraska's Traditional Cultural Properties In The Section 106 Process, Karen A. Steinauer

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Archeologists engaged in cultural resource management and compliance are charged with measuring “historic” properties against legal standards for purposes of federal protection. This thesis focuses on one kind of property, the Traditional Cultural Property (TCP), within the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106 process, where sometimes in practice the terms TCP and sacred site are used interchangeably. This thesis strives to bring precision to TCPs, provide a concise reference, and, through inspection and analysis of four case studies of Nebraska properties, critique the present process for identifying and evaluating TCPs.

Hyphenated Identities As A Challenge To Nation-State School Practice?, Edmund T. Hamann, William England

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This chapter concludes the edited volume Hyphenated Identities and affords a chance to juxtapose how transnational students negotiate school and identity with how school systems in turn view such students, and then it allows the examination of two different strategies -- situational ethnicity versus the assertion of hyphenated identity -- as a glimpse into the cosmology of transnationally mobile students as they come into adulthood.

Schooling, National Affinity(Ies), And Transnational Students In Mexico, Edmund T. Hamann, Víctor Zúñiga

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

An examination of responses by 346 students from Nuevo León and Zacatecas, Mexico, who had previously attended schools in the United States, found that 37% asserted a hyphenated identity as "Mexican-American," while an additional 5% identified as "American." Put another way, 42% did not identify singularly as "Mexican." Those who insisted on a hyphenated identity were not a random segment of the larger sample, but rather had distinct profiles in terms of gender, time in the United States, and more. This chapter describes these students, broaches implications of their hyphenated identities for their schooling, and considers how this example may …

Review Of Light From Ancient Campfires: Archaeological Evidence For Native Lifeways On The Northern Plains. By Trevor R. Peck., Matthew Boyd

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Despite the relatively long legacy of professional archaeological research in the northern Great Plains, few comprehensive syntheses of the region's 13,000- year human history have been produced in recent years. This is particularly the case for the Canadian side of the region, which has tended to be overlooked in most scholarly summaries of Great Plains prehistory. The shadowy nature of the Canadian prairies to the wider community of Plains archaeologists is not due to a lack of archaeological research in the region-Alberta, alone, has over 35,000 registered sites-but instead reflects the poor dissemination ofCRM (Culture Resource Management) reports and other …

Review Of Gentle People: A Case Study Of Rockport Colony Hutterites. By Joanita Kant., Rod Janzen

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Joanita Kant's Gentle People is an excellent case study of South Dakota's Rockport Hutterite Colony. The book includes in-depth description and analysis of the lifestyle of Rockport Colony residents and covers people of all ages and interests. There are numerous helpful photographs, both contemporary and historical. Members of the Rockport Colony belong to a religious society that has practiced "community of goods" for nearly five centuries. The book not only introduces the reader to the deep-seated beliefs and practices of members, but also provides important sociological analysis supported by helpful figures and maps, including population pyramids, floor plans, and colony …

Review Of Wives And Husbands: Gender And Age In Southern Arapaho History. By Loretta Fowler., Kathleen S. Fine-Dare

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Wives and Husbands will likely become a classic of ethnographically informed historical anthropology. From the moment distinguished anthropologist Loretta Fowler's work opens with its account of Little Raven and Walking Backward-a brother and sister born in the early nineteenth century who lived to see great changes- to its final pages, which offer at least ten "new lines of research" that scholars might do well to follow to correct errors regarding everything from women's status under change to the "reidentification process" undergone by educated Arapahos returning to their communities, a wide variety of readers will find themselves engaged in a book …

Review Of Arch Lake Woman: Physical Anthropology And Geoarchaeology. By Douglas W. Owsley, Margaret A. Jodry, Thomas W. Stafford, Jr., C. Vance Haynes, Jr., And Dennis J. Stanford., Daniel J. Wescott

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Approximately 10,000 radiocarbon years before present, the body ofa 17- to 19-year-old female, probably associated with the Plainview Culture, was buried on the south side of Arch Lake, located near the present-day border of New Mexico and Texas. The young woman was interred in an extended supine position with a necklace of talc beads low on her neck, a bag containing red pigment and a unifacial stone tool on her left hip, and a bone tool placed on her chest. Her grave remained relatively undisturbed until 1967 when it was exposed, discovered, and carefully excavated by archaeologists. The Arch Lake …

In Memoriam: Lewis R. Binford, 1931-2011, Alan J. Osborn

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Obituary of archaeology and anthropology professor Lewis Roberts Binford, 1931-April 11, 2011.

Factors Controlling Pre-Columbian And Early Historic Maize Productivity In The American Southwest, Part 2: The Chaco Halo, Mesa Verde, Pajarito Plateau/ Bandelier, And Zuni Archaeological Regions, Larry Benson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Chemical and nutrient analyses of 471 soil samples from 161 sites within four archaeological regions (Pajarito Plateau/Bandelier, Zuni, Mesa Verde, and the Chaco Halo) were combined with historical climate data in order to evaluate the agricultural productivity of each region. In addition, maize productivity and field-life calculations were performed using organic-nitrogen (N) values from the upper 50 cm of soil in each region and a range (1–3%/year) of N-mineralization rates. The endmember values of this range were assumed representative of dry and wet climate states. With respect to precipitation and heat, the Pajarito Plateau area has excellent agricultural potential; the …

Understanding Bioprospecting: Can Indigenous Populations Benefit From The Search For Pharmaceuticals In Areas Of High Biodiversity, Emily Schwindt

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Bioprospecting is a controversial issue, and anthropologists and other scientists are quick to take sides. The idea of large corporations pumping money into conservation and development programs, while developing what could be the latest life-saving drug simply sounds too good to be true, and often times is. However, if all parties work together and proceed with caution, these benefits could become more than a fantasy. Looking at case studies from Costa Rica, India, South Africa and Panama this paper attempts to find patterns among successful bioprospecting agreements and note shortcomings and identify risks. This information will be used to suggest …