Anthropology Commons^™

Circular Or Rectangular Ground Plans: Some Costs And Benefits, Arwen L. Feather

Nebraska Anthropologist

Architecture, as a technological strategy, provides shelter from the environment with the minimum possible cost in construction and maintenance of dwellings. There is a significant cross-cultural relationship between ground plan shape and settlement permanence. Circular ground plans are associated with impermanent settlements and rectangular ground plans with permanent settlements. The structural strengths and weaknesses that exist in the dwellings with either circular or rectangular ground plans contrast with each other and affect selection. Architectural design, then, is determined by choices between the needs of people in a given environment and what costs adapting to that will incur.

Reservoirs And Reservations, Karen M. Griffin

Nebraska Anthropologist

In the late 1930s and 1940s. the Army Corps of Engineers was heavily involved in the development plans for a number of large dams located throughout the country. Many of these dams, and the reservoirs they created, have either been situated on Native American reservations or have had direct impact on reservations. This paper proposes that while the original intent of these dams was to benefit a number of people, there may have been those who saw dams as a convenient tool in the fight to terminate and assimilate the Native American population. Evidence regarding two of these projects, the …

Length Of Widowhood: According To The Grave, Charles Geisel

Nebraska Anthropologist

Widows have outlived their husbands in every society for thousands of years, but medical advances have almost doubled people's life-spans in the last century. This growing longevity could affect the spouse survivorship. as average life expectancy for females increases more quickly than for males. Lengths of survivorship for the last 150 years and tendencies of age groups for husbands and wives show that widows are adapting to this life-span. Demographic research at Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln. Nebraska. provided data for a statistical test of changes in survivorship.

Overgrazing: Is A Solution Available?, Brian Osborn

Nebraska Anthropologist

Overgrazing is a growing problem which results in land degradation and a loss of habitat for local wildlife. This paper reviews overgrazing and reviews the degradation it causes, comparing the Sahel region in Africa to the Great Plains of the United States. Both areas have an enormous problem with overgrazing, a problem unlikely to be solved by technology. The only solution lies in a change of attitude and practice by the human population.

Using Statistics To Analyze The Ancient Egyptian Scarab, Sarah C. Guthmann

Nebraska Anthropologist

The University of Nebraska State Museum (UNSM) houses a significant collection of nearly 100 ancient Egyptian scarabs. The collection is a wonderfully diverse group, providing examples of different usage and stylistic conventions, as well as spanning several periods of ancient Egyptian history (from the First Intermediate Period to the late New Kingdom). The scarabs vary in size, type of inscription they bear. and materials from which they were produced. This study statistically demonstrates that assignments of specific dimensions of scarab size and particular inscription types were not random occurrences. nor was the employment of certain materials and particular inscription types …

Women, Polygyny And Power, Michelle J. Lundeen

Nebraska Anthropologist

This paper focuses on the power possessed by polygynous women within the domestic sphere. comparing women in wealth increasing polygynous societies (represented by the Swazi of Africa and the Mormons of North America) with women in sororal polygynous societies (represented by the Mardudjara of Australia and the Achuar of South America) in an effort to determine which of these patterns is related to greater domestic power for women.

Nebraska Anthropologist Volume 13: 1996-1997 Table Of Contents

Nebraska Anthropologist

ARTICLES

01 Intellectual Property Rights: A Focus on Photography of Native Americans (Jennifer Wiggins)

07 National Language Policy in the United States: A Holistic Perspective (Cody L. Knutson)

17 Overgrazing: Is a Solution Available? (Brian Osborn)

23 Reservoirs and Reservations (Karen Griffin)

31 Humankind's Greatest Gift: On the Innateness of Language (Tina Brawn)

37 Using Statistics to Analyze the Ancient Egyptian Scarab (Sarah C. Guthmann)

45 Busy Corporations: The Effects of Corporations on the Environment & the Public (Markus Craig)

53 Phosphorous Concentrations at the Arner Site (Jenifer W. Putnam)

57 Circular or Rectangular Ground Plans: Some Costs & Benefits …

Phosphorous Concentrations At The Arner Site, Jenifer W. Putnam

Nebraska Anthropologist

Phosphate analysis of soil samples from the Arner site located in the Oglala National Grassland provides information on ancient activity patterns. This technique yields data that provide a direction for investigation during the next field season.

National Language Policy In The United States: A Holistic Perspective, Cody L. Knutson

Nebraska Anthropologist

English is not the official national language of the United States of America. However, this issue has often come to the forefront of many political debates, since language encompasses a wide array of political, economic and various other social implications. Acknowledging the right to the retention of local culture, a historical and cross-cultural study of language policy is interpreted to justify a limitation on the number of languages at the national political level if flexibility is maintained for individual states to adjust to the needs of their constituencies.

Intellectual Property Rights: A Focus On Photography Of Native Americans, Jennifer Wiggins

Nebraska Anthropologist

In 1990, many believed that Native Americans were aided in their fight for equality and justice with the passing of the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). This act did not, however, include items of intellectual property such as photographs. It is now vitally important, as we enter the technological age, that Native Americans regain control of their images, beliefs, and religion that are captured on film. However, it is not feasible that all photographs depicting Native Americans can be returned. Those to which they do have a viable reclaimance are the photographs that show private religious …

The Ethnobot Any Of A Mestizo Village, Christina A. Pereira

Nebraska Anthropologist

The study of ethnobotany examines the role plants play in a society. In many
subsistence-based agricultural societies plants provide a variety of resources for the subsistence of the people, including food, medicine, tools, and adornment. This paper examines the manner in which members of a Mexican mestizo village utilized local plants in their daily lives. Data is drawn from an ethnographic field school rsearch during the summer of 1995 in the ejido Emilio Carranza, near the town of Los Rayon in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. Residents classified plants in four broad categories, and maintained many of the most …

Nebraska Anthropologist Volume 12: 1995-1996 Table Of Contents

Nebraska Anthropologist

AN HONORING

03 Dorothy M. McEwen: An Appreciation (Peter Bleed)

1995 ETHNOGRAPHIC FIELD SCHOOL

05 Summer 1995 Field School: An Overview (Emilia Clements-Gonzalez)

07 The Effects of a Long-Term Drought on the Economic Roles of Hacendado and
Ejidatario Women in a Mexican Ejido (Jodi L Biskup and Darcy L. Boellstorff)

15 The Ethnobotany of a Mestizo Village (Christina A. Pereira)

ARTICLES

31 Environmental Resources and Range Size: A Study of Modem and Ancient Hunter Gathers (George H. MacDonell)

47 Women in Development: The Need for a Grassroots Gender Planning Approach (Darcy L. Boellstorff)

57 Geophagy: Adaptive or Aberrant Behavior? (David …

Paleoecological Implications Of Plant/Animal Grazing Relations On The Mammoth Steppe Of Eastern Beringia, Andre Antinori

Nebraska Anthropologist

This paper reassesses the areal extent of Mammoth Steppe in Eastern Beringia and discusses some of the ways in which grazing and topography entered into the maintenance of the Mammoth Steppe. Large, generalist grazing mammals, by their grazing style, helped maintain the Mammoth Steppe by removing old-growth and by stimulating grass plants to reproduce vegetatively. These grazers also promoted uniformity in growth-form and uniformity in plant biomass (phytomass) above and below the ground surface. During the late Pleistocene these large, generalist grazers were eliminated from interior Alaska by Paleolndian hunters and their predatory animal companions. The loss of these large, …

Geophagy: Adaptive Or Aberrant Behavior, David E. Engberg

Nebraska Anthropologist

Geophagy, clay or dirt eating, is a worldwide phenomenon of long historical precedence. Historically perceived as an irrational behavior, today, growing evidence supports the contention that earth eating has adaptive value. Case studies from Africa and the United States illustrate the practice. A literature review shows that three primary explanations have been offered to account for the presence of geophagy in human populations. The first argues that geophagy has medicinal value as an anti-diarrheal and as a dietary supplement in vitamin and mineral poor environments. The Second contends that geophagy is a culturally transferred practice. The third states that earth …

The Effects Of A Long-Term Drought On The Economic Roles Of Hacendado And Ejidatario Women In A Mexican Ejido, Jodi L. Biskup, Darcy L. Boellstorff

Nebraska Anthropologist

Data is drawn from the 1995 summer field school in applied anthropology and appropriate technology held in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. University of Nebraska-Lincoln students worked as a field team studying the impact of economic development and social initiatives on a rural former ejido. This paper focuses on how a severe regional drought has transformed the economic roles of ejido women of the hacendado and ejidatario classes. Data was gathered using ethnographic field techniques such as participant-observation and interviews. Preliminary analysis shows that women react to the drought by seeking alternative means of generating income. These include the …

Women In Development: The Need For A Grassroots Gender Planning Approach, Darcy L. Boellstorff

Nebraska Anthropologist

While the recognition of the roles of women in Third World society is increasing, the adequate operational frameworks for including the concerns of women involved in development planning has not kept pace. Models generally used in planning ignore the importance of gender in social structures. Development in the Third World has historically provided little benefit to women, generally leaving them in a more vulnerable social and economic position. Gender planning holds the key to the implementation of successful development programs in Third World communities by recognizing different social relationships between women and men occur from society to society and are …

The Native American Grave Protection And Repatriation Act: A Necessary But Costly Measure, Tina F. Brown

Nebraska Anthropologist

The Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act has had an immense impact on Amencan Anthropology. NAGPRA protects NatiVe Amencan skeletal remains and burial goods by ordenng those held for research or display retumed, and by restricting future excavations. In the course of its enactment, it has divided anthropologists on the basis of moral convictions and research priorities. Its history is long, and its future is uncertain.

Summer 1995 Ethnographic Field School: An Overview, Emilia Gonzalez-Clements

Nebraska Anthropologist

A five-week summer field school was conducted in the northern Sierra Oriental of northeast Mexico. Ten social science including anthropology) and one engineering student worked as a field team studying the impacts of new economic development initiatives on a rural ejido and participated in a small-scale irrigationlwater management project. The field school was directed by Emilia Gonzalez-Clements, applied anthropologist, and L. Davis Clements, Professor of Biological Sciences Engineering/Chemical Engineering/ Animal Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Course requirements included a readings packet, field journal, 6-page paper and 2-page report. Paper topics were selected by students in areas of their professional …

Postmodernism And Anthropology, Elisabeth R. Gaines

Nebraska Anthropologist

Postmodem anthropology questions the authority of the objective participant observer, yet eludes a precise definition. Many different experimental approaches comprise the postmodern stand, and represents a diversion from interpretive anthropology. Deconstructionists peel away the layers of subjectivity from written text derived from observation. The movement presently resides in a whirlwind of conflicting opinions conceming the postmodem style of ethnography. One of these styles, inclusive of anything and everything, conveys a chaotic message, but lacks a truly holistic quality. Some postmodem critics believe the key to fundamental meaning lies in a historical perspective where the subtleties of interpretation and writing are …

Environmental Resources And Range Size: A Study Of Modern And Ancient Hunter Gatherers, George Macdonell

Nebraska Anthropologist

Archaeological surveys should be designed to better understand how past people interacted with their environment. An accurate survey should cover a group's range size in order to get a true representation of the diversity of the group's activities. Range size is defined as the total area of land over which a group moves and procures resources. Past studies of hunter gatherer range have focused on stylistic boundaries of pottery and stone tools. Optimal Foraging Theory has been used to better understand hunter gatherer territoriality and it can be used as a frame of reference for understanding range size as well. …

Human Adaptations In The Andes: A Look At Nutrition And Brain Function With Respect To Coca And High Altitude Physiological Adaptations, Barrett P. Brenton

Nebraska Anthropologist

Throughout the span of human evolution the brain has allowed itself to be controlled by nutritional intake. This correlation between nutrition and the brain has led me to believe that the human brain has allowed itself to be manipulated and controlled by an individual's dietary intake in order to successfully adapt to the environment. In looking at the indigenous peoples of the South American Andes, I found surprising parallels between human physiological adaptations to high altitude hypoxia and cold stress and the correlating control of neurotransmitters to the brain by dietary intake.

In a study of this type it becomes …

Manioc And Fish: A "Methiononian" Compromise In Amazonia?, Tom Langdon

Nebraska Anthropologist

Protein as a limiting factor in Amazonian diet has met with considerable discussion and argument (e.g., Beckerman 1979; Chagnon and Hames 1979; Johnson 1982; Gross 1975, 1982; Spath 1978, 1981; Werner et al. 1979). The intent of this paper is to continue the discussion of protein as a limiting factor in Amazonia with respect to two dietary staples, manioc and fish. More specifically, does bitter manioc become a factor in determining aquatic resource utilization in Amazonia?

The Nebraska Anthropologist Volume 6 (1983) Contents

Nebraska Anthropologist

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............. i

HUMAN ADAPTATIONS IN THE ANDES: A LOOK AT NUTRITION AND BRAIN FUNCTION WITH RESPECT TO COCA AND HIGH ALTITUDE PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS (Barrett P. Brenton) .............. 1

Introduction .............. 2

Biochemical Aspects of Tryptophan and Serotonin .............. 2

Nutritional Control of Brain Tryptophan and Serotonin .............. 3

Food and Nutrition in the South American Andes .............. 7

Diet Composition and Tryptophan/Serotonin Production .............. 9

The Affects of Coca Chewing and Serotonin in Thermoregulation .............. 16

Possible Effects of Coca Alkaloids and Serotonin in Hypoxia .............. 18

Conclusion............... 23

References .............. 25

MANIOC AND FISH: A "METHIONONIAN" COMPROMISE IN …

The Plow And Its Influence On The Rise Of Civilization, Tom Langdon

Nebraska Anthropologist

In the magical land of Toosuiter, Butane worked his small garden. He worked with his little digging stick clearing the patch of eternal rock that seemed to multiply from one season to the next. Then he'd sing the little redundant ditty: "Little poke here, little seed there, little poke here, little seed there."

He planted his seeds and delicately covered them up with the fresh fertile earth. Yams were a delicacy. They really "tasted good" with the fresh meat that Pamela, his wife, would hunt in the surrounding forest. It was a magical life, and the land and the forest …

African Influence In Mexican Folktales, Carla Mundt

Nebraska Anthropologist

Despite the fact that many African slaves were brought to the Jew World, there have been very few studies done on how their presence affected studies that have and influenced the indigenous cultures. The been done concentrate on the areas where there was an extremely large Black population like Cuba and Brazil. Very little has been done in places like Mexico or Chile and those that have been done are often inaccurate. This paper is an elementary attempt to take a close look at how the importation of African slaves affected the culture of the New World.

The Nebraska Anthropologist Volume 5 (1980) Contents

Nebraska Anthropologist

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............ i

LIST OF FIGURES ............ iv

A REVIEW OF THE INITIAL COALESCENT VARIANT (Greg Fox) ............ 1

Taxonomic Identifications ............ 1

The Sites ............ 2

The Arzberger Site (39HU6) ............ 3

The Black Partizan Site (39LM2l8) ............ 4

The Crow Creek Site (39BFl) ............ 4

The Talking Crow Site (39BF3) ............ 6

Archeological Origin Myths ............ 7

Dating the Initial Coalescent Variant ............ 11

Central Plains and Middle Missouri Tradition Traits ............ 12

Central Plains Tradition Trait Contributions ............ 13

Middle Missouri Tradition Cultural Traits ............ 14

Summary ............ 15

References Cited ............ 16

CULTURAL ECOLOGY: A BRIEF …

The Huff Site A Reconstruction Of Past Lifeways, Emery Ladean Mehrer

Nebraska Anthropologist

The purpose of this paper is to construct, from available literature, the possible social structure of the inhabitants of the Huff Site (32MO11). Although archeology is termed as the study of the human past, with its objectives being construction of cultural chronology, reconstruction of past lifeways, and discovery of processes that underlie and condition human behavior, I feel that many times these objectives are either overlooked or only in part covered. This paper will serve as an example of possible inferences which can be made from archeological and historical data. Some inferences or hypotheses which are made in this paper …

Connoisseurs Of Caviar, Mona Thopson

Nebraska Anthropologist

Most of the published works concerning the Woodland burial mound complex of the Rainy River District of northern Minnesota and contiguous Ontario pertain to defining the culture history of this region. More specifically, they have focused on the intra and inter site variability of ceramic types (Wilford 1955, Stoltman 1973, 1974, Lugenbeal 1978). These studies have defined a detailed culture history of the Middle (Laurel) and Late Woodland (Blackduck) phases of this region. Currently, the information which has been published on the burial mound complex have shed little light on the economic, social and political systems of the prehistoric peoples …

A Review Of The Initial Coalescent Variant, Greg Fox

Nebraska Anthropologist

The Initial Coalescent Variant of the Middle Missouri Sub-area (Lehmer 1971) poses many problems for archeologists working with the culture history of the Central/Northern Plains Areas. The Initial Coalescent should not, however, be considered as strictly confined to the localities of the Big Bend Dam and Pierre, South Dakota, as Lehmer (1971) suggests. Manifestations of this cultural complex can be found as far away as the Niobrara River valley in Boyd County, Nebraska at the Lynch Site (25BD1) (Caldwell 1966). This site has been grouped with the prototype Initial Coalescent site, the Arzberger Site (39HU6), into a taxonomic unit known …

Cultural Ecology: A Brief Overview, Michael C. Gunn

Nebraska Anthropologist

Cultural ecology is based on the interaction of culture, man and environment. To the understanding of this relationship the present paper discusses the origin and development of cultural ecology, the various applications and techniques of cultural ecology by the anthropological discipline, and finally, criticisms and future goals of an ecological anthropology.

Ecology is not an anthropological subdiscipline, nor is it even a standardized approach in anthropology. Ecology may be defined as the science dealing with the study of entire assemblages of living organisms and their physical milieus, which together constitute integrated systems. More simply, ecology is the study of the …