Anthropology Commons^™

Superstitious Precebo Illusion : Does Luck Charm Really Gives You Luck? It's Mere Possession Does!, Pik Ying Chan

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

Superstition is quite common in the modern society, people still hold superstitious beliefs and often engage in superstitious rituals that bring good luck. For example, Feng shui is the most popular superstition among Chinese and carrying a Feng shui luck charm such as mystic knot and red envelopes was believed to bring good luck. Likewise, in Western superstition, similar astrological talismans are believed to strengthen different qualities of the possessor. When one believes that certain object carried mystical power, having possession of it would grant the owner access to those powers. Nonetheless, the mystic power of these talismans is questionable …

Childhood Growth In An Oneota Community: Examining Long Bone Growth Differences In The The Juveniles At Norris Farms 36, Whitney Broughton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Oneota migration into the central Illinois River valley around ad 1300 resulted in a number of different interactions with Mississippian groups. Milner and colleagues (1991) identified significant numbers of perimortem injuries at the Norris farms 36 cemetery, along with biological markers for poor health, such as cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis. They suggested that the threat of violence may have forced the Oneonta at Morton village to limit subsistence activities to circumscribed areas close to the settlement, thereby reducing the resource base and negatively impacting the health of the community. However, recent research (Bengtson et al. 2012; Bengtson and O'Gorman …

Cohonina Social Organization And The Role Of Forts In Integration And Interaction: A View From The Pittsberg Community., Travis Brent Cureton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the role of "forts" in the sociopolitical organization of a prehistoric people known as the Cohonina through the application of settlement systems analysis and functional studies. The primary objective of this thesis is to test ideas of Cohonina sociopolitical organization through an examination of the functional characteristics of forts and their positions on the landscape using a combination of theory derived from settlement and landscape archaeology, deployed in a geographic information system work environment. A Cohonina fort site known as the Pittsberg Fort Complex, was placed in its community context through broad scale survey. Artifact, architectural, and …

Dentistry In Ancient Rome: Direct Evidence For Extractions Based On The Teeth From Excavations At The Temple Of Castor And Pollux In The Roman Forum, Marshall Joseph Becker

Anthropology & Sociology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Seed In Skokloster Castle, Sweden: Searching For The Origins Of Eight Susquehannock Artifacts, Marshall Joseph Becker

Anthropology & Sociology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

John Skickett (1823? - After 1870): A Lenopi Descent Basketmaker Working In Connecticut, Marshall Joseph Becker

Anthropology & Sociology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Bioarchaeological Assessment Of Diet And Changes In Femoral And Humeral Stable Isotopic Values Among Subadults At Medieval Alytus, Lithuania., Katherine Page

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Establishing a chronology of variation in isotopic values can reveal frailty associated with biological and social age, as well as highlight individuals who vary from typical patterns. Although general dietary characteristics and infant feeding practices were previously unknown for subadults excavated from the cemetery at Alytus, Lithuania (14th-18th centuries), previous research concludes that Alytus' subadults experienced high rates of physiological, metabolic, non-specific stress, in addition to specific diseases like tuberculosis. To investigate nuanced relationships between diet and mortality, nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes from the femoral and humeral midshaft diaphyses of 70 subadults (32 weeks gestation to16 years) were analyzed. …

Playing For Peace: Building Relationships Between Ugandan And Refugee Youth Through Football3 At Soccer Without Borders Uganda, Jean-Christophe Moran

Capstone Collection

This paper describes and analyzes a soccer tournament for Ugandan and refugee youth based on the principles and practices of football3, an established methodology for using soccer as a means of dialogue and resolution of conflict across differences. The goal of this tournament to was build relationships between Ugandan and refugee youth at Soccer Without Borders Uganda. This tournament was held in 2013 in Kampala under the auspices of Soccer Without Borders Uganda and involved training of staff. The implementation of football3 demonstrated that this methodology could have a positive impact on uniting refugee and Ugandan youth while providing participants …

Quarterly Reporter - January 2014, South Carolina Institute Of Archaeology And Anthropology--University Of South Carolina

Sport Diver Newsletters

Contents:

Nate Fulmer Joins the Division..... p.1
January Quarterly Reports..... p.2
Arkhaios Film Festival..... p.2
Upcoming Events..... p.3
SDAMP News..... p.3
March Artifact Identification Workshop..... p.4
Hobby Diver of the Quarter..... p.4
3rd Annual Oyster Roast..... p.5
Raising Underwater Archaeology Above Water..... p.6
Feature Hobby Diver Article..... p.7
Georgetown Exhibit..... p.7
Ears and Sinuses: Injuries and Management..... p.8
The Next Step in the H.L. Hunley Submarine Conservation Treatment..... p.8
Here's to 2013!..... p.10
Letters to the Editors..... p.11
Notes from the Editor..... p.11

Paleoindian In Cowasee: Time, Typology, And Raw Material Selection, Albert C. Goodyear

Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Extraneous Effects Of Race, Gender, And Race-Gender Homo- And Heterophily Conditions On Data Quality, A. Olu Oyinlade

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

This study comprehensively investigated the differences in response patterns of interview respondents by race, gender, and race-gender of both respondents and interviewers, to assess the impacts of response inconsistencies on data quality during survey interviews. The study focused only on Blacks and Whites in various interview phily matches. Interviewees (N = 491) responded to fully structured, closed-ended questions through direct interviews on support for affirmative action, and support for the 2009 America’s Affordable Health Choices Act as dependent variables. Findings showed various amounts of response differences to both dependent variables by differences in race, gender, and race-gender of respondents, vis-àvis …

America The Yogiful: Insights Into American Yoga Culture Today, Carolina Castaneda

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

Originally a spiritual technology, yoga has been practiced in India and surrounding areas for thousands of years. In the late nineteenth century the practice of yoga gained popularity as a physical, mental and spiritual commodity among the masses in America and the world. Yoga is now a globally recognized fitness routine, part of the everyday lives of men and women seeking relaxation, stretching and mental sanity. In today’s fast paced world it is easy to understand yoga is appealing to the masses, however, as a yoga practitioner myself I often wondered if Americans are gaining all the benefits of the …

Crafting, Community, And Collaboration: Reflections On The Ethnographic Sala Project At The Pukara Lithic Museum, Peru, Elizabeth A. Klarich

Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The Museo Lítico Pukara (Pukara Lithic Museum) is an archaeological site museum in the small highland town of Pucará in the northwestern Lake Titicaca Basin of Peru. Recently, an ethnographic sala (exhibition space) was developed and installed within the museum that focuses on local craft production and its role within the agro-pasto- ral economy, regional exchange systems, and other house- hold-level and community activities. The sala is the culmination of a decade-long effort by national and foreign archaeologists, anthropologists from the regional univer- sity and their students, the Peruvian Ministry of Culture, and the townspeople of Pucará. This article presents …

Late Classic Maya Provisioning And Distinction In Northwestern Belize, David J. Goldstein, Jon B. Hageman

Anthropology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Expensive Errors Or Rational Choices: The Pioneer Fringe In Late Viking Age Iceland, Orri Vesteinsson, Mike Church, Andrew Dugmore, Thomas Mcgovern, Anthony Newton

Publications and Research

Just as the colonies established on the North Atlantic islands in the Viking Age were peripheral to Europe, so these islands had their own peripheral areas. In Iceland the highland margins have long been a focus of archaeological research and the prevailing view has been that highland settlement failed because people had made unrealistic assessments of carrying capacity. This paper presents a case study of the northern highland valley of Krókdalur and argues that the dating and pattern of settlement in that valley indicates that its settlers were keenly aware of its limitations. It also suggests explanatory frameworks that can …

An Ethnographic Inquiry: Contemporary Language Ideologies Of American Sign Language, Anya A. Leyhe

Scripps Senior Theses

Historically, American Sign Language (an aspect of Deaf culture) has been rendered invisible in mainstream hearing society. Today, ASL’s popularity is evidenced in an ethnolinguistic renaissance; more second language learners pursue an interest in ASL than ever before. Nonetheless, Deaf and hearing people alike express concern about ASL’s place in hearing culture. This qualitative study engages ethnographic methods of participant observation and semi-structured interviewing as well as popular media analysis to understand language ideologies (ideas and objectives concerning roles of language in society) hearing and Deaf Signers hold about motivations and practices of other hearing Signers. Although most hearing ASLers …

Politicized Historiography And The Zionist-Crusader Analogy, Emma Kellman

Scripps Senior Theses

This study offers a look at the ways in which discourse shaped by the contemporary Israel-Palestine conflict serves as a framework for modern historiography on Palestine. It focuses specifically on the variety of historical narratives proffered as to the “truth” of the Crusade period in Palestine, roughly the eleventh through the thirteenth centuries, and their mobilization in political agendas through the Zionist-Crusader analogy. This comparison, a historical analogy likening Zionists to Frankish Crusaders or the State of Israel to the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, appears frequently in contemporary dialogue on the Israel-Palestine conflict; it comes from a diverse range of …

The Value Of A Place: Development Politics On The East Cape Of Baja California Sur, Mexico, Ryan B. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This research explores the politics of development on the East Cape of Baja California Sur, Mexico. Based upon twelve months of ethnographic research and participant observation, primarily in the coastal community of Cabo Pulmo, the researcher investigates and documents how local residents respond to the social and political implications of impending mass tourism development in the region. Rising land values, real estate speculation, and intensifying conflicts over land ownership were some of the earliest symptoms of this process. The central argument is that social conflicts over development are often based in deeper, fundamental political struggles over land—and the ability to …

Warmikuna Juyayay! Ecuadorian And Latin American Indigenous Women Gaining Spaces In Ethnic Politics, Maria S. Moreno Parra

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This research utilizes an agency framework to examine the complexities of the participation of indigenous women in local, national, and global spaces of activism. By examining the connections between processes of globalization of indigenous and women’s rights, development agendas, local politics, and gender dynamics in indigenous organizations, this research highlights the connection of ethnicity, gender, and power in an indigenous organization of Cotacachi, Ecuador, and for Ecuadorian and Latin American indigenous leaders and professionals working in national and global arenas.

Four interconnected topics are explored: (1) the understanding of indigenous women’s participation in the history of their organization within a …

Lithic Analysis Of The Jot-Em-Down Shelter (15mcy348) Collection: Settlement Patterns, Raw Material Utilization, And Shelter Activities Along The Cumberland Plateau, Mary M. White

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

The Jot-em-Down Shelter (15McY348) was excavated by U.S. Forest Service archaeologists in 1986. The present study concentrated on the lithic assemblage, with a particular focus on the chipped stone debitage. The Jot-em-Down Shelter lithic assemblage was compared to assemblages recovered from four nearby sites, open sites 15McY570 and 15McY616, and rockshelter sites 15McY403 and 15McY409; and rockshelter sites located in and near the Red River Gorge, Cold Oak Shelter (15LE50) and Rock Bridge Shelter (15WO75). This study determined that Jot-em-Down Shelter was a multicomponent site utilized by mobile groups of people from the Early Archaic through Mississippi periods. Use of …

Water Resources And The Historic Wells Of Barbuda: Tradition, Heritage And Hope For A Sustainable Future, Rebecca Boger, Sophia Perdikaris, Amy E. Potter, John Mussington, Reginald Murphy, Louise Thomas, Calvin Gore, Dwight Finch

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The island of Barbuda has a relatively unique history, land tenure and geography. Unlike its Caribbean counterparts, the island is not suited to large-scale agriculture due to its arid climate and relatively thin soils. Instead, the enslaved and eventually free people of Barbuda developed a complex herding ecology centered on common land ownership. As a result, carefully designed historic wells are strategically located around the island. With the challenges brought about by climate change, an interdisciplinary, international team led by the Barbuda Research Complex is investigating the state of existing water and food resources and examining how the availability and …

Eye Of The Needle: Cold Stress, Clothing, And Sewing Technology During The Younger Dryas Cold Event In North America, Alan J. Osborn

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

This paper examines the possible underlying systemic context(s) for spurred flake gravers and eyed bone needles recovered from Paleoindian sites in North America. The idea that spurred flake gravers and eyed bone needles were closely associated is not new. Archaeologists in both Eurasia and North America have also proposed that eyed bone and ivory needles were used for manufacturing tailored skin clothing. It is suggested here that spurred flake gravers and eyed bone needles may, in fact, be the material correlates of critical non-subsistence related work carried out by women to meet the challenges of very severe winters and cold …

Reconstructing 830 Simpson Avenue; An Archaeological Investigation Of Household Life Cycles In A 19th And 20th Century Working-Class Neighborhood, Arianna C. Elm

Departmental Honors Projects

The Simpson Avenue site is a household site dating to the 19th and 20th centuries. It is located on Hamline University’s current campus in the ‘backyard’ of the White House. The site was discovered during the fall of 2013 by the Excavating Hamline History class. While our original intention was to find a shed structure pictured on an 1886 plat map, we discovered a post-hole and an intact cultural deposit. A 2x1 meter test unit and six shovel tests were conducted on the property that determined site boundaries and the vertical and horizontal distribution of artifacts and features. The excavation …

Gateways To The Goddess: Devotion To Kali In Cross-Cultural Perspective, Nicole C. Petersen

Departmental Honors Projects

Kali, the dark Hindu goddess of time and fierce Mother of the universe, has a pervasive global presence. This project traces Her from historical roots in India across borders to temples in California. A theoretical synthesis of the experiential approaches of sensory anthropology and Victor Turner's three-part model of ritual processes, the project presents an innovative approach through which to study and articulate devotion to Kali in diverse cultural contexts. Through textual research, interviews and observant participation, I analyze the process whereby devotees separate themselves from the mundane and enter liminal spaces of worship, understood both spatially and temporally. I …

Growing Together Separately: An Analysis Of The Influence Of Individualism In An Alternative Educational Setting, Jessica L. Warren

Scripps Senior Theses

Alternative educational settings that attempt to challenge Individualism are pervaded by Individualizing influences from the larger school system. This thesis examines the influences of Individualism in a school garden program at a Southern California continuation high school. Program members included high school students, college student interns, and two co-directors. Research was conducted during the spring semester of 2014. By providing an analysis of the Individualizing and non-Individualizing influences present in the program and the ways in which these influences interacted to inform the program structure and program members’ experiences and understandings, my thesis sheds new light on the complex ways …

Sustainability Policy’S Inherent Dilemmas – Exemplified Via Critical Examination Of The Las Vegas Metropolitan Sustainability Campaign, Kathryn A. Zimmerman

All Master's Theses

In response to a dual problem of critical water scarcity and rapid population growth, leaders of metropolitan Las Vegas implemented a region-wide, internationally marketed sustainability campaign. Preliminary studies found that, while sustainability policy attains its rhetorical goals, solutions initiated not only perpetuate but also purposefully expand the original dual problem to justify continuous water resource acquisitions. To examine this sustainability conundrum constructed by leadership—problem-perpetuation rather than problem-resolution—a critical examination in resource management asked two basic questions: what is being sustained and by what means? Via this inquiry, specific processes by which leaders perpetuate problems can be identified; and, so-informed, new …

The Museum As An Inclusive Community: A Blueprint For Moving Forward, Howard P. Scott

All Master's Theses

The focus of this study is museum accessibility for patrons with disabilities. The history of museums and their evolution into institutions that strive to create an inclusive community means that many aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as well as the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 are applicable. Developing a tool for assessing museum compliance with the law was key to gathering data to use for improving compliance with the law. Using this data and comparing current compliance in four museums to three major legal cases against museums showed common areas for improvement in accessibility in all …

Male Tibetan Macaques’ (Macaca Thibetana) Choice Of Infant Bridging Partners, Briana Bauer, Lori K. Sheeran, Megan D. Matheson, Jin-Hua Li, R. Steven Wagner

Anthropology and Museum Studies Faculty Scholarship

Adult male Tibetan (Macaca thibetana), Barbary (M. sylvanus), and stump-tailed macaques (M. arctoides) engage in bridging, a ritualized infant-handling behavior. Previous researchers found a bias toward the use of male infants for this behavior, but its function is debated. Explanations include three hypotheses: paternal care, mating effort, and agonistic buffering. We studied a group of habituated, provisioned Tibetan macaques to test whether adult males’ affiliative relationships with females predicted their use of an infant for bridging. We also examined biases for sex, age, and individual in males’ choice of bridging infant. We collected data via all …

High Latitude Coastal Settlement Patterns: Cape Krusenstern, Alaska, Shelby L. Anderson, Adam Freeburg

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Why, when, and how people developed highly specialized marine economies remains the focus of considerable anthropological research. Study of maritime adaptations at high latitudes has potential to contribute to this debate because low biodiversity and increased resource seasonality at high latitudes made reliance on marine resources particularly risky. New research at the Cape Krusenstern site complex, located in northwest Alaska, offers a rare opportunity to study the evolution of maritime adaptations across the environmentally dynamic mid-to-late Holocene Arctic. Large-scale and systematic survey of this important site complex was undertaken to address questions about the timing and character of early Arctic …

Community Media As A Forum For Resistance: The Case Of The Romero Theater Troupe, Michael Kilman

Anthropology Theses

Over the past several decades, mainstream mass media is increasingly becoming a conduit for the consolidation of political power and not as a vehicle to support and maintain democracy. Representing aspects of a western homogenous culture, mainstream mass media often lacks a means for local representation and can obscure coverage of important local and community issues related to social justice and the effects of structural violence. The Romero Theater Troupe in Denver, Colorado serves as an example of community media that acts as a network of local resistance. The Troupe uses community members instead of actors and a consensus model …