Anthropology Commons^™

Waste And Waste Management, Joshua Reno

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

Discard studies have demonstrated that waste is more than just a symptom of an all-too-human demand for meaning or a merely technical problem for sanitary engineers and public health officials. The afterlife of waste materials and processes of waste management reveal the centrality of transient and discarded things for questions of materiality and ontology and marginal and polluting labor and environmental justice movements, as well as for critiques of the exploitation and deferred promises of modernity and imperial formations. There is yet more waste will tell us, especially as more studies continue to document the many ways that our wastes …

Book Review: Transforming The Dead, Anne L. Grauer

Anthropology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Hargrave, Schermer, Hedman, and Lillie have crafted a volume, Transforming the Dead: Culturally Modified Bone in the Prehistoric Midwest, that provides readers with a rich and nuanced understanding of human bone as object and symbol.

Ant 4403 Environmental Anthropology, Rebecca K. Zarger

Service-Learning Syllabi

No abstract provided.

The Archaeology Of Hassanamesit Woods: The Sarah Burnee/Sarah Boston Farmstead, Stephen Mrozowski, Heather Law Pezzarossi, Dennis Piechota, Heather Trigg, John M. Steinberg, Guido Pezzarossi, Joseph Bagley, Jessica Rymer, Jerry Warner

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

Between 2003 and 2013 the Fiske Center for Archaeological Research at the University of Massachusetts Boston conducted an intensive investigation of the Sarah Burnee/Sarah Boston Farmstead on Keith Hill in Grafton, Massachusetts. The project employed a collaborative method that involved working closely with the Town of Grafton, through the Hassanmesit Woods Management Committee, and the Nipmuc Nation, the state recognized government of the Nipmuc people. Yearly excavation and research plans were decided through consultation with both the Nipmuc Tribal Council, their designated representative, Dr. D. Rae Gould, and the Hassanamesit Woods Management Committee. Dr. Gould also played a continuous and …

Spatial Information Divergence: Using Global And Local Indices To Compare Geographical Masks Applied To Crime Data, Ourania Kounadi, Michael Leitner

Faculty Publications

Advances in Geographic Information Science (GISc) and the increasing availability of location data have facilitated the dissemination of crime data and the abundance of crime mapping websites. However, data holders acknowledge that when releasing sensitive crime data there is a risk of compromising the victims' privacy. Hence, protection methodologies are primarily applied to the data to ensure that individual privacy is not violated. This article addresses one group of location protection methodologies, namely geographical masks that are applicable for crime data representations. The purpose is to identify which mask is the most appropriate for crime incident visualizations. A global divergence …

Project 400: The Plymouth Colony Archaeological Survey, Report On The 2014 Field Season, Burial Hill Plymouth, Massachusetts, Christa M. Beranek, Justin A. Warrenfeltz, Richie Roy, David B. Landon, Alexandra Crowder, Katie Wagner

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

In May and June of 2014, a field school from the University of Massachusetts Boston, in partnership with Plimoth Plantation, undertook a second season of work in Plymouth, Massachusetts, as part of Project 400: The Plymouth Colony Archaeological Survey, a site survey and excavation program leading up to the 400th anniversary of New England’s first permanent English settlement in 1620, the founding of Plymouth Colony. This work was conducted under permit #3384 from the State Archaeologist’s office at the Massachusetts Historical Commission. The 2014 work focused on the eastern edge of Burial Hill along School Street in downtown Plymouth and …

A Wampum Belt Sent To Edward Jenner, M.D., Marshall Joseph Becker

Anthropology & Sociology Faculty Publications

Following a program of vaccination for several First Nations peoples, representatives of these Five Nations tribes met with officials at Fort George, Upper Canada in 1807 to present formal thanks to Edward Jenner. These elders also wished to send to Jenner a belt of wampum and a string of wampum as a gift, in return for his gift of vaccination. Information regarding the possible configuration of that belt, and the ultimate disposition of these two examples of wampum, provide insights into examples of these Native American items that may still survive in European collections.

The Yamasee War: 1715 - 1717, South Carolina Institute Of Archaeology And Anthropology--University Of South Carolina

Archaeology Month Posters

This poster was released in conjunction with South Carolina Archaeology Month, October 2015.

Contested Landscapes: An Analysis Of Using The National Historic Preservation Act (Nhpa) For Traditional Cultural Properties (Tcps) In The Western United States, Kate Monti Barcalow

Anthropology Theses

In this paper, I predominately use a political ecology lens to evaluate the use of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) in facilitating American Indians' engagement with ancestral lands now federally governed. I look at how agencies can implement effective consultation that lessens the power imbalance between tribes and the federal government that is inherent in the NHPA, as well as help alleviate conflict between tribes, agencies, and various public interest groups regarding proper land management and use. From July 2014 through December 2014, I conducted eleven semi-structured interviews of participants involved with five Traditional Cultural Places or Properties (TCPs) …

Exploring Cape Malay Identity Through The Lens Of Food, Allyson Ang

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study explores the construction of Cape Malay identity through the lens of food. Made up of descendants of slaves from India, Madagascar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mozambique, and other places, “Cape Malay” is a very contentious identity. Although people who fall under the label of Cape Malay today are hundreds of years removed from their slave ancestors, there are still distinct remnants of these origins in Cape Malay culture. One of the ways in which this is most evident is Cape Malay cuisine. Cape Malay dishes such as bobotie, samosas, bredie, and beryani have become staples in South African …

Historical Perspectives On A National Heroine: R.A. Kartini And The Politics Of Memory, Amber Woodward

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

R.A. Kartini is an Indonesian national heroine, considered Indonesia’s founding feminist. Because of her inherently political status as a woman, a Javanese subject of Dutch colonialism, and an aristocrat, her memory has been used in diverse ways throughout history. In this paper I examine four main periods in which Kartini’s image has been dictated due to current political and social climates: Dutch imperialism, Indonesian independence, the New Order, and the present day. This paper is based on three weeks of research and fieldwork, including eight interviews with eleven informants, who had a diverse range of educational backgrounds and knowledge of …

An Expanding Financial Sector: Continuity And Change Among Dhikur Groups In Lower Mustang, Anna Misenti

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Thakali people of lower Mustang have a long history of economic success fostered through community systems that function due to cooperation, but are also characterized by competition. One of these traditional systems is dhikur , a system of rotating credit composed of approximately twenty members. This study examines the roles of traditional savings and credit institutions within communities in lower Mustang in the context of the emergence of private financial institutions in Jomsom over the last ten years. My research displayed the strength of these community based organizations in the face of a private financial sector where organizational requirements …

Challenges To Cultural Heritage Interpretation And Preservation At The Falemata’Aga, The Museum Of Samoa, Elizabeth Bennett

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study is to ascertain and analyze the challenges the Museum of Samoa faces in its efforts to preserve and interpret aspects of Samoan history and culture. The Museum strives to interpret and preserve Samoan culture. Samoan culture is still practiced today, but is impacted by globalization, climate change, and loss of skills such as oratory and knowledge of genealogies. Participant-observation was conducted at the Museum of Samoa, as were interviews with relevant personnel. The challenges the Museum faces stem from Samoa’s status as a developing nation: education, healthcare, and infrastructure receive priority funding. Many people question …

The Making And Re-Making Of Dolpo Identity: A Case Study Of Do-Tarap, Lin Zhu

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The unbelievably harsh environment in Dolpo forces people to be self-sufficient based on agriculture and husbandry, two sectors that complement each other very well. The condition also requires plentiful communal works for survival. Dolpo’s geographical isolation on the one hand, limits Dolpo-pas from encountering others, and on the other hand, prevents the presence of the central government. Before the 1960’s, Dolpo still remained as a politically autonomous region under the Kingdom of Nepal. However, based on interviews conduced with both local villagers and outsiders such as governmental officials and Nepalese, the paper argues that, starting from the 1960’s, Dolpo-pas began …

Conservation For Whom?: The Struggle For Indigenous Rights In Sagarmatha National Park, Jake Sivinski

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since its creation in 1976 Sagarmatha National Park has been the subject of a great deal of internal scrutiny by the regions indigenous Sherpa Inhabitants. Since their arrival in the Khumbu valley some four centuries ago, the Sherpa people have held a deep respect for their land and have practiced a highly organized and effective form of environmental stewardship which they refer to as Yul-Tim. At its core Yul-Tim relies on the authority of certain village members to make and enforce rules within the community: a practice that has been greatly undermined by creation of SNP. While SNP has had …

Percepciones De La Muerte Y La Espiritualidad Cristiana-Aymara Entre Los Proveedores Del Cuidado A Los Adultos Mayores En Putre, Emma Wright

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research Question: How does Cristian-Aymaran spirituality influence medical decisions and perceptions of death during the end of life care of Aymaran elders?

Objective: To describe the perceptions of spirituality and death among the providers of end of life care in the commune of Putre in order to determine the role of such beliefs in the medical decisions of Aymaran elders with the goal of improving the methods of care.

Background: Statistically the population of Chile is getting older creating a greater need for end of life care programs. In Putre, specifically, the need for end of life care is particularly …

Casa De Los Ningunos: Un Estudio De Caso Sobre La Re-Imaginando De “Sumak Qamaña” En Un Contexto Urbano Y Contemporáneo, Vanessa Voller

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Una simple búsqueda en Google de "crisis globales del siglo XXI" dará una larga lista de crisis políticas, sociales, económicas y ambientales que enfrenta el siglo XXI. Teniendo en cuenta estas crisis, se ha hecho evidente que la gente del siglo XXI tendrá que encontrar formas alternativas de vivir, que pondrá a prueba el paradigma occidental dominante de la sociedad; un paradigma plagado por el consumismo, el individualismo, la destrucción del medio ambiente, la mentalidad extractivista y las fuerzas homogeneizadoras de la globalización (Choquehuanca 2010; Huanacuni Mamani-2010). En todo el mundo muchos diversos proyectos e iniciativas están surgiendo para desafiar …

‘Reclamation Road’: A Microhistory Of Massacre Memory In Clear Lake, California, Jeremiah J. Garsha

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article is a microhistory of not only the massacre of the indigenous Pomo people in Clear Lake, California, but also the memorialization of this event. It is an examination of two plaques marking the site of the Bloody Island massacre, exploring how memorial representations produce and silence historical memory of genocide under emerging and shifting historical narratives. A 1942 plaque is contextualized to show the co-option of the Pomo and massacre memory by an Anglo-American organization dedicated to settler memory. A 2005 plaque is read as a decentering of this narrative, guiding the viewer through a new hierarchy of …

The Lives Of Soldiers In World War Ii, Caroline M. Bosworth

Student Publications

An examination of soldiers' quality of life during World War II. This is done through comparing and contrasting the letters of two different soldiers.

Humanitarianism's History Of The Singular, Miriam Ticktin

Publications and Research

In “The New Universalism” Daniel Bertrand Monk and Andrew Herscher bring together global history and global humanitarianism to argue the emergence of a new (perverse) universal singular—a monadological refugee and form of refuge that threaten to efface both. By putting shelter and displacement side by side, they insightfully point us to different global patterns, such as the turn to the principle of the particular. Monk and Herscher read these patterns against the grain, offering us—almost in passing—a new history of humanitarianism.

Rogers, Vicki Brown (Fa 823), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archive Project 823. This collection “Stagecoach Days: Stageline between Columbia and Campbellsville, K[entuck]y,” decribes the days when motor transportation was not an option. This project was put together by Vicki Brown Rogers for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University.

Music In Poetry And Poetry In Music: Tumanian's Anush, Beata Asmik Navratil

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The poem Anush by the Armenian poet Hovhannes Tumanian (1869-1923) is rooted in traditional Armenian music. Tumanian's poem reflects a number of manifestations thereof: (1) It borrows in its style from Armenian lyrical songs (such as lalik and khagh), from the parerg style (the traditional dance-song), and from the voghb style (laments such as funeral laments, bayati, and tragic odes). (2) Ashug style of storytelling/singing as a main form of conveying the storyline and emotions of protagonists are present. (3) Dancing and music making during Armenian traditional rituals -- in particular, the Hambarsum celebration (Feast of Christ's Ascension), …

Social-Ecological Resilience In The Viking-Age To Early-Medieval Faroe Islands, Seth Brewington

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation aims to evaluate the development and maintenance of social-ecological resilience during the settlement-period (ca. 9th through 11th centuries CE) in the Faroe Islands. In particular, the core objectives include the identification of the key social and natural variables involved, the examination of how these variables contributed to overall resilience, and the investigation of the initiation of the Faroese domestic economy.

This research focuses primarily on an analysis of the 9th through 13th century archaeofaunal assemblage from the site of Undir Junkarinsfløtti, located on the island of Sandoy. This analysis represents the first detailed study of the Faroese settlement-period …

Corum, Pamela (Fa 824), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archive Project 824. In the collection titled “The Oolite Rock Quarry,” the author discusses the quarry’s function, purpose, and importance to Meade County, Kentucky. This narrative was written by Pamela Corum for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University.

Spurling, Teresa (Fa 822), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archive Project 822. This collection “The Railroad and the Growth of the Spurlington Community” focuses on the small hamlet, located in Taylor County, Kentucky, and the importance of the railroad to its development. The information was gathered by Western Kentucky University student Teresa Spurling for credit in a folk studies class.

Payne, Joyce (Fa 821), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archive Project 821. Collection titled “Tollgates between Lebanon and Campbellsville, 1895-1924” describes the method of building roads and collecting toll. This project was completed for a folklore class at Western Kentucky University. The information is based on stories provided by residents from Marion County and Taylor County, Kentucky.

York, Betty D. (Fa 820), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archive Project 820. This collection titled “Monticello-Burnside Stagecoach Route” includes a paper and field notes from interviews conducted with Wayne County, Kentucky, citizens who remember this stagecoachoperation. This project was completed for a folklore class at Western Kentucky University.

Ghost Stories (Fa 819), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archive Project 819. “Ghost Stories” is a collection of stories collected by fourteen students in a folklore class from Western Kentucky University. Some stories collected include personal experiences from the students and other stories that have been passed down through generations.

Adams, Josh (Fa 818), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archive Project 818. This collection “Architecture of Danville, Ky.” includes information about cabins, farm buildings and fences found in Boyle County, Kentucky. This narrative was written by Josh Adams at Western Kentucky University for credit in a folklore class.

Mcguffey, Pat (Fa 817), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archive Project 817. Folklore material, collected by Western Kentucky University student Pat McGuffey for credit in a folklore class, about a house in Allen County, Kentucky, that was believed to be haunted. In McGuffey's narrative family members who lived in the house share their paranormal encounters with ghosts and poltergeists.