Anthropology Commons^™

Trading To Drink And Drinking To Trade: Assessing Alcohol Trade And Consumption In Seventeenth And Eighteenth Century New France, Cara A. Mosier

Masters Theses

Alcohol is one of the most misunderstood commodities used by both Native Americans and Europeans during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in North America. Although documentary sources are available, they can often provide conflicting information on the frequency of alcohol trade and its context of consumption. The archaeological record must be examined in conjunction with the primary and secondary sources to better understand alcohol consumption during this time. My research is conducted to answer the question: what patterns emerge when comparing the archaeological record to the documentary record concerning Native alcohol consumption in the seventeenth and eighteenth century fur trade …

Charting Constellations Of Power: Texas Public Education Policy, Hollie Wright

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

For decades, public education in Texas has been entrenched in neoliberalism-inspired policies that research shows largely fail to produce promised results and have a tendency to perpetuate the very problems advocates claim the policies will solve. This raises questions about the decision-makers and what is happening in the public education policy process. In line with Laura Nader’s directive for more anthropologists to make those in power the subject of their research, I used both ethnographic and social network analysis methods to ‘study up’ in Texas public education. This study describes some relationships of members of the Texas State Board of …

Household Chipped Stone Technology At South Cape (23cg8): A Mississippian Hinterland Site In Southeast Missouri, Deseray L. Helton

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Mississippian archaeology is characterized by a longstanding bias towards studying large, mound-bearing sites as opposed to small hinterland sites. Although this bias has diminished in recent decades, research on hinterland sites is still relatively uncommon. This study helps correct that bias through an analysis of flaked stone technological organization at South-Cape (23CG8), a Mississippian hinterland site in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. A sample of flaked stone artifacts from two house features at the site was analyzed. The results indicate that residents at South Cape generally acquired and consumed higher quantities of local lithic raw material than of supra-local lithic raw material. …

Allowing The Untellable To Visit: Investigating Digital Folklore, Ptsd And Stigma, Geneva Harline

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the introduction of 2012 issue of The Journal of Folklore Research, Diane Goldstein and Amy Shuman issue a “call to arms for folklorists … to concentrate on the vernacular experience of the stigmatized.” (Goldstein and Shuman, 2012:116). Drawing on this call to arms, this thesis investigates how Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is portrayed in social media through memes and captioned images. I argue that the genres of memes and captioned images in digital folklore work to help mitigate the stigma of PTSD because the veneer of anonymity in the digital world allows people with PTSD to be willing …

A Culture Of Health: Herbal Remedies Of The Peruvian Highlands, Jarred Rimby

Whittier Scholars Program

I have divided this paper into three related sections, and each subsequent section of this paper builds on the conclusions of the previous sections. Section I seeks to define a “model of health” for people living in the Peruvian Highlands. Section I draws heavily on one month of fieldwork that I conducted. Section II catalogues and describes the use of culturally significant herbs in the Peruvian Highlands. Section III explores the physiological function of the therapeutic agents in coca, muna, ayahuasca, and sangre de grado, drawing on a review of scientific literature to summarize what is known about each. By …

Satellite Imagery-Based Monitoring Of Archaeological Site Damage In The Syrian Civil War, Jesse Casana, Elise Jakoby Laugier

Dartmouth Scholarship

Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the rich archaeological heritage of Syria and northern Iraq has faced severe threats, including looting, combat-related damage, and intentional demolition of monuments. However, the inaccessibility of the conflict zone to archaeologists or cultural heritage specialists has made it difficult to produce accurate damage assessments, impeding efforts to develop mitigation strategies and policies. This paper presents results of a project, undertaken in collaboration with the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) and the US Department of State, to monitor damage to archaeological sites in Syria, northern Iraq, and southern Turkey using …

Higinbotham, Barbara (Fa 1114), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1114. Student folk studies project titled: “Folk Medicine and Remedies,” which includes survey sheets with brief descriptions of folk medicine and remedies in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Sheets may include a brief description of folk remedy, belief, traditional practice, informant’s name and address, and motif index number.

Mansfield, Sherry R. And Bruce Greene (Fa 1112), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1112. Student folk studies project titled: “Just a Man—Captain William Hicks” which includes an interview of C. Jeff Hicks, the son of Confederate Captain William Hicks. The interview includes a description of the life of the son and his father while living in Barren County, Kentucky and Sumner County, Tennessee.

Johnson, Melinda (Fa 1115), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1115. Student folk studies project titled: “Techniques and Tools in Making Fishnets with Emphasis on the Hoop Net,” which includes descriptions of the traditional process to make hoop fish nets in McLean County and Warren County, Kentucky. Sheets may include a brief description of a type of fishnet, traditional practice, tool, illustration, photo and informant’s name.

Editor's Introduction, Michael D.; Pante

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

No abstract provided.

Leveraging Multiple Populations Across Time Helps Define Accurate Models Of Human Evolution: A Reanalysis Of The Lactase Persistence Adaptation, Chenling Xu Antelope, Davide Marnetto, Fergal Casey, Emilia Huerta-Sanchez

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Access to a geographically diverse set of modern human samples from the present time and from ancient remains, combined with archaic hominin samples, provides an unprecedented level of resolution to study both human history and adaptation. The amount and quality of ancient human data continues to improve, and enables tracking the trajectory of genetic variation over time. These data have the potential to help us redefine or generate new hypotheses of how human evolution occurred, and revise previous conjectures. In this review, we argue that leveraging all these data will help us better detail adaptive histories in humans. As a …

Evolution, Function And Deconstructing Histories: A New Generation Of Anthropological Genetics, Omer Gokcumen

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Introduction to the Special Issue, mainly based on contributions by the speakers in the 2016 AAAG symposium, “Ancient alleles in modern populations: Ancient structure, introgression, and variation-maintaining adaptive forces.”

Chaco Canyon Dig Unearths Ethical Concerns, Katrina G. Claw, Dorothy Lippert, Jessica Bardill, Anna Cordova, Keolu Fox, Joseph M. Yracheta, Alyssa C. Bader, Deborah A. Bolnick, Ripan S. Malhi, Kimberly Tallbear, Nanibaa' A. Garrison

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

The field of paleogenomics (the study of ancient genomes) is rapidly advancing with more robust methods of isolating ancient DNA and increasing access to next-generation DNA sequencing technology. As these studies progress, many important ethical issues have emerged that should be considered when ancient Native American remains, whom we refer to as ancestors, are used in research. We highlight a recent article by Kennett et al. (2017), “Archaeogenomic evidence reveals prehistoric matrilineal dynasty,” that brings several ethical issues to light that should be addressed in paleogenomics research (Kennett et al. 2017). The study helps elucidate the matrilineal relationships in ancient …

Genetic Differentiation In A Sample From Northern Mexico City Detected By Hla System Analysis: Impact In The Study Of Population Immunogenetics, Eva D. JuáRez CortéS, Miguel A. Contreras Sieck, AgustíN J. Arriaga Perea, Rosa M. MacíAs Medrano, Anaí Balbuena Jaime, Paola Everardo MartíNez, JoaquíN ZúÑIga, VíCtor AcuñA Alonzo, Julio Granados, Rodrigo Barquera

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

The major histocompatibility complex is directly involved in the immune response and thus the genes coding for its proteins are useful markers for the study of genetic diversity, susceptibility to disease (autoimmunity and infections), transplant medicine, and pharmacogenetics, among others. The polymorphism of the system also allows researchers to use it as a proxy for population genetics analysis, such as genetic admixture and genetic structure. In order to determine the immunogenetic characteristics of a sample from the northern part of Mexico City and to use them to analyze the genetic differentiation from other admixed populations, including those from previous studies …

Radiocarbon Test For Demographic Events In Written And Oral History, Kevan Edinborough, Marko Porčić, Andrew Martindale, Thomas J. Brown, Kisha Supernant, Kenneth M. Ames

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

We extend an established simulation-based method to test for significant short-duration (1–2 centuries) demographic events known from one documented historical and one oral historical context. Case study 1 extrapolates population data from the Western historical tradition using historically derived demographic data from the catastrophic European Black Death/bubonic plague (Yersinia pestis). We find a corresponding statistically significant drop in absolute population using an extended version of a previously published simulation method. Case study 2 uses this refined simulation method to test for a settlement gap identified in oral historical records of descendant Tsimshian First Nations communities from the Prince …

Leopold, Beth (Fa 1113), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1113. Student folk studies project titled: Smith’s Grove and Miscellaneous Tales” which includes survey sheets with descriptions of the traditional belief about the naming of Smiths Grove in Warren County, Kentucky. Sheets may include a brief description of the belief, informant’s name, address, and motif index classification. A second small project by Leopold includes survey sheets of folk tales told by her grandmother, Rosa Leopold, in Jefferson County, Kentucky.

Bridging Cultural Sociology And Cognitive Psychology In Three Contemporary Research Programmes, Michèle Lamont, Laura Adler, Bo Yun Park, Xin Xiang

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Three prominent research programmes in cognitive psychology would benefit from a stronger engagement with the cultural context of cognition: studies of poverty focused on scarcity and cognitive bandwidth, studies of dual-process morality and studies of biases using the implicit association test. We address some limitations of these programmes and suggest research strategies for moving beyond an exclusive focus on cognition. Research on poverty using the cognitive bandwidth approach would benefit from considering the cultural schemas that influence how people perceive and prioritize needs. Dual-process morality researchers could explain variation by analysing cultural repertoires that structure moral choices. Research using the …

Trump Veganism: A Political Survey Of American Vegans In The Era Of Identity Politics, Corey Lee Wrenn

Dietary Choice and Foods of Animal Origin Collection

Often stereotyped as being apathetic to the human suffering, the American vegan movement has historically failed to build alliances with other social justice movements. As intersectional feminism gains a foothold in the movement and external political crises challenge the movement’s frame of reference, the role that identity plays in movement progress has become a serious concern. Using the 2016 election as a flashpoint, this article considers if the identity backlash characterized by the Trump campaign finds parallels in the American vegan movement. A survey of 287 American vegans finds limited evidence of Trump veganism, defined here as a single-issue focus …

Scaling Relationships Between Cranial Morphological Features And Cranial Capacity In Modern Humans, Jacob Jesch

LSU Master's Theses

Certain cranial morphologies referred to here as “cranial predictor features” are known to allometrically scale with body mass at statistically significant levels. Brain size likewise is known to scale with body mass, with brain-to-body-mass ratio being expressed numerically via the encephalization quotient. The study at hand aims to demonstrate whether brain size via its skeletal proxy of cranial capacity also scales with cranial predictor features. Correlation analysis was employed on two samples of contemporary male and female modern humans, respectively, in order to determine the statistical significance and degree of association between cranial predictor features and cranial capacity, as well …

The Time To Love: Ideologies Of "Good" Parenting At A Family Service Organization In The Southeastern United States, Anna Davidson Abella

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to understand definitions of what it means to be a “good” parent as described by parents and child development specialists at a family service organization in the Southeastern United States. Previous research on social reproduction and concerted cultivation have opened up pathways to understanding how social and economic inequality manifest in family life and the social structures of which they are a part. This ethnographic study is an effort to contribute to an anthropology of parenting by unveiling the ways that definitions of “good” parenting in middle-class and wealthy communities reflect time-intensive, attachment-based ideologies …

The Time To Love: Ideologies Of "Good" Parenting At A Family Service Organization In The Southeastern United States, Anna Davidson Abella

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to understand definitions of what it means to be a “good” parent as described by parents and child development specialists at a family service organization in the Southeastern United States. Previous research on social reproduction and concerted cultivation have opened up pathways to understanding how social and economic inequality manifest in family life and the social structures of which they are a part. This ethnographic study is an effort to contribute to an anthropology of parenting by unveiling the ways that definitions of “good” parenting in middle-class and wealthy communities reflect time-intensive, attachment-based ideologies …

Steady Work, Tom Roderick

Occasional Paper Series

Roderick's remarks made on the occasion of receiving an honorary doctorate from Bank Street College of Education in 1999. He speaks about his steady work in conflict resolution programs, because there is always a need for conflict resolution in a world where conflict is natural but violence is taught.

Producing "Fabulous": Commodification And Ethnicity In Hair Braiding Salons, Sylviane Ngandu-Kalenga Greensword

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Black women wearing fabulous braids are a striking feature of the Afro-diasporic cultural landscape. However, the braiders and salon owners who enable this aesthetic engineering are seldom acknowledged. This dissertation investigates the experience and role of Caribbean and West and Central African women in the hair braiding industry, a rapidly growing business in the U.S. I address the complexity of these women’s multiple social roles and the multiple consciousness (King, 1988) associated with their demographic characteristics (color, ethnicity, gender, nationality, and immigrant status). The commonalities between the braiders and their mostly African American customers contrast vividly with their perception of …

Chance, Nancy Fowler (Fa 1110), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1110. Student folk studies project titled: “Butter making” which includes survey sheets with descriptions of the traditional butter making process in Allen County and Warren County, Kentucky. Sheets may include a brief description of pictured equipment, traditional practice, belief and motif index number.

Cosgrove, John (Fa 1111), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of the paper (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Folklife Archives Project 1111. Student folk studies project titled: “The Process of Basket Making” which includes survey sheets with descriptions of the traditional basket making process in Edmonson County, Kentucky. Sheets may include a brief description of pictured equipment, traditional practice, tale, and belief.

The New Disappeared: Illegality, The Deportation Regime, And The Resurrection Of State Violence, Miranda Cady Hallett

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

President Donald J. Trump’s executive actions expanding immigration enforcement and reproducing stigmatizing discourses about immigrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers are not a new direction in immigration enforcement. While the racist dimensions of the approach are more unmasked in his rhetoric, current enforcement is merely the expansion of an entrenched project of state violence. The current panic, in other words, is the culmination of the buildup of the deportation regime (De Genova and Peutz 2010), an interconnected web of systems of incarceration and exile that serves as a broad mechanism of social control and repression.

In the U.S., this system has been …

Ordinary 'Worthiness': Sex Work, Police Raids, And Human Rights Violence In Sonagachhi, Simanti Dasgupta

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Based upon ethnographic research with Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC), a grass-roots sex workers organization in Sonagachhi, the iconic red light district in Kolkata, India, this paper explores the relationship between police raids and human rights violation. It especially focuses on the nature of violence initiated by the construction of “corrupt” evidence to justify a raid, which in this case is not solely a state initiative; the police usually work in tandem with other rescue missions such as the International Justice mission (IJM). The raid involves a practice and a narrative commonly referred to by both the police and the …

Joyful Human Rights Activism, William Simmons

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

In popular, legal, and academic discourse, a subtle but significant shift has occurred: The term “human rights” is now almost always discussed in relation to its opposite, “human rights abuses.” Syllabi, textbooks, and academic articles focus largely on abuses, victimization, and trauma with nary a mention of joy or other positive emotions.

This will be obvious to most human rights scholars and practitioners once it is pointed out, but the depth of the elision is staggering. Human rights could also be discussed in the context of the most joyful of human experiences and even those victimized almost always experience …

Political Asylum And Enlightened False Consciousness: The Challenges Of Human Rights Advocacy In Israel, Ilil Benjamin

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Since 2007, nearly 60,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Israel, primarily from Sudan and Eritrea, and been granted temporary stay visas by the Israeli Ministry of Interior while their asylum cases were being adjudicated.

Mindful of the ministry’s hostility to asylum seekers and its 99.9% rejection rate of applicants to date, many asylum seekers have come to doubt that their personal histories of poverty or violence would persuade Israeli asylum officers to permit them to stay. Based on ethnographic research in an asylum advocacy NGO in Tel Aviv, I examine the exclusions of Israel’s asylum system as seen by aid …

Building A Bridge Across The Sea, Abby Wheatley

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

On October 3, 2013, the island of Lampedusa, Italy, was transformed into an international stage for the crisis of migration when a boat carrying hundreds of migrants traveling from Libya sank off its coast. Reports indicate that 368 people drowned, while 89 people were rescued, most of them by locals. Though the mass drowning of Africans seeking refuge in Europe was not a new phenomenon, the event brought international attention to Lampedusa and underscored the fragile line between local and global processes and the intertwined yet opposing forces of mobility and enclosure.

Using Lampedusa as a case study, this paper …