Anthropology Commons^™

Palynological Investigation Of Mummified Human Remains, Karl Reinhard, Marina Milanello Do Amaral, Nicole Wall

Karl Reinhard Publications

Pollen analysis was applied to a mummified homicide victim in Nebraska, U.S.A., to determine the location of death. A control sample showed the normal ambient pollen in the garage crime scene. Ambient windborne types, common in the air of the region, dominated the control. Internal samples were analyzed from the sacrum, intestine, and diaphragm. Microfossils were recovered from the rehydrated intestine lumen. The intestinal sample was dominated by Brassica (broccoli). The sacrum sample was high in dietary types but with a showing of ambient types. The pollen from the diaphragm was dominated by ambient pollen similar to the control samples. …

Confronting The Present: Migration In Sidney Mintz’S Journal For The People Of Puerto Rico, Ismael Garcia-Colon

Publications and Research

Sidney Mintz’s field journal for The People of Puerto Rico, published in 1956, is a valuable source for historical anthropological work. Until now, however, it has remained a hidden treasure for the anthropology of migration. By the late 1940s and 1950s, migration was central to the lives of Puerto Rican sugarcane workers and their families, and Mintz recorded important details of it. His journal shows how people maneuvered within fields of power that were full of opportunities and constraints for people seeking to make a living by migrating. Thanks to Mintz, anthropologists can learn about working-class Puerto Ricans’ experiences, lives, …

A Functional Analysis Of Yadkin Bifaces In The Middle Savannah River Valley, Jessica M. Cooper

Theses and Dissertations

The Woodland period was a time of changing settlement patterns, social structure, and technology. Increasing sedentism and social complexity begin during this period in the Savannah River valley and triangular bifaces enter the technological repertoire for the first time in the form of Yadkin bifaces. Yadkins are found exclusively in Middle Woodland contexts suggesting they played an important role in the changes occurring during this time. This thesis establishes the presence of the bow and arrow during the Middle Woodland period through a functional analysis of Yadkin and Eared Yadkin bifaces from South Carolina. This analysis shows that the evolutionary …

The Middle Stone Age In West Africa: Lithics From The Birimi Site In Northern Ghana, Agatha Kenda Baluh

Theses and Dissertations

The Middle Stone Age (MSA) began around 300,000 years ago and continued to around 20,000 years ago in Africa. During this time anatomically modern Homo sapiens emerged in Africa. Also during this period modern human behavioral traits appear gradually both temporally and geographically in Africa. This is in direct contrast to “human revolution” theories of modern human origins, which state that behavioral modernity emerged rapidly and quite late in the record around 40,000 years ago. Siliceous mudstone artifacts from the MSA component of the Birimi site in northern Ghana were analyzed using Individual Flake Analysis, helping to highlight this period …

Paleodemographic And Biochemical Analysis Of Urbanization, Famine, And Mortality, Brittany S. Walter

Theses and Dissertations

Urbanization is a transitional period often associated with deteriorating population health and increased mortality, as the rapid increase of population density in urban centers facilitates the transmission of infectious diseases, unsanitary living conditions, and precarious food supplies. Research on the transition to an urban environment in the past offers a temporal depth to our understanding of the consequences of urbanization that cannot be accomplished through examination of contemporary populations. This project integrates paleodemographic (hazard analysis) and biochemical (stable isotope analysis) approaches to examine the health and diet of inhabitants in late medieval England (c. 1120-1539 CE), specifically the relationship between …

A Critical Analysis Of The Effects Of Language Policy, Curriculum, And Assessment On Arabic L1 Student Performance In An Esl 1 Classroom, Juliane Bilotta

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis offers a preliminary analysis into looking at the ways in which Arabicspeaking ESL students are inadvertently marginalized by state standardization, curriculum, and dominant forms of classroom interactions in a NJ recovery program. Specifically, this analysis addresses the absence of orthographic training and a reliance on teacher-fronted, textbook based classroom exercises as a problematic structure that limits opportunities for Arabic-speaking students to participate successfully in an ESL 1 classroom. This data was collected during six-weeks of preliminary research during the summer of 2016 in a Jersey City, NJ ESL classroom. Using transcriptions of recorded data from lessons that typify …

Embodied Madness: Contextualizing Biological Stress Among 19th And 20th-Century Institutionalized Euro-American Women, Madeline M. Atwell

Theses and Dissertations

The late 19th and early 20th-centuries in the United States were periods in which white women of middle and low socio-economic status were admitted into insane asylums at a higher rate than men for the first time in recorded history. An existent body of literature helps us to comprehend the social and cultural climate in which the institutionalization of women was both acceptable and commonplace; yet few studies have paired this research with the information that can be revealed on the bones of those institutionalized. A sample of 53 institutionalized women from the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Collection were analyzed …

The Socio-Political And Economic Causes Of Natural Disasters, Nicole Southard

CMC Senior Theses

To effectively prevent and mitigate the outbreak of natural disasters is a more pressing issue in the twenty-first century than ever before. The frequency and cost of natural disasters is rising globally, most especially in developing countries where the most severe effects of climate change are felt. However, while climate change is indeed a strong force impacting the severity of contemporary catastrophes, it is not directly responsible for the exorbitant cost of the damage and suffering incurred from natural disasters -- both financially and in terms of human life. Rather, the true root causes of natural disasters lie within the …

Managing Sociality Of A Captive Female Bornean Orangutan From Breeding To Post-Partum At The Smithsonian's National Zoo, Marie Vergamini

Theses and Dissertations

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Orangutan Species Survival Plan® aims to maintain 100 Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) in captivity. Because investment in breeding these lineages is high, properly managing sociality of potential mothers is essential. This study assessed how behaviors of a captive breeding female at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo changed from pre-gestation through the offspring’s sixth month of age to improve breeding recommendations.

The infant Bornean orangutan was born September 2016. Results indicate that during breeding, the mother socialized most with two adult females. During pregnancy, the pregnant female socialized in less energy-consuming ways, i.e. grooming. …

Intrinsic Factors Affecting Decomposition Changes In Archaeological Head Hair From Kellis 2 Cemetery, Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt, Kathleen Cole

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Post-mortem hair root degradation, and associated characteristics such as post-mortem root banding, brush-like ends, and hard keratin points, has remained a little understood phenomenon in the forensics discipline since its discovery in the 1800's. At present, the underlying causes of these characteristics are still unknown. In addition, there is no standardization for preparing samples for forensic or archaeological analysis. In this study, 1200 hairs from a total of 51 individuals (males, n = 22; females, n = 29) ranging in age from 16 to 60+ and interred at the Kellis 2 cemetery in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt are examined microscopically …

Gis Analysis Of Obsidian Artifacts Distribution At Holtun From The Preclassic Through The Classic Periods., Melvin Guzman Piedrasanta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The nature of social organization at an archaeological site can be interpreted from many types of material remains. Exotic goods are particularly useful for making inferences about social organization because of their scarcity, utilitarian demand, and symbolic characteristics. Obsidian artifacts are some of the most abundant exotic goods among the Lowland Maya. The acquisition of these artifacts was the result of a wide net of commerce from the highlands of Guatemala and central Mexico into the Maya lowlands. The patterns of consumption and distribution of obsidian artifacts vary according the time and location. This variation is seen as the result …

Ancient Egyptian Figurines: An Investigation Into Manufacture, Use, And Culture., Kristina B. Donnally 2455289

UROP Posters

I will analyze the social and religious role of figurines in Egyptian society. I will delve into the differences in the figurines in both manufacture and purpose between the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms. I hope to look at religious, political, and other figurines to get a broad spectrum of usage for the artifacts. The main purpose of the research is to identify the time period, purpose, and usage for the figure donated to VCU by Professor Waybright. Questions I have is if the changes in political structure and minute changes in religion between each Kingdom affected the manufacture and …

The Bamboo Ceiling: A Study Of Barriers To Asian American Advancement, Emily Cheng

UROP Posters

The idea of cultural diversity in the workplace is a popular one, generating much discussion about the inclusion of and affirmative action toward minorities. However, these conversations rarely involve Asian Americans, who despite above-average levels of educational achievement, household income, and employment, find themselves underrepresented in and shut-out of upper-level management positions. In this project, I investigated the stereotype of East-Asian Americans as a model minority (created by non-Asians) to find out why East-Asian Americans are underrepresented in upper-level management in corporate workplaces, a phenomenon known as the “bamboo ceiling.” I explored a variety of scholarly sources that analyzed the …

A Study Of Media Portrayal Of Schizophrenics To Understand How Stigma Associated With Schizophrenia May Be Reversed, Rainielle M. Cua

UROP Posters

The news media are one of the most influential sources of information regarding mental illness. Media coverage on schizophrenia, one of the most stigmatized mental illnesses, tends to be negative, focusing on high risks of violence, failure, and unpredictability. Such perceptions may cause a detrimental impact on the mentally ill and cause them to internalize a stigmatizing stereotype and hinder the public’s understanding of mental illness. I studied how media portrayal in newspaper coverage of schizophrenics has evolved to discover how nonfiction media representation has affected people’s perceptions and attitudes towards schizophrenics and to propose an implementable solution to reduce …

Patterns Of Enslavement And Economic Oppression Of Central Virginia, Hannah Bedwell

UROP Posters

I address how anthropologists can identify the patterns and development of slavery and economic oppression through archaeology and the visualization of Virginia enslavement. I focus on the enslaved people of James Madison's Montpelier. I use 3D modeling as a foundation for integrating enhanced visuals with the goal of presenting a tangible understanding of the enslaved individuals in relation to the artifacts and history of the archaeological sites. I intend to show a common theme in economic oppression by comparing modern themes in slavery and examining Fraser D. Neiman's synthesis of the evolutionary perspective of slavery, and how little has changed …

Argentina's Contemporary Multiculturalism And Its Implications For Chinese Identity In Buenos Aires, Madeleine Achgill

Honors Theses

How has Chinese immigration to Buenos Aires challenged contemporary Argentine multiculturalism? This thesis examines the arrival and integration of Chinese immigrants through a qualitative discourse analysis of Chinese and Spanish-language sources relating to immigration to Argentina, Argentine perceptions of Chinese immigrants, and the Chinese community's self-representation in Argentine spaces. I answer three questions: 1) What is Argentina's new multiculturalism and how does it impact Chinese immigrants? 2) How has the Argentine public responded to new Chinese immigration? And 3) How has the Chinese community responded, establishing their own Sino-Argentine identity? I find that Chinese immigration to Argentina has placed the …

Rapport Development And Native Language Use Between U.S. Advisors And Afghan Counterparts, Sean Ryan Ryan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Advisory activities form a central element of the U.S. National Security Strategy to mitigate the need for employment of large military formations. The commitment of large U.S. combat formations has resulted in more than 6,000 fatalities since September 11, 2001; poor relationship skills were cited as contributing factors in 51 or more fratricide-murders of U.S. soldiers by Afghan compatriots in 2012. Informed by social exchange theory, servant leadership theory, and role theory, the Army conceptual rapport framework provided a lens for this phenomenological symbolic interactionism study of rapport between Afghan counterparts and U.S. advisors. Participants included 15 English-speaking Afghan soldiers, …

Sociocultural Beliefs And Women Leadership In Sanyati District, Christine Mwale, Obediah Dodo

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

This study explored the level of women participation in leadership identifying some of the challenges thereto in the selected rural district of Sanyati, Zimbabwe. The study sought to address the following aspects: roles of women in Sanyati, sociocultural beliefs with regards to leadership, and the depth of the effects of women’s nonparticipation in leadership. The research guided by the role congruity theory was qualitative in nature trying to understand human behavior and experience influenced by sociocultural norms. Research population composed of chiefs, headmen, village heads, elderly women and men, and councilors who had a sound appreciation of the subject. Twenty-seven …

All Hands On Deck: The Role Of Ship Burial Reentry In The Maintenance And Construction Of Narrative In The Vendel And Viking Periods, Gina Malfatti

Senior Independent Study Theses

Reentry of ship and boat burials was a widespread practice during the Vendel, Viking, and Medieval periods. Historically this phenomenon has been attributed to looting for economic gain, but that perception has recently been challenged. Using data from ship and boat burials from across Scandinavia, I suggest trends in reentry and the most likely motivation for reentry at each burial. I use GIS maps to display these trends and motivations across different regions and statistically analyze where there are hot spots of different practices. Using Neil Price’s (2010) model for mortuary drama in Viking Age burial practices, I explore the …

Beyond The Coal Divide: The Cultural Politics Of Natural Resource Extraction In Central Appalachia, Julie A. Shepherd-Powell

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

During the last several years far southwest Virginia, like elsewhere in the central Appalachian region, has faced a decline in all coal mining activity and a subsequent loss of coal mining jobs, meaning that local economies are suffering and the unemployment line is long. In addition, this area continues to face environmental pollution from surface coal mines that are still in operation or have not been reclaimed. Drawing upon anthropological literature on natural resource extraction and economic and environmental inequality, this dissertation highlights the lives of members of a local grassroots environmental organization, as well as other local residents, in …

Reproducing Childbirth: Negotiated Maternal Health Practices In Rural Yucatan, Veronica Miranda

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This ethnographically informed dissertation focuses on the ways rural Yucatec Maya women, midwives and state health care workers participate in the production of childbirth and maternal health care practices. It further addresses how state health programs influence the relationships and interactions between these groups. Although childbirth practices in Yucatan have always been characterized by contestation, negotiation and change, their intensity and speed have significantly increased over the last decade. Drastic changes in the maternal health of rural indigenous communities in Mexico and throughout the world are directly connected to intensified state interventions that favor biomedicine over traditional health systems. In …

Settler Colonialism And White Settler Responsibility In The Karuk, Konomihu, Shasta, And New River Shasta Homelands: A White Unsettling Manifesto, Laura S. Hurwitz

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Contributing to recent research into settler colonialism, this paper takes an on the ground look at how this system manifests today. This research turns its lens on the white settler, unmasks settler myths of innocence and contributes to an understanding of how whiteness and white supremacism shape settler colonialism in what is now called the United Sates. This is a placed based study, focusing on the Klamath and Salmon Rivers. Consequences and complexities of the “back to the land” movement are looked at, and the question of “back-to-whose-land?” is asked? A convivial research approach, which is a back and forth …

“I Exist To Resist”: Navigating The Gender Non-Conforming Identity At Humboldt State University, Lizbeth E. Olmedo

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

While transgender research is educating and reforming schools, politics and wider society, there is little work on a gender spectrum that disrupts the gender binary of (trans) men/women. This research is an attempt to fill in the gaps of people, significantly students who do not fit under the “transgender umbrella,” as this term has tended to clump an array of gender and sexual identities together. This qualitative research explores students who go beyond the gender binary and how they navigate non-binary, genderqueer, and gender non-conforming identities within Humboldt State University (HSU). With this present qualitative study, I examined the lived …

Performing Out Of Limbo: Reflections On Doing Anthropology Through Music With Oromo Refugees In Indonesia, Dave Lumenta, Rhino Ariefiansyah, Betharia Nurhadist

Antropologi Indonesia

This article is an anthropological reflection on an on-campus collaborative music project between (Ethiopian) Oromo refugees and local Indonesian university teaching staff, students and professional musicians. It follows the way the project evolved from what was initially seen as a simple academic research opportunity and technical assistance for refugees to record their songs into a mutually transformative experience for those involved. It reflects on the process and the way art—as a collaborative practice and non-programmatic form of human engagement—provided new possibilities for the refugees living in transit in Indonesia to explore their talents and possible career opportunities for the future. …

Makna Kejahtan Dan Perilaku Menyimpang Dalam Kebudayaan Indonesia, A. Josias Simon Runturambi

Antropologi Indonesia

Crime is a social phenomenon that normally occurs in a society. Some of crime and deviant behavior is motivated by social and cultural conditions of local communities. In today society crime is no longer something to be feared or avoided, it is now gaines popularity and more approachable. Crime grows in Indonesian day to day basis in reality. Criminology studies and learns the meaning of criminal behavior in the culture and people of Indonesia, or known as ethnographic study of crime, identifying and inventorying the types of crimes that are inherent in the religion system, language and social organization of …

Saung Angklung Udjo: Invensi Tradisi Lokal Yang Mendunia, Budiman Mahmud Musthofa, Jajang Gunawijaya

Antropologi Indonesia

The globalization of culture presents new challenges for society to be more creative in managing local culture and tradition. The various impact of this globalization might be anticipated if the creative process continues in the community. Through qualitative method, this study examines Saung Angklung Udjo (SAU) as an example of the achievement on the creative process through invention of tradition in developing art traditions. SAU as an invention of tradition strongly associated with the individual agency’s role in responding the reality of the arts tradition through the establishment of angklung workshop. Individual agencies design the social and environmental conditions by …

Washing Machine Races, Gulag Pizza, And Mc Lenin: Kitsch-Ification In Post Socialist Hungary, Lisa Pope Fischer

Publications and Research

During the cold war, material culture could symbolically mark conflicts between the East and West. Lenin, Marx, the sickle and hammer symbolized communist strength. Household items and electronics were marveled at as new and advanced in contrast to the Western capitalist exotic “Other.” In Hungary today these symbols become Communist kitsch that can undermine former tensions and illustrate a collective ambivalence towards the post-socialist condition by (1) reinterpreting time and space, (2) symbolizing the cold war ‘other,’ (3) creating fantasized spaces, (4) and by representing a generational divide. Making former symbols of Communist strength ‘kitschy’ illustrates a mockery of the …

As Good As Niu: Food Sovereignty In Samoa, Emily Gove

Honors Theses

Samoa’s history as an island nation, with its cultural heritage of migratory peoples, followed by settler colonialism and missionaries, has resulted in its uniquely amalgamated food system. Cuisine varies from traditional crops and recipes to imported canned goods, although dependence on the latter has led to wide-ranging health problems. A way to confront these problems is through reclaiming local cuisine, renewing its popularity and promoting the concept of food sovereignty. Through fieldwork based on surveys, interviews, and participant observation in Apia, complemented with a study of activist Robert Oliver’s new cookbooks on Pacific cuisine, this project examines current themes …

Hyphenated Japan: Cross-Examining The Self/Other Dichotomy In Ainu-Japanese Material Culture, Jonathan Chira Shapiro

Honors Papers

This is a historical ethnography that examines how shifts Japanese national identity and values of homogeneity have affected Japan’s minority Ainu population. I argue that the symbolic position of Ainu culture has historically been rearranged to suit prevailing ideas about Japanese nationality and culture without input from Ainu. Using theoretical understandings of Self-Other dichotomies, I examine the particular way these practices manifested in Meiji Japan to create modern Japanese national identity, and how these functioned both against the West and people colonized by Japan. From there, I look at how cultural nationalism was objectified as present from time immemorial in …

Spiritual Journeys: A Study Of Ifá /Òrìṣà Practitioners In The United States Initiated In Nigeria, Tony Van Der Meer

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study is to understand the culture of one of the newest branches of traditional Yorùbá Ifá/Òrìṣà practice in the United States from practitioners born in the United States that were initiated in Nigeria, West Africa.The epistemology of the Ifá/Òrìṣà belief system in the United States has been based on the history and influence of Regla de Ocha or Santeria that developed out of Cuban innovation and practice.This is an ethnographic and auto-ethnographic study that pulls from participant observation, field notes, interviews, and photos as data.The central question of this dissertation is what are the challenges and …