Anthropology Commons^™

'Queertility', Daniel Thomas Bixby Sykes

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Daniel Sykes, an Anthropology student at Utah State University used his Honors Capstone opportunity to understand the evolution of reproduction over the course of two semesters. During Fall of 2019, he focused on overviewing what Biological Archaeologists, Biologists, and Chemists understand of the evolution of various forms of reproduction from the distant past. During the Spring, he focused on the cutting edge allopathic research in fertility treatments and some of the social implications. Sykes posits that human society has the opportunity to treat infertility in the queer (lgbtqia+) community, given these up-and-coming treatments, even those forms of infertility that arise …

Foodism In Ireland 2019: Feeding Foodie Philosophy Or Showing A Shift In Contemporary Food Culture?, Sinéad Reil

Dissertations

“Everybody eats and drinks; yet only few appreciate the taste of food”

Confucius (551- 479BC).

This research study examines contemporary food culture in Ireland through the phenomenon of foodism and the habits and traits expressed through the subculture of foodies. Elements and actors of the Irish foodscape are also considered. Other topics it discusses are Irish food history, Ireland’s gastronomical global position and the modern Irish chef.

The thesis defined foodism as: “A keen or exaggerated interest in food, especially in the minute details of preparation, presentation, and consumption of food” (‘Foodism’, 2018a). In order to answer the five sub-research …

Dim Sum And The Chinese Diaspora, Ashley Lee

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Dim sum originated from the southern states of China, mainly Hong Kong and Guangdong. The Chinese cuisine has traveled to many places in the world today where Chinese immigrants have settled since the Chinese diaspora circa the 1960s. At the time, Chinese immigrants who came to America had to assimilate to the American culture by situating themselves in areas that had already existed, creating ethnic enclaves in Chinatown, Los Angeles. The heavy population of Chinese immigrants poured into the San Gabriel Valley, which created a bigger community for the Chinese and preserved the Chinese identity. It was easier for them …

A Second Life: The Adaptation Of Dying Italian Towns To Accommodate Immigrants And Refugees, Rachel Rubis

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Despite its efforts in historic preservation, there is an abundance of culturally significant Italian vernacular towns dying due to dilapidation and depopulation. Simultaneously, Italy has faced an ongoing stream of immigrants and refugees seeking work, housing, and asylum within its borders—a crisis that has resulted in Italian fear and animosity aside immigrant maltreatment and hardship. My research, which is supplemented by first-hand experience in Italy, qualitative analysis, and text sources, proposes interventions into dying Italian towns to aid in the resettlement of immigrants and refugees—an effort meant to be mutually beneficial to both the town and the immigrant. In my …

Zonta International: Unveiling 100 Years Of History & Membership, Jessica E. Nantka

Museum Studies Projects

The purpose of this master’s thesis project is to examine the formidable globalized service organization, Zonta International (ZI), which has impacted women around the world for 100 years. I utilized essential practices in the Museum Studies Master of Arts program at SUNY Buffalo State to create this project in association with an exhibit, Zonta International: Unveiling 100 Years of History & Membership, presented at the Karpeles Manuscript Museum from November 5 – November 23, 2019. The use of digitized images, documents, and artifacts within the Howard D. Beach Photography Studio Collection owned by The Buffalo History Museum, have been …

Born-Again On Sundays: Exploring Narratives Of Belief And Performances In A Belizean Methodist Church, Katharine Serio

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

If you are only at church services on Sunday and do not actively practice your religious faith every day, are you “born again” every day? Reverend Rebecca Lewis of Wesley Methodist Church in a small town in Belize preaches active participation in the church and encourages her congregation to attend all religious events, pray rigorously, and read the Bible actively, but how does the congregation listen to her and react to her sermons? “Born-Again on Sundays” is an ethnographic account that draws on anthropological theories of belief and vernacular religion, performance and narrative, and poverty and reflexivity to explore the …

In Vitro Immune Activation By Treponema Pallidum And The Effect On Osteoclastogenesis: First Experimental Step Towards An Integration Between Osteoimmunology And Paleopathology., Emily Ann Rich

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

The presence of pathogens in the human body influences the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines by activated immune cells. These cytokines, and other factors, regulate osteoclastogenesis and osteoclast activity. Through experimental osteoimmunology, interactions between the inflammatory response and bone cell physiology may provide insight into how immune processes can be translated into the lesions or abnormalities observed in the osteological record. In this research, our objective was to determine if the cytokines produced by activated immune cells increase osteoclastogenesis and osteoclast activity. To evaluate this hypothesis, we used two main protocols, one for immune activation and one for osteoclastogenesis, that utilized …

Under The Radar: The Everyday Resistance Of Anarchist Punks In Bandung, Indonesia, Steve Moog

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Amidst a current resurgence of hypernationalism across the globe, resistance movements and counterhegemonic ideologies are becoming increasingly visible and more common elements of broader socio-political discourses. While high-profile protests have ignited public interest in resistance movements—turning relatively unknown groups such as Antifa and Black Bloc into household names—little attention has been paid to the behind-the-scenes networks undergirding many of these organizations. Translocal do-it-yourself (DIY) punk rock networks are spaces in which alternative and subversive ideologies are enacted through the everyday implementation of anarchist philosophies and DIY ethics. Here, ‘under the radar’ modes of resistance are found in the lived realities, …

Hi God: An Autoethnography Of Loneliness In Graduate School, Grace Elisabeth Mertz

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

I may have started college too early. My fifteen-year-old homeschooled mind could not have predicted the identity shift that higher education would demand of me. I did not expect academia to be filled with people who shared my background and beliefs, but I was, in many ways, unprepared for the way my Christianity would be challenged in the classroom and in my professors’ offices. After seven years of education within the structures of academia, I certainly have not lost my faith, but the way I think about, talk about, and practice it has tangibly changed. The questions I ask of …

Masculinity, Migration, And Forced Conscription In The Syrian War, Kristin V. Monroe

Anthropology Faculty Publications

In this essay, I provide a different perspective on the Syrian conflict by examining how the war’s reach can also be located amid the losses, interruptions, and experiences of those Syrians who have until now largely escaped its incredible violence. By looking closely at how the war has altered the life trajectories of and produced distinct modes of vulnerability for military-age men, I develop an argument about how, although they avoid fighting by going to work in Qatar, the lives of a group of Syrian men remain defined by conscription. Through my investigation of how these men are located in …

An Assessment Of The Use Of Photogrammetry In Cranial Metric And Non-Metric Studies, Amy Hair

Master's Theses

Methods in biological anthropology have made tremendous leaps in recent years and with the increasing rise in technology there is no reason to suspect that this trend will be decreasing. Particularly methods in 3D digitization have not only increased but have also become more accessible in bioarchaeology. One method, photogrammetry, offers bioarcheologists a unique opportunity to easily collect and process cranial metric and non-metric data that can be used to quantify biological relatedness. While these advances are expected to continue, it is ignorant to assume that they represent a fail proof solution. A critical examination is necessary to quantify the …

A Comparative Analysis Of Appalachian And Chukchi Folktales, Maggie Bishop

Honors Theses

Comparative folktale studies have revealed high quality emic data in past Anthropological study, but not nearly enough studies have been done. This thesis proposes an ideal avenue of study for delineation of patterns to reveal historically particular emic data as well as universal ideals. The avenue of study is that of comparative analysis of six folktales from two vastly different cultures. The people of the icy Chukotka peninsula in Northern Russia and the people of the temperate Appalachian Mountains share rich folktale traditions that provide a look into the cultural valuables and undesirables within both of these cultures. Through a …

Plant Processing Experiments And Use-Wear Analysis Of Tabon Cave Artefacts Question The Intentional Character Of Denticulated Stone Tools In Prehistoric Southeast Asia, Alfred Pawlik, Hermine Xhauflaira, Sheldon Jago-On, Timothy Vitalese, John Rey Callado, Danilo Tandang, Trishia Palconit, Dante Manipon, Claire Gaillard, Angeliki Theodoropoulou, Nicole Revel, Hubert Forestier

Sociology & Anthropology Department Faculty Publications

The presence of notches on European Palaeolithic flaked stone tools termed ‘denticulates’ has been variously ascribed to cultural, functional and taphonomic factors. In Southeast Asia prehistoric stone tool assemblages are dominated by unretouched flakes, so the rare retouched lithics, including denticulates, can be considered unique testimonies of the intention of the tool makers to control the shape and properties of tool edges. Here we report the results of plant processing experiments with modern unretouched flakes made of red jasper. Splitting plants with the help of a specific hand and arm movement (“twist-of-the-wrist”) resulted in a series of use-wear traces that …

Brothers As Men: Masculinity, Homosociality, And Violence Among Fraternity Men, Daniel Mccloskey

Honors Scholar Theses

A significant aspect of gender study, specifically when dealing with men, is the idea that there is no single masculinity and that there are many different constructions of masculinity. This project engages fraternity men about their constructions of masculinity and how these constructions affect behavior. In addition to these constructions of masculinity, this study is concerned with issues of homosociality and views of sexual violence. This project utilizes research techniques including semi-structured and structured interviews as well as free listing and pile sorting.

Archaeological, Geophysical, And Geospatial Analysis At David Crockett Birthplace State Park, In Upper East Tennessee, Reagan Cornett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A geophysical survey was conducted at David Crockett Birthplace State Park (40GN205, 40GN12) using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetometry. The data indicated multiple levels of occupation that were investigated by Phase II and Phase III archaeological excavations. New cultural components were discovered, including the remnants of a Protohistoric Native American structure containing European glass trade beads and Middle Woodland artifacts that suggest trade with Hopewell groups from Ohio. A circular Archaic hearth was uncovered at one meter below surface and similar deep anomalies were seen in the GPR data at this level. A semi-automated object-based image analysis (OBIA) was implemented …

“Making The World A Better Place To Live In”: Hattiesburg Women’S Literary Organizations And The Formation Of A Progressive Southern City, 1884-1945, Daniella Kawa

Master's Theses

This study examines the activity and impact of white women’s literary clubs in Hattiesburg, Mississippi between 1884 and the end of World War II in 1945. This project examines to what extent women adhered to or broke away from societal norms of the time by involving themselves in intellectually stimulating groups with other women, especially in response to rapidly changing standards of femininity and womanhood during the Progressive era. Women’s literary clubs reveal patterns of women moving out of the home and into a public role, in addition to signifying the new ways in which women fit themselves into a …

An External Expression Of The Inner Spirit: Dance, Religion, And Taboos In Christianity, Erin E. Ingram

Honors Theses

Dance, religion, and the presence of taboos have each been recognized as what is known throughout the social sciences as “cultural universals.” For example, though not every individual dances, dance can be found in all societies (Brown, 2004). Furthermore, many cultures use dance as part of religious or ritual worship. The following thesis explores possible answers to these three intertwined questions: “Many cultures across the world have developed dances for the purpose of religious or spiritual rituals and celebrations. Does dance as a form of expression stem from a biological, spiritual, or cultural need? Why do cultures turn to dance …

2017-2018 Fuels Management Class Iii Inventory, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Teller County, Colorado, Richard Olsen

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Between May 2017 and July 2018, Utah State University (USU) conducted Class III cultural resource surveys of Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument (FLFO) for the National Park Service to identify cultural resources for a prescriptive fuel management project. [redacted]. The survey included block surveys, as well as new site and isolated find recording. Block surveys covered approximately [redacted] acres at [redacted] transect intervals. The survey was completed in three ten-day sessions during each of the two field seasons. The survey found [redacted] sites, [redacted] isolated finds, and [redacted] culturally modified trees (CMTs). Of these discoveries, [redacted] sites and [redacted] isolated …

The Sociality Of Charitable Giving In An Evolutionary Perspective, Wesley Allen-Arave

Anthropology ETDs

This dissertation draws on an evolutionary perspective to document and examine the social contexts in which charitable donations and appeals occur to increase our understanding of the role that social reputation may play in people’s charitable giving decisions. Charitable giving challenges theorists to contemplate pathways to cooperation that do not require shared genes, direct reciprocity, or immediate direct gains. This dissertation investigates the extent to which people give charitable donations in settings where donations are likely to have reputational consequences and how social relationships relate to charitable giving behavior. Data is based on face-to-face interviews with 512 participants covering the …

Acculturative Stress And Aspects Of Well-Being Among Chinese International Students In U.S. Higher Education, Liam G. Lane

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Chinese international students have been the largest demographic of international students in the U.S. for the past decade. In our increasingly globalized world, it is inevitable that more international students will immigrate to the U.S. for educational opportunities, among many others, and it is important to consider the challenges that these students may face, to ease their cultural transition. Already we have seen our world changed by the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic and it is inevitable that this will shape the experiences of all students, let alone international students, in the near future, and possibly the foreseeable future. While …

Analysis Of The Evolution Of The Hominin Jaw & Dentition, Matthew Koelbel

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

The food an organism consumes impacts the evolution of its dentition and facial morphology. As the teeth of early hominins are often some of the only parts of the skeleton to be fossilized, their morphological changes throughout time are better documented and understood than many other body parts. A literature review of articles focusing on the evolution of the dentition and mandibular morphology of members of the tribe Homininae was conducted. We deduced the ways in which tool use and cooking directly affected the teeth of hominins from the late Pleistocene to Pliocene from this information. The tangible ways that …

Lay Latitude: Latter-Day Saint Women's Agency In Northwest Arkansas, Andrew Tompkins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The question of women’s agency in gender-traditional religions has been the subject of much scholarly attention over the past four decades, but little research has been done focusing specifically on Latter-day Saint women and their identities and roles within the structure and practice of the Church. In popular media representations, Latter-Day Saint women are often depicted as submissive or surviving, either powerless pawns or resistant warriors. However, many Latter-day Saint women find fulfillment and empowerment within and because of, rather than outside or in spite of, the institutional Church. In this thesis, I explore women’s agency in Northwest Arkansas’ Greendale …

Atomization As Colonial Strategy In Palestine., Christian Alexander Brawner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Walid Daka, a Palestinian political prisoner in Israel since 1986, contends that Israel’s “final solution” to quell Palestinian resistance is currently unfolding in Israeli prisons where, as he describes, Palestinian prisoners are being divided from one another through seemingly unrelated actions and policies. Daka argues that current Israeli practices have replaced traditional physical brutality with seemingly harmless administrative decisions and actions taken by prison authorities that are aimed at instilling mistrust among Palestinians, substituting collective struggle and solidarity with individualized interests, and altering Palestinians’ awareness of national struggle. As Daka puts it, it is a set of endeavors to remold …

An Isotopic Assessment Of Late Prehistoric Interregional Warfare In The Southcentral Us, John R. Samuelsen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Skull burials are found all over the world. The cause of such ancient Native Americans deposits often lead to disagreement among scholars torn between warfare and ancestor veneration. One skull-and-mandible deposit, representing at least 352 people (A.D. 1253-1399), was uncovered at the Crenshaw site, a multiple-mound Caddo ceremonial center in southwest Arkansas. Most previous research suggested they were victims of interregional warfare from the Southern Plains or Mississippi Valley. One previous study hypothesized that this was a Caddo burial practice which expanded during the Middle Caddo period (A.D. 1200-1500) due to the adoption of maize as a staple and a …

Debitage Attributes, Obsidian Source Analysis, And Prehistoric Mobility In Southeastern Idaho, Ben Joaquin Zumkeller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study is to complement existing knowledge on prehistoric mobility in eastern and southern Idaho. I add specific detail regarding the use of Skull Canyon and its well-known Birch Creek rockshelters during hunter-gatherers’ logistical foraging rounds.

In addition, my research is a case study in combining debitage attribute analysis and intensive toolstone sourcing to read prehistoric mobility. Prior research has looked to obsidian toolstone sourcing to understand prehistoric eastern and southern Idaho mobility. However, no prior research has involved sourcing an entire, stratified assemblage of prehistoric debitage.

I collected flake attribute data from all 2,846 pieces of …

Zooarchaeology Of Bone, Antler, And Ivory Technologies: A Case Study From The Central Anatolian Bronze And Iron Age Site Kaman Kalehӧyük, Sarah Raffae Macintosh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The proposed dissertation research investigates bone, antler, and ivory technologies in central Anatolia (present-day Turkey) during the Bronze and Iron Ages (ca. 3000-100 Before Current Era or BCE). At this time, rural agrarian societies were transforming into more complex polities and states. This transformation was marked by a rapid increase of social complexity as documented in the archaeological record in terms of monumental administrative and religious buildings, uniform ceramic ware, and writing. The current archaeological record also informs us about the rate of technological change in pottery, architecture, and metallurgy, as typology, style, and function are widely documented and studied …

Love In South Korea: Transformations Of Intimacy And Gender Relations In Korean Romantic Relationships, Alex Joseph Nelson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Romantic love holds a central place in South Korean imaginaries, animating television dramas and pop ballads, but has been largely overlooked in Korea's ethnographic record. Drawing on data collected through 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork, survey research, interviews, and analysis of folklore, the present study investigates how South Koreans conceptualize romantic love, how those conceptions have changed over time, and the ways they are transforming with the Korean field of gender relations.

This study documents love's entwinement with marriage in South Korea. Koreans are developing companionate ideals of marriage that shift the focus of kinship from the parent-child relationship to …

Excavating Gender: The Embodiment And (Re)Presentation Of Social Relations In Mierzanowice Communities Of The Early Bronze Age, Mark Paul Toussaint

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The construction of gender in a society is based on a discursive relationship between culture and biology. Ideological components are often translated into structural factors, which condition access to social and biological resources and exposure to risk. Cumulative differential health outcomes for groups can become embodied in ways that affect the skeleton. By conducting population-level analyses of skeletal markers of health and trauma, bioarchaeologists work backwards to attempt to reconstruct social conditions. Archaeological and mortuary context is an important part of this process.

Cemeteries of the Mierzanowice Culture (MC) in southern Poland (2300-1600 BCE) offer a unique opportunity to study …

An Instrumental Study Of Front Oral Monophthongs In Kensiu, Azizan Adilah

Student Works (2020-2029)

This paper acoustically examines the front oral vowels of Kensiu, a highly endangered Austroasiatic language spoken in Peninsular Malaysia. Although there have been initial studies on the phonology of Kensiu, (Bishop, 1996; Burenhult, 2001), these are mainly on the variety spoken in Thailand. This far, there is a lack of studies especially those based on the acoustic analysis. The changes in the sounds of Kensiu are likely to have taken place with increasing contact with the local Malay community in Kedah where the only Kensiu village is located. This paper aims to fill the gap by examining the acoustic properties …

Body Language: Avatars, Identity Formation, And Communicative Interaction In Vrchat, Cristina Montemorano

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

What meanings do actors attach to their avatars in virtual reality platforms? How does a person’s relationship with their selected avatar impact their communications with other persons in virtual reality settings? In this thesis, Montemorano seeks to answer these questions through qualitative, ethnographic fieldwork that she conducted in 2019 in the virtual reality space known as VRChat, and in connection with anthropological literature on embodiment, sociality, and personhood. This thesis details the author’s research findings, provides a brief historical background on virtual worlds and avatars, and discusses several noteworthy ethnographic studies of virtual worlds such as Boellstorff’s Coming of Age …