Anthropology Commons^™

Airborne Lidar Acquisition, Post-Processing And Accuracy-Checking For A 3d Webgis Of Copan, Honduras, Jennifer Von Schwerin, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Fabio Remondino, Maria Grazia Spera, Michael Auer, Nicolas Billen, Lukas Loos, Laura Stelson, Markus Reindel

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Archaeological projects increasingly collect airborne LiDAR data to use as a remote sensing tool for survey and analysis. Publication possibilities for LiDAR datasets, however, are limited due to the large size and often proprietary nature of the data. Fortunately, web-based, geographic information systems (WebGIS) that can securely manage temporal and spatial data hold great promise as virtual research environments for working with and publishing LiDAR data. To test this and to obtain new data for archaeological research, in 2013, the MayaArch3D Project (www.mayaarch3d.org) collected LiDAR data for the archaeological site of Copan, Honduras. Results include: 1) more accurate archaeological maps, …

The Goddess: Myths Of The Great Mother, Christopher R. Fee, David Leeming

Gettysburg College Faculty Books

The Goddess is all around us: Her face is reflected in the burgeoning new growth of every ensuing spring; her power is evident in the miracle of conception and childbirth and in the newborn’s cry as it searches for the nurturing breast; we glimpse her in the alluring beauty of youth, in the incredible power of sexual attraction, in the affection of family gatherings, and in the gentle caring of loved ones as they leave the mortal world. The Goddess is with us in the everyday miracles of life, growth, and death which always have surrounded us and always will, …

Climate, Ecology, And Human Evolution During The Plio-Pleistocene, Scott Adam Blumenthal

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A major goal of paleoanthropology is to identify the selective pressures associated with hominin biological and behavioral evolution, yet establishing cause-effect relationships between climate, ecology, and human evolution remains problematic. This dissertation seeks to investigate hominin paleoecology in eastern Africa by reconstructing aspects of climate and ecology using stable isotope analysis.

The first part of this dissertation is focused on the ecology of primates and hominins. Modern tropical African ecosystems provide a useful model for understanding the ecological correlates of isotopic variation in the fossil record, and living primates provide a useful model for understanding the ecological significance of isotopic …

Culture And Coping: A Qualitative Study Of A Sri Lankan Village Post Tsunami, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Damien Sanchez, Piyadasa Kodituwakku, Michael Hollifield, Chandanie Hewage, Kalum Bopagoda, Krishantha Weerarathnege

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

On the tenth anniversary of the Tsunami on December 26, 2014, Sri Lankan newspapers highlighted the issues that still prevail in Peraliya and other tsunami affected regions in Sri Lanka such as unresolved housing problems, displacement from homes near the ocean, poor infrastructure, and loss of livelihood (Hussain, December 26, 2014, p. AA1), and at the same time commemorated “the resilience of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children who rose from the debris and the carnage, picked up the pieces and soldiered on amidst the tears and the pain” (Editorial, Sunday Times, December 21, 2014, p. 12). A …

Research And Conservation Of Peruvian Textiles, Taralea Forster, Paul Stavast

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In 2014, a collection of pre-Columbian Andean textiles was acquired by BYU’s Museum of Peoples and Cultures. Prior to their arrival at the museum, the textiles had been held in poor storage conditions. They had been stored with acidic packing materials in a building with no temperature or humidity control, and as a result had begun to deteriorate.

Lucumi And The Children Of Cotton: Gender, Race, And Ethnicity In The Mapping Of A Black Atlantic Politics Of Religion, Akissi M. Britton

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this dissertation I have examined claims to religious authenticity, purity, legitimacy and authority through the lens of a Black and African American Orisa community in Brooklyn, New York. Through these claims, made both internally and to a broader Orisa community within the United States and throughout different locales in the Black Atlantic, I have articulated how they are more often than not linked to very non-religious aspects of social life. Members of this community, and the broader Orisa Atlantic of which they are a part, do not practice this tradition in a social, cultural, or political vacuum. In fact, …

From Coercion To Consent?: Governing The Formerly Incarcerated In The 21st Century United States, Karen G. Williams

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

With over 650,000 incarcerated people returning to their home communities each year, prisoner reentry reform has recently become as an important strand of penal policy innovation intended to address the barriers that former offenders face. Through ethnographic research in four correctional institutions in the Midwest, I trace the use of evidence-based practices and policies as they relate to prisoner reentry and risk reduction. This dissertation intervenes in the debates on mass incarceration and prisoner reentry and offers insights on how evidence-based practices and policies are being mobilized to mitigate the costs of mass incarceration. I show how the scientization of …

Millets From The Margins: Value, Knowledge And The Subaltern Practice Of Biodiversity In Uttarakhand, India, Priya R. Chandrasekaran

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Millets from the Margins: Value, Knowledge and the Subaltern Practice of Biodiversity in Uttarakhand, India analyzes what is at stake for small-scale, predominantly women, farmers as local varieties of rainfed food grains such as finger millet are being newly commodified and valued as a biodiversity resource. With support from a Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant from the National Science Foundation, I conducted seventeen months of ethnographic research with farmers, activists, scientists, NGO leaders, government officials, transnational functionaries and agribusiness representatives in segregated yet interconnected realms ranging from a village in the Himalayan foothills to transnational institutions in Rome.

This work demonstrates …

Through The Gateway: Marijuana Production, Governance, And The Drug War Détente, Michael Polson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since the 1996 voter approval of medical marijuana laws in California, marijuana policy has become increasingly liberalized. Producers, however, have remained in the greyest of grey market zones. Federal anti-drug laws and supply-side tactics have intensively targeted them even as marijuana has become more licit. In this legally unstable environment, marijuana patient-cultivators and underground producers have articulated and asserted themselves politically and economically, particularly as the likelihood of full legalization has increased. This dissertation explores how producers navigated the nebulous zone between underground and medical markets. I argue that even as producers supplied marijuana to a formalizing, regulated medical industry …

Empowerment From Within: Supporting Palestinian Women’S Struggle Against Violence, Ortal Bensky

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Recent reports by the United Nations and local non-governmental organizations present a troubling increase in incidents of violence against Palestinian women in Palestine. These are cases of domestic violence, where the attackers are Palestinians, and political violence, where the attackers are Israeli settlers and soldiers. These violent incidents include attacks on body and property. Most incidents are neither dealt with by the Palestinian authorities nor by the Israeli government and judicial system. There is not sufficient international pressure to enforce justice. The purpose of this study is to offer alternative ways to prevent violent crimes, enforce relevant laws, and provide …

Connectivity: An Ecological Paradigm For The Study Of Bronze Age, Slobodan Mitrović

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

“Connectivity: an ecological paradigm for the study of Bronze Age” addresses the relationship between historic and prehistoric people, and the landscapes they inhabited, moved about, and continue to inhabit. It suggests alternative methodological approaches that have broader ramifications for the discipline of (Bronze Age) archaeology. By engaging the code and innovations stemming from ecology and digital technology, the research questions concern the interface – referred to as connectivity – between the archaeological sites, resources, networks of communication, and the conditions of archaeological knowledge acquisition. Drawing on published and new data, the aim of the project is to put forward a …

Dueños Del Agua: Conflicto Y Colaboración Sobre Los Rios, Barbara M. Arisi

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

No abstract provided.

Naturalists In Paradise: Wallace, Bates And Spruce In The Amazon, Nigel Smith

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

No abstract provided.

Interview With Sadeta Hodzic (Fa 1137), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcript of oral history interview with Sadeta Hodzic conducted by Kate Horigan on 29 January 2016 at Cravens Library as part of Western Kentucky University's 2017 International Year of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Click on "Additional Files" to access the audio file of the recorded interview. File may take several minutes to download.

Interview With Mujo Music (Fa 1137), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcript of oral history interview with Mujo Music conducted by Virginia Siegel on 29 January 2016 at the Pioneer Log Cabin as part of Western Kentucky University's 2017 International Year of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Click on "Additional Files" to access the audio file of the recorded interview. File may take several minutes to download.

Transforming Marginality: Redefining Hmong Ethnic Identity Through Development In Sapa, Vietnam, Mary Cook, Jacob Hickman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In addition to a booming tourist industry, Sapa, Vietnam is home to a number of development organizations seeking to improve the livelihoods of ethnic minorities in the region. One Hmong woman, whom I will call Maiv, started one of the first indigenous educational development programs in Sapa- ‘by Hmong people for Hmong people,’ as she describes it. In short, the organization boards ethnic minority youths (mostly Hmong) closer to a local school so they can receive an education. Maiv’s organization also provides jobs for women by running a trekking business, a café, and a handicraft shop.

Islands Within An Almost Island: History, Myth, And Aislamiento In Baja California, Mexico, Ryan B. Anderson

Faculty Publications

This paper examines the persistent histories and lasting effects of the Baja California peninsula's status as an "almost island." The peninsula is almost an island in so many ways. Its reputation as an island-like entity has also ben strengthened by a longstanding myth that it was, in fact, an actual island. In many senses it was an island - isolated, remote, difficult to envision, understand, and control. Geography and climate played a vital role in all of this, but so, too, did human imagination. The author uses the concept of shima, along with discussions about the dual meanings of the …

Additive Schooling: Understanding Latino Education In A South Provo Elementary School, Hailey Leavitt, Gregory Thompson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My research was a case study of an elementary school in South Provo – Franklin Elementary, which focuses on two, second grade classrooms and the homes of six Latino second grade students. It focused on the similarities and differences found between home and school environments and how they shaped the educational experience of these six students. To do this, I examined what specific Latino additive schooling practices are being implemented in Franklin Elementary.

Morality Among The Hmog, Eric Austin Gillett, Jacob Hickman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I have presented my findings at three conferences: Hmong Studies Consortium in Madison, Wisconsin (April 6, 2015), Society for the Anthropology of Religion in San Diego, California (April 12, 2015), and the American Anthropological Association in Denver, Colorado (November 18-22, 2015). I am preparing a journal article to submit for publication in the Journal of Vietnamese Studies. I will also be using research data to complete my senior thesis, honors thesis, and applications for graduate school.

Mexican American Families, Nicole Rose, Dr. Greg Thompson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Researchers define familismo as a “strong identification with the family” (Triandis, Marin, Betancourt, Lisansky, & Chang, 1982). Sabogal et al. said that “perceived support from family,” “family obligations,” and third, using family as cultural “referents” are important parts of familismo(Sabogal, Marín, Otero-Sabogal, Marín, & Perez-Stable, 1987). All researchers seem to have an underlying assumption that familismo-style relationships are phenomena that occur between blood-relation (Sabogal et al., 1987)(Steidel & Contreras, 2003)(Triandis et al., 1982)(Davila, Reifsnider, & Pecina, 2011). I argue that Mexican kinship is not defined simply by blood relations and that a kin group can be formed through reciprocal relationships. …

Interview With Muhamed Hasanovic (Fa 1137), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcript of oral history interview with Muhamed Hasanovic conducted by Brent Bjorkman on 24 January 2016 at the Pioneer Log Cabin as part of Western Kentucky University's 2017 International Year of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Click on "Additional Files" to access the audio file of the recorded interview. File may take several minutes to download.

Cultural Compromises: Effects And Perceptions Of Formal Education Among The Himba Of Namibia, Jessica Andrus, Greg Thompson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Himba of Namibia have only recently been introduced to formal education within the past 20 years. Previously, formal education was not as readily available to them. This has led to a major cultural shift among the Himba. Traditionally, the Himba do not count, read, or speak English, but formal education is changing that. Through an ethnographic study in Otutati, Namibia, I found that the reasons the Himba are more positive towards education is because they have found ways to reconcile the traditional culture and formal education, enjoying the benefits of both lifestyles.

Interview With Amer Salihovic (Fa 1137), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcript of oral history interview with Amer Salihovic conducted by Virginia Siegel on 21 January 2016 at the Pioneer Log Cabin as part of Western Kentucky University's 2017 International Year of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Click on "Additional Files" to access the audio file of the recorded interview. File may take several minutes to download.

Plant Microfossils Recovered From Dental Calculus At Casas Grandes, Mexico, Daniel King, Michael T. Searcy, Kyle Waller

Faculty Publications

Microfossil analysis is a technique used to better understand prehistoric diets. As part of a larger multinational project, we gathered and analyzed 112 samples of dental calculus (fossilized plaque) from human remains discovered at Paquimé and other sites in the Casas Grandes river valley to identify various microfossils still present in the silica matrix. With this information, we are able to better understand the flora present during ancient times and how it was used (food, processing, etc.).

The Regulatory Life Of Threatened Species Lists, Irus Braverman

Contributions to Books

Published as Chapter 1 in Animals, Biopolitics, Law: Lively Legalities, Irus Braverman, ed.

“The Regulatory Life of Threatened Species Lists” explores a prominent technology for the legal regulation of nonhuman life: the threatened species list. I argue that threatened species lists are biopolitical technologies: they produce and reinforce underlying species ontologies by creating, calculating, and governing the boundaries between various nonhuman species. Such a differentiated treatment of the life and death of nonhuman species through their en-listing, down- and up-listing, multi-listing, and un-listing translates into the positive protection and active governance of such species. Listing threatened species thus becomes a …

The Folklore Of Flowers, Lisa Karen Miller

DLPS Faculty Publications

This presentation was prepared for WKU's Society for Lifelong Learning. It relates history and folklore of a variety of flowers, including their use in folk medicine, as food, and other stories and beliefs.

South African Marriage In Policy And Practice: A Dynamic Story, Michael W. Yarbrough

Publications and Research

Law forms one of the major structural contexts within which family lives play out, yet the precise dynamics connecting these two foundational institutions are still poorly understood. This article attempts to help bridge this gap by applying sociolegal concepts to empirical findings about state law's role in family, and especially in marriage, drawn from across several decades and disciplines of South Africanist scholarly research. I sketch the broad outlines of a nuanced theoretical approach for analysing the law-family relationship, which insists that the relationship entails a contingent and dynamic interplay between relatively powerful regulating institutions and relatively powerless regulated populations. …

Limiting The Impact Of Destructive Analytical Techniques Through Sequential Microspatial Sampling Of The Enamel From Single Teeth, Alexis E. Dolphin, Mathew A. Teeter, Christine D. White, Fred J. Longstaffe

Earth Sciences Publications

A fundamental research concern within contemporary bioarchaeology is the sensitive balance between the preservation of human remains and the use of destructive techniques to collect information. Here we describe one example of how multiple microspatial destructive/semi-destructive techniques may be carried out in sequence using only the enamel of a single tooth. With careful planning of both sample preparation strategies and sequencing of sampling methods, it is possible to produce multiple datasets, and yet to retain material for future analyses.

In this case, enamel from the teeth of 27 individuals who lived during the early medieval period (AD 1170-1198) in Bergen, …

Colonial Subjugation And Human Rights Abuses: Twenty-First Century Violations Against Brazil’S Rural Indigenous Xukuru Nation, Marcia Mikulak

Anthropology Faculty Publications

This article addresses the struggle of rural Xukuru indigenous peoples in Pesqueira, Pernambuco, Brazil as they organize to stop historical violence against them and work to regain their constitutional right to their ancestral lands. The article illustrates what a single researcher working along-side rural people's and NGOs can do to make change in an oppressive state. With the birth of the United Nations (UN) in 1945 and the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, member states have often provided rhetorical validity to human rights documents and conventions; a rhetoric that is often ignored upon return to …

Isis And Philae, Eahr Joan

Re-Genesis Encyclopedia

Ancient Philae, temple site of black Isis (Ese) in Nubia, encompasses a rich and fascinating archaeomythological study. Although the temple fell into alien hands, goddess Isis’ power not only continued for over three millennia in Egypt, but also “her worship grew during the Hellenistic period (when she was conflated with the Great Mother of the Greeks, Demeter), then continued into the Roman Era, and finally was adapted to Christian needs.” (HLW: 13.) Reginald Eldred Witt notes that the “veneration (hyperdulia) of the Blessed Virgin Mary was certainly introduced at about the same time as Theodosius ordered the destruction of …