Anthropology Commons^™

Aghoreshwar Bhagawan Ram And The Aghor Tradition, Jishnu Shankar

Anthropology - Dissertations

Aghoreshwar Mahaprabhu Baba Bhagawan Ram Ji, a well-established saint of the holy city of Varanasi in north India, initiated many changes into the erstwhile Aghor tradition of ascetics in India. This tradition is regarded as an ancient system of spiritual or mystical knowledge by its practitioners and at least some of the practices followed in this tradition can certainly be traced back at least to the time of the Buddha. Over the course of the centuries practitioners of this tradition have interacted with groups of other mystical traditions, exchanging ideas and practices so that both parties in the exchange appear …

Ball, Donald B. (Fa 571), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Collection 571. Symposium paper (1) and articles (9) published in "Ohio Valley Historical Archaeology," written or co-written by Donald B. Ball, concerning grave houses, vernacular architecture and stone construction.

America Hates The Westboro Baptist Church: The Battle To Preserve The Funerals Of Fallen Soldiers, Kendra L. Suesz

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) has gained national attention over the past several years with their fiery protests at the funerals of soldiers killed in action. Citizens outraged by the actions of the WBC pressured the lawmakers in 45 states to enact legislation curtailing the protesters’ access to funerals. Claiming that the laws infringe upon their First Amendment rights, the WBC has challenged these legislations in court, and will continue to do so. While the lawmakers are struggling to enact effective barriers against the WBC’s access to funerals, the American public has taken matters into their own hands. At many …

Experiential Interior Design: Branding Entertainment And Nightlife For The Postmodern Young Urban Professional, Niccole S. Skomal

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Past study on Interior Design has been primarily looked at through the lenses of aesthetics and functionality. Only recently have scholars begun to see the influence marketing, in the form of branding, can have on the Interior Design process in targeting specific lifestyle groups. The purpose of this research is to understand the fabric of the postmodern Young Urban Professional lifestyle as a marketing tool for branding and designing services in the form of entertainment and nightlife. With an increasing lack of community and social connectedness in today’s postmodern society, Young Urban Professionals tend to consume entertainment and nightlife as …

Testing Hypotheses Of The Demographic Transition In San Borja, Bolivia, Kristin Snopkowski

Anthropology ETDs

Understanding the demographic transition, a trend in which fertility drops after a period of population growth, has been an important area of anthropological and demographic research. This dissertation seeks to understand fertility change by testing five models that have been presented in the literature. The predictions that are unique to each hypothesis are tested in San Borja, Bolivia, a community currently undergoing a fertility transition. Low modern fertility seems counter-intuitive given the increase of individual wealth, but there have not been sufficient tests to lead to an understanding of why this occurs. Informational hypotheses explain fertility transition as a change …

A Passion For The Oppressed, Robin M. Wright

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

This Special Issue is in honor of Shelton H. Davis, one of the pioneers in anthropological advocacy of indigenous rights and a major contributor to the elaboration of socially and environmentally sound development policies at the World Bank.

Sentinels And Entrepreneurs: Advocacy And Development In Brazil, Robin M. Wright

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

This article discusses, firstly, the significance of Sandy Davis’ activism for the international indigenous support movement from the 1970s through the late 1980s, and the strategies that were deployed during the global campaign in support of the Yanomami Indian Park. Secondly, it looks critically at some of the models of support for indigenous peoples being implemented in Brazil today, for the purpose of understanding what has changed in the ways indigenous support organizations develop partnerships with indigenous movements. What has changed in the way indigenous and indigenist organizations in Brazil understand their goals and the means for attaining them? What …

The Mayan People And Sandy (Shelton) Davis: Memories Of An Engaged Anthropologist, J.P. Linstroth

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

The purpose of this essay is to highlight the activism of Shelton Davis and his involvement with the Mayan people during the 1980s. Of particular importance is the portrayal of an immigration hearing of nine Kanjobal Maya defendants in 1983 and the circumstances surrounding the problems of immigration in the state of Florida at that time. The article also explores how Shelton Davis helped save a village of Kaqchikel Maya in the Department of Chimaltenango, Guatemala. Of importance is how to represent varying narratives from three close colleagues of Shelton Davis to an overall conceptualization of the epistemology of narrative …

Shelton Davis And "Applied Anthropology", Allan F. Burns

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

This essay celebrates Shelton Davis’ rich and diverse career as an advocate of indigenous peoples’ rights and a major critic of mainline development models being implemented in the Third World. As an applied anthropologist, Davis rejected any division between knowledge and action in relation to indigenous and other populations directly affected by large-scale development. Through his writing and actions, he showed it was possible to maintain both objectivity and advocacy in dramatic situations such as those of the Guatemalan Mayan peoples. His contributions to community service, in founding at least two international NGOs, and his work at the World Bank, …

Steven Lee Rubinstein (1962 - 2012), Daniela Peluso

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

No abstract provided.

A Cabinet Of Curiosities: Notes On The Life Of Neil Lancelot Whitehead (1956 – 2012), Stephanie Weparu Aleman

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

No abstract provided.

Shelton H. Davis (1942 – 2010)

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

No abstract provided.

Integration Versus Apartheid In Post-Roman Britain: A Response To Thomas Et Al. (2008), John E. Pattison

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

The genetic surveys of the population of Britain conducted by Weale et al. and Capelli et al. produced estimates of the Germani immigration into Britain during the early Anglo-Saxon period, c.430-c.730. These estimates are considerably higher than the estimates of archaeologists. A possible explanation suggested that an apartheid-like social system existed in the early Anglo-Saxon kingdoms resulting in the Germani breeding more quickly than the Britons. Thomas et al. attempted to model this suggestion and showed that it was a possible explanation if all Anglo-Saxon kingdoms had such a system for up to 400 yrs. I noted that their explanation …

The Marketplace Of Boston: Macrobotanical Remains From Faneuil Hall, Ciana Faye Meyers

Graduate Masters Theses

Residents of Boston in the eighteenth century utilized a wide range of botanical materials in their daily lives, navigating complex urban marketing systems and utilizing their own individual ingenuity to procure botanical resources. The one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three botanical remains recovered from a "community midden" underneath the present-day Faneuil Hall represents a diverse collection of taxa which encodes information not only about the localized dietary practices of colonial urban residents, but also helps to illuminate the more subtle ramifications of Boston's participation in the Atlantic economy on the lives of its residents. These botanical remains represent taxa from …

Captain Pierce's Fight: An Investigation Into A King Philip's War Battle And Its Remembrance And Memorialization, Lawrence K. Lacroix

Graduate Masters Theses

On March 26, 1676 Native Americans from southern New England overran a company of Plymouth Colony militia, handing the English one of their worst defeats during King Philip's War. This study was concerned with the reconstruction of the Pierce Battle, as it has come to be known, and its eventual memorialization. The study's two main research questions were: First, to what extent did a complete and critical examination of the primary and secondary sources change, support, or add to the commonly accepted battle perspective? Second, in what ways did a contextual analysis of King Philip's War monuments in Rhode Island …

The Arc Of Justice: Indigenous Activism And Anthropological Intersections, Alaka Wali

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

This article discusses the intersections between anthropological and Amazonian indigenous activism over a four decade period. It takes the distinctive approach of Shelton "Sandy" Davis as a framework to demonstrate the difficult trajectories of activism for both indigenous peoples and anthropologists. I provide examples from my own experiences working with indigenous organizations in Peru and Ecuador.

Este artículo documenta la intersección entre el activismo de las indígenas amazônicas y antropólogos durante un periodo de cuatro décadas. Uso la perspectiva distincta de Shelton “Sandy” Davis cómo un marco lógico para demonstrar las trayectorias difíciles de activismo. Uso ejemplares de mi propio …

The Maya Memorial Fund

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

No abstract provided.

Indigenous Rights And Ethno-Development: The Life Of An Indigenous Organization In The Rio Negro Of Brazil, Janet M. Chernela

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

Following a successful campaign to end the unlawful practices of trafficking that brought them to Manaus, indigenous Tukanoan women from the Upper Rio Negro established a local indigenous organization with which to plan and manage their own ethno-development, including cultural heritage activities, institution building, revenue development, health and legal services, community, and other initiatives. The case provides an opportunity to explore indigenous ethno-development, a concept at the heart of the theory and practice of Shelton (Sandy) Davis.

No seguimento de uma campanha bem sucessida em Manaus para terminar com práticas de tráfego ilegais, mulheres indígenas da tribo Tukano do Alto …

Remembrance Of Our Friend, Sandy Davis, Jorge E. Uquillas

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

No abstract provided.

Firm In The Wind, Jose Barreiro

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

No abstract provided.

My Uncle Sandy, Nicholas C. Kawa

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

No abstract provided.

Shady Grove Site (22qu525) Quitman County, Mississippi: Analysis Of Demographics And Mortuary Practices, Stacy Ann Scott

Master's Theses

The Mississippian Period (A.D. 1000-1500) is distinguished by reliance on stable agriculture, sedentary ranked populations, and production of prestige goods. Sociopolitical structure was based on kinship, wealth, and power, and can be revealed through the local mortuary programs. This thesis explores the mortuary practices observed at an ossuary at Shady Grove (22QU525), a small mounded center in Quitman County dating to the Early Mississippian Period, based on demographics, burial mode, cemetery location, and associated grave goods.

The Burial 43 ossuary, excavated in 2010 contained stacked bundle burials of at least 78 individuals. All age groups and both sexes were present. …

The Relationship Between Salivary Cortisol Levels And Stressful Behaviors Upon The Introduction Of A New Exhibit Mate In Captive Black And Gold Howler Monkeys (Alouatta Caraya) At The Hattiesburg Zoo, Cassie Mechelle Chandler

Master's Theses

Salivary cortisol levels were taken on a male and a female howler monkey and compared with behavioral observations during their introduction to one another into an exhibit at the Hattiesburg Zoo in order to determine the link between behavior and stress. This study sought to answer the following research questions: What behavioral responses occur when two howler monkeys are introduced into the same exhibit at a zoo? How stressed are the animals at different stages of the introduction? And, what is the correlation between behaviors and hormones, if any?

The study spanned four phases including a baseline phase, the initial …

Using Gis To Determine The Influence Of Wetlands On Cayuga Iroquois Settlement Location Strategies, David J. Birnbaum

HIM 1990-2015

The archaeological record of the Iroquois supports that settlements were regularly relocated during the protohistoric period (1500-1650 A.D.). With the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) computer software, archaeologists may analyze variables potentially resulting in or influencing the movement of settlements. Through the use of spatial analysis, I argue that Cayuga Iroquois settlement locations were influenced by the environmental characteristics of their surrounding landscape. Specifically, wetlands are believed to have influenced settlement location choices in central New York state. This study examines the spatial relationships between wetland habitats and protohistoric period Cayuga Iroquois settlements where swidden maize agriculture comprised most …

The Role Of Rain In Postclassic Maya Religious Belief, Lillie U. Dao

HIM 1990-2015

The concept of religion and its practice within ancient societies across the world is a subject that has fascinated scientists for centuries. The pre-Columbian Maya codices, first-hand Postclassic hieroglyphic documents, have been examined by hundreds of anthropologists. Analysis of these books has led scientist to hypothesize that these manuscripts were vitally connected to the Maya Postclassic belief system. Understanding the central focus of a civilization's religion and how, why and under what circumstances the religion is practiced truly distinguishes them as a culture. The intent of this thesis is to examine the role of rain in Maya Postclassic religious belief. …

Introduction To An Extract From War Of The Pews: A Personal Account Of The St. Augustine Church In New Orleans, By Rev. Jerome G. Ledoux, S.V.D., Christopher Matthews

Department of Anthropology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Shelton Davis – Indigenous Rights And The Environment In The Amazon, Stephen Schwartzman, Jennifer Andreassen

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

This article consists of two parts, the first being a brief discussion on Schwartzman’s work with Shelton Davis in Washington, D.C.; and the second a jointly authored news report by Schwartzman, with photo images by Jennifer Andreassen documenting the continued deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon, along with mention of the Belo Monte Hydro-electric Dam, already under construction. The current situation is grotesquely reminiscent of the 1970s about which Shelton Davis wrote in detail in Victims.

Este artigo consiste de duas partes: a primeira, sendo uma breve discussão sobre o trabalho de Schwarzmann e Shelton Davis juntos em Washington, D.C.; …

Ancestral Analysis Of The French Colonial Moran Cemetery, Biloxi, Mississippi, Danielle Nicole Cook

Master's Theses

The Moran site (22HR511) in Biloxi, Mississippi, dates from 1719 to 1723 and is the earliest known French Colonial cemetery in the United States. Historical records suggest that those interred likely represent immigrants from Western Europe as well as Africa who were relocated in an effort to colonize the Louisiana Territory. Given the variety of cultural backgrounds at the site, an ancestral analysis of the 25 individuals uncovered has been conducted. Traditional markers such as cranial and tooth morphology and metrics, and enamel composition, were evaluated in all individuals, and DNA was analyzed in five. Stable isotope levels were also …

Nebraska's Traditional Cultural Properties In The Section 106 Process, Karen A. Steinauer

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Archeologists engaged in cultural resource management and compliance are charged with measuring “historic” properties against legal standards for purposes of federal protection. This thesis focuses on one kind of property, the Traditional Cultural Property (TCP), within the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106 process, where sometimes in practice the terms TCP and sacred site are used interchangeably. This thesis strives to bring precision to TCPs, provide a concise reference, and, through inspection and analysis of four case studies of Nebraska properties, critique the present process for identifying and evaluating TCPs.

Mayas, Spirituality, And The Unfinished History Of Conflict In Guatemala [Los Mayas, La Espiritualidad Y La Historia Incompleta Del Conflicto En Guatemala], Servando Z. Hinojosa

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Maya spiritual practice in Guatemala has been actively challenged by mainstream religions and by pressures originating from other institutions. Many Maya ritualists have been directly reproached by religious leaders and have been targeted by a state apparatus that associates rural Maya life with insurgency. As a result, many Maya spiritual elements have been pushed to, and kept at, the margins of society. Focusing on the past two decades, this essay reviews how Mayas nevertheless maintain an active ritual life. They do this by engaging in a close relationship with the spirit-owners of the landscape, beings upon whom humans depend for …