Anthropology Commons^™

An Assessment Of The Basihyal And Its Functional And Ontogenetic Relationships To The Masticatory Apparatus In Primates, Parker Mitchell Taylor

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The hyoid is central to many important functions such as feeding, vocalization, and breathing. However, primate hyoid morphology has been widely understudied compared to other aspects of craniofacial morphology. This dissertation aimed to bridge gaps in the current understanding of primate hyoid morphological variation and the hyoid’s relationship with mandibular morphology. Using microCT, diceCT, and three-dimensional geometric morphometric methods, this work details broad taxonomic variation of basihyal shape, resting hyoid position, and suprahyoid muscle architecture in primates, and assesses such variation for the effects of phylogeny, allometry, and covariation between these elements and mandibular shape. These analyses were also conducted …

Maa’: An Analysis From The May Weber Ethnographic Study Collection, Claire T. Chilla

Department of Anthropology

An analysis of Maa’ textiles from Sulawesi Indonesia. Discusses both the artistic symbolism, possible physical creation, and the spiritual connection of the textile for the Torajans. Informs through the lens of globalization, colonization, and funerary practices from the country of origin.

Pua Kumbu: The Iban Women Of Borneo, Sara Brownlee

Department of Anthropology

Copy don’t create. Don’t create until you dream.

The Iban women and children spend their time in longhouses creating not only textiles, but community and a legacy. Woven into each piece is generations of knowledge and honor that will persist long after the artist.

The designs of textiles are created by chosen Iban women as they are taught in their dreams. Deities call only to expert weavers to create a novel pattern that will hold their spirit interwoven with the cloth. The creation of new patterns (Tengkebang) is a crucial part of a woman’s identity and is how …

From Prairie To Practice: Forensic Taphonomy, Ethics, And Regional Ecology In Southeastern Nebraska, Jessica F. L. Gammage

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Forensic taphonomy examines the postmortem processes that affect human remains within specific environmental contexts and plays a critical role in medicolegal death investigation. Despite significant advances in decomposition research, experimental studies remain geographically and environmentally uneven, limiting the transferability of postmortem interval (PMI) estimation methods across regions. The Central Great Plains are underrepresented in forensic taphonomic research despite its distinct ecological and geomorphological characteristics.

This thesis evaluates southeastern Nebraska as a specific regional setting for forensic taphonomic research by integrating ecological, pedological, and geomorphological data with current forensic literature. Tallgrass prairie vegetation, loess-derived soils, seasonal moisture variability, and dynamic fluvial …

Understanding Roma Oppression In Europe Through Humantarian Forensic Analysis, Christal L. Quinn

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

This thesis examines the marginalization of Roma people in Europe, and how humanitarian forensic practices may help Roma communities in their quest for justice and recognition. The study draws exclusively on secondary information to examine the social, political, and legal issues affecting the Roma communities, who have endured centuries of institutional discrimination, marginalization, and violence. This thesis identifies ways in which systematic oppression continues to limit Roma communities’ access to education, housing, healthcare, and legal protection through a review of relevant literature and applicable theoretical frameworks. The study also examines the relevance of forensic science, particularly its humanitarian applications, in …

Rehumanizing Anatomized Individuals: Using Osteobiographies As A Step Towards Reparative Justice, Lillie C. Turpin

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

In 1985, India banned the export of human remains. This ended the major trade route for primarily US and European anatomical supply companies. Until this point, companies like Carolina Biological Supply exploited and erased vulnerable people's identities, molding them into anonymous anatomical specimens. This study investigates the life and postmortem history of twenty-five individuals, previously used as anatomical specimens, housed at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Using an osteobiographical approach, this research reconstructs aspects of these individuals' lived experiences and examines how anatomical preparation practices reflect structural violence and apathy.

Skeletal analysis of twenty-five individuals revealed a range of biological profiles, …

Non-Destructive Automated Classification Of Human And Large Mammal Long Bone Fragments: A Deep Learning Approach Using Micro-Ct Histomorphology And Grad-Cam Interpretation, Kathleen Marie Kelley

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

This study explores the development and validation of an automated, deep learning system designed to differentiate human from large mammal long bone fragments using micro-CT imagery. A comprehensive dataset of cross-sectional µCT images was assembled from human and animal skeletal material processed at the DPAA, Nebraska. A convolutional neural network (CNN) based on a ResNet-18 architecture, utilizing transfer learning from ImageNet weights, was trained to classify µCT images as human or animal. The model achieved a mean classification accuracy of 89.85% (± 8.27%) across five sample-level cross-validation folds, with a sensitivity of 96.21% and a 95% bootstrap confidence interval of …

Roads To Antiochia Ad Cragum: Pedestrian Survey And A Least Cost Path Model Of Roman Roads In The Vicinity Of Antiochia Ad Cragum, Southern Türkiye, Alexander W. Pastor

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Antiochia ad Cragum, a Roman site located in modern southern Türkiye, has been intensively investigated through archaeological study. However, the surrounding landscape has received less attention. This thesis addresses this gap by examining how this past settlement might have been accessed, which is an important step in gaining a better understanding of how people and resources traveled overland and how infrastructure was made to accommodate this travel. Pedestrian survey was conducted along posited western and eastern segments of a Roman-era road, finding remains consistent with but not definitively establishing this interpretation. In addition, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was used to …

Fishing, Butchery And Smoking: Salmonids In Northeastern Iceland, Quinn Matthew Habedank

Theses and Dissertations

This paper explores the ethnoecology of Northern Iceland from 1880-1920 via the zooarchaeology of salmonid remains. Based on the identification of salmonid bones retrieved from Hofstaðir, the people living at the farm likely engaged in small-scale production of transportable fish products based on locally available wild resources.

The Effectiveness Of Utilizing An Arts-Integrated Approach With Students With Ieps In Grades K–5 Self-Contained Classrooms And Why An Arts-Integrated Approach Is Not Widely Implemented In The United States, Alexandra Leff

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines arts integration as an approach for K–5 students with IEPs. Drawing on research from Western and non-Western and data from two programs, it shows gains in academic achievement and social-emotional learning. Despite cultural and systemic barriers, findings support expanding arts integration through teacher training and policy reform.

Sonic Rupture And Embodied Politics:
Reconfiguring The Aesthetic Regime In The Syrian Uprising, Lynn Shabani

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues that the Syrian uprising of 2011 emerged as a sonic and embodied rupture within an authoritarian aesthetic regime that had long governed public sensibility. Through chants, song, and coordinated movement, political agency took form as collective, affective practice, transforming vernacular repertoires into infrastructures of mobilization, audibility, and resistance.

Internalizing Diasporic Peoples: How Do We Keep Native Hawaiians Connected?, Kallie P. Kaaihue-Paopao

Whittier Scholars Program

In the attempt to better understand the grounds for the generation culture disconnect of identity in Native Hawaiians, I study the diaspora of my people. Diaspora is the dispersion of people from their native lands. I find interest in this aspect of my people because the most common studies blame our dispersion on socioeconomic status and as a Native Hawaiian that wishes to do more for her people, I want to express that while it plays a part that there is a disconnection between the social actions and reactions of Hawaiʻi’s people. Common questions that I find unanswered are, why …

The Geography Of Race: A Spatial Analysis Of Free People Of Color In The City Of Charleston (1790-1861), Alexandra Ullman

All Theses

In Charleston, South Carolina, for all but one year from 1790 to 1860, the enslaved and free Black population outnumbered that of the white. Through manumission, the process of an enslaved person gaining their freedom, the free Black population grew substantially and reached a peak in South Carolina during the nineteenth century. This large community of free people of color (FPOC), shifted the social climate by upsetting the balance of white power, thus increasing racial conflict, tension, and legislation that aimed to control the movement of FPOC.

Despite FPOC comprising a significant portion of the total population of Charleston, there …

Fascism Usa: Class And Identity Politics In The Age Of Trump, Marc Edelman

Publications and Research

This essay argues that Trump’s triumph in the 2024 presidential contest represents the consolidation of an oligarchical authoritarian project, backed by a multi-class and (surprisingly, for some) multi-racial electorate. It brought intensified state and freelance attacks on immigrants, labor unions, women, LGBTQ+ people, journalists, civil servants, assorted “political enemies,” and other groups that the MAGA movement targets. It is institutionalizing authoritarian governance structures in ways that will be exceedingly difficult to undo. The paper first addresses the experience of growing up in the shadow of fascism. It analyzes various sectors that supported Trump and the impacts of inflation, incumbency, economic …

2nd Place Research Paper: Shaping The Ape: Storytelling, Cultural Reflection, And Boundary Negotiation In Human-Ape Zoo Encounters, Abigail Bond Halling

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

The typical Western zoo functions as a unique environment in which animals are frequently positioned as subjects of education and entertainment through the medium of storytelling. In this sense, the zoological institution can also be read as an extension of popular Western constructions surrounding nonhuman animals, particularly those who are symbolically charged characters in our collective imaginary– the great apes. Given the morphological, behavioral, and psychological similarities between humans and other great apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans), nonhuman great ape enclosures at the Western zoo become spaces where humans are most radically confronted with navigating the boundaries of the “human-animal …

Toward An Anthropology Of The Expressive Individual: Reformational Insights Into Emotions, The Heart, And Christian Formation, Isaac Kantola

Senior Honors Theses

Contemporary Western culture is increasingly defined by what theologians and sociologists call “expressive individualism,” driven by an “ethic of authenticity” in which one’s emotions and desires are seen as the primary arbiter of identity and meaning. Responding to this cultural movement, the Church has appropriated the language of desire, happiness, and the affective in its preaching, ministry, and apologetic endeavors. Figures such as John Piper, James K.A. Smith, and Timothy Keller have each, in their own way, sought to contextualize the faith so it may be better understood by a culture obsessed with their longings and therapeutic self-concern. While these …

Volume 17, Christian O’Neill, Kyara Greene, Savva Sidorov, Laura Bisaillon, Luke Clemmer, Hannah Gordon, Kitt Benson, Taylor Blount, Rachel Danzitz, Nicholas Duellman, Chase Gionis, Hima Fernando, Seth Franzyshen, Onyx Gonzalez, Bryan Lin, Samantha Start, Ysabel Wells, Maggie Duncan

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction Dr. Amorette Barber, Director, Office of Student Research

From the Editor Dr. Hannah Dudley-Shotwell

Cover Artist’s Statement Maggie Duncan

On Mentoring Dr. Yulia Uryadova

Ukrainian Resistance in the Face of Russification: Nestor Makhno and Anarchism

by Christian O’Neill

Life Vest by Kyara Greene

Isolation and 16S rRNA Identification of Bacteria from Fire Department Connection Pipe by Savva Sidorov

The Effectiveness of Planned Exercise in Reducing ADHD Symptoms in Children by Laura Bisaillon & Luke Clemmer

Linguistic Analysis on Confidence and Communication Strategies with Disparities Between Sign Fluency and Hearing Impairment by Hannah Gordon

Freedmen in Indian Territory by Kitt …

House Of Ill-Fame: A Historical, Cartographic, And Archaeological Study On The Spatial Evolution Of Commercial Sex Work In New Orleans, 1875 – 1925, Austin Roebuck

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the historic spatiality of commercial sex‑work in New Orleans by analyzing targeted addresses associated with the trade across three census years. Using the establishment and closure of Storyville (1897–1917) as a temporal frame, it compares demographic patterns in dwellings labeled as “houses of ill fame” in 1880, 1900, and 1920 to trace changes in household composition and social identity. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, newspapers, and city directories contextualize these patterns within three ten‑year intervals (1875–1885, 1895–1905, 1915–1925), revealing how sex‑work spaces were regulated, represented, and embedded in the urban landscape. The study also incorporates an archaeological assemblage …

Burmese Marionette Puppet In The May Weber Ethnographic Study Collection, Haley Dozier

Department of Anthropology

This report provides a detailed description and attribution of a Burmese marionette puppet in the May Weber Ethnographic Study Collection at Loyola University Chicago. It includes information about the puppet itself as well as the art and formation of Burmese marionette theater.

Decomposition Study Using Pigs In Southeastern Nebraska During The Fall And Winter Seasons, Ryan Bodine

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

When an individual is found deceased, one of the tools used in the identification process is estimating the post-mortem interval (PMI). This estimate is used to determine how long an individual has been deceased once their remains are found. To estimate an accurate PMI, knowing how decomposition is affected by external factors is key. The transition period from fall to winter in southeastern Nebraska consists of fluctuating temperatures as the seasons transfer from fall to winter. This thesis investigates how decomposition is affected during this transition period while also looking at two different environments that are common in Nebraska, prairies …

Exploring The Biocultural Profile Of The Undocumented Populations Of The Sonoran Corridor: A Skeletal Assessment Of The Prevention Through Deterrence Strategy, Mary A. Vaughn

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Over the last thirty years the mortality rate of the undocumented population at the US-Mexico border has risen, requiring methods distinguishing US-born individuals from immigrants to improve the likelihood of identification and repatriation through foreign consulates. Forensic anthropologists with the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner (PCOME) have advocated for the use of the biocultural profile, combining the biological profile with factors including oral health, osteological stress, and personal effects. The biocultural profile serves two purposes, functioning both as a tool for identification and with which to document structural inequality within communities of origin.

This study examines changes in …

Merajut “Kampung Harapan”: Pendekatan Budaya Dan Partisipatoris Dalam Resolusi Konflik Laten Di Kawasan Transmigrasi Teluk Wondama, Papua Barat, Iflah Hayati Nurrahmi, Diva Vermanda, Muhammad Ilham Fasya, Mohammad Gama Subarkah, Iman Fachruliansyah

Bhakti: Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat

The Werianggi-Werabur Transmigration Area in Teluk Wondama, West Papua, faces challenges of social integration in the form of latent conflict between Indigenous Papuans (OAP) and transmigrants. This tension is manifested in residential segregation and recurring disputes regarding crop damage caused by livestock ("cattle vs. garden"). This community engagement activity aims to initiate culture-based conflict resolution through the "Damai Kita, Sejahtera Kita" Participatory Workshop. We used Participatory Action Research (PAR) as method. The pre-implementation phase utilized Social Network Analysis (SNA) to map key actors, as mediators, followed by social intervention through Focus Group Discussions (FGD) using Problem Tree and Conceptual Model …

Terapi Reminiscence Berbasis Warisan Budaya Untuk Meningkatkan Kesehatan Kognitif Lansia Di Kelurahan Pancoran Mas, Kota Depok, Isman Pratama Nasution, Mentari Halimun, Radila Adwina, Ivo Giovanni, Mita Indraswari, Chevyco Chevyco

Bhakti: Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat

Kegiatan pengabdian kepada masyarakat ini bertujuan untuk meningkatkan fungsi kognitif dan kesejahteraan psikososial lansia melalui terapi reminiscence berbasis warisan budaya. Program dilaksanakan pada 40 lansia di Posbindu RW 08 Kelurahan Pancoran Mas dengan metode pemberian materi budaya lokal, diskusi kelompok terpumpun, dan refleksi pengalaman hidup menggunakan media visual berupa foto landmark dan tradisi budaya. Evaluasi dilakukan melalui pre-test dan post-test serta observasi selama kegiatan. Hasil menunjukkan adanya peningkatan skor kognitif setelah intervensi, disertai respons emosional positif dan peningkatan interaksi sosial peserta. Temuan ini menunjukkan bahwa penggunaan warisan budaya sebagai pemantik memori merupakan pendekatan efektif untuk mendukung kualitas hidup lansia melalui …

Appreciative Commoning; Musical Knowledge-Sharing In Earhouse Songwriting Club, Arya J. P. Adyuta

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

This article develops the concept of “appreciative commoning” to focus on the importance of appreciation in musical community practices. By examining the practices of musical knowledge-sharing in the Earhouse Songwriting Club (ESC), a songwriting community, this article argues that greater attention should be paid to the roles of appreciation and support in facilitating media and cultural commoning in Indonesia. The article draws on ethnographic fieldwork in Earhouse, an initiative space located in Pamulang, South Tangerang, established by the musician duo Endah N Rhesa. Exploring three main activities of the community: weekly meetings, monthly showcases, and afterparties, I show how embracing …

Understanding Environmental Risk In 18th Century New Mexico: A Case Study From Las Golondrinas Living History Museum, Emily L. Dawson

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

This poster explores environmental risk and adaptation among Spanish colonial communities in eighteenth-century New Mexico through a paleoenvironmental study at Las Golondrinas Living History Museum. Using wetland coring, plant surveys, radiocarbon dating, and phytolith and pollen analysis, the project investigates local microclimates and environmental conditions that shaped agricultural decision-making during the Little Ice Age. Preliminary results identified multiple wetland environments, diverse plant communities, and sediment deposits capable of preserving environmental records extending before and through the colonial period. These data provide a foundation for reconstructing past landscapes and evaluating how colonists responded to climatic variability, drought, and resource uncertainty. By …

Three Hundred Years In New Mexico’S La Cienega Valley: An Archaeology Of Hispano Occupation From The 17th Through 19th Centuries, Heather Trigg

Anthropology Faculty Publication Series

Beginning in the late 16th century, Hispanic settlers colonized New Mexico’s upper Rio Grande Valley, establishing farms and the village of Santa Fe amid Pueblo peoples. Colonists demanded tribute and labor from the Pueblos, enslaving some and suppressing religions. Less than a century later, Pueblo and Plains peoples rebelled and forced the settlers from the region. Twelve years after the Revolt, settlers returned, but they could not legally collect tribute or force labor. This project explores the changes in labor and land allocation between the Pre-Revolt and Post-Revolt periods.

Three Hundred Years In New Mexico's La Cienega Valley: An Archaeology Of Hispano Occupation From The 17th Through 19th Centuries, Heather Trigg

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

Beginning in the late 16th century, Hispanic settlers colonized New Mexico’s upper Rio Grande Valley, establishing farms and the village of Santa Fe amid Pueblo peoples. Colonists demanded tribute and labor from the Pueblos, enslaving some and suppressing religions. Less than a century later, Pueblo and Plains peoples rebelled and forced the settlers from the region. Twelve years after the Revolt, settlers returned, but they could not legally collect tribute or force labor. This project explores the changes in labor and land allocation between the Pre-Revolt and Post-Revolt periods.

Utilizing Ceramic Attributes To Explore Local Consumption Practices And Relationship Building At An Eighteenth- To Nineteenth- Century Hispanic Rancho In New Mexico, Tara Noel

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

This poster examines ceramic assemblages from El Rancho de las Golondrinas (LA 127375), an eighteenth- to nineteenth-century Hispanic rancho in New Mexico, to investigate daily consumption practices, regional exchange networks, and identity formation. Ceramic attributes, vessel forms, and temper characteristics were analyzed to identify communities of practice and distinguish locally produced wares from imported goods. Results demonstrate a strong reliance on locally produced Indigenous ceramics, particularly from Tewa and Pecos traditions, highlighting sustained interethnic relationships and exchange networks within the Rio Grande Valley. Imported ceramics, including majolica and refined earthenwares, illustrate the growing influence of broader colonial market systems connected …

Zooarchaeological Analysis Of A Spanish Late Colonial And Territorial Periods Site In Northern Rio Grande, New Mexico, Sara Jaramillo

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

This poster examines faunal remains from El Rancho de las Golondrinas (LA 127375) to investigate animal production, consumption, and labor practices in northern New Mexico during the Late Colonial and Territorial periods. By applying standard zooarchaeological methods and comparing the assemblage to an earlier Spanish Colonial site (LA 20,000), the study explores changes and continuities in regional ranching economies under shifting political and economic conditions. Results indicate that sheep/goats (Ovis/Capra) and cattle (Bos taurus) remained the dominant domesticated animals, demonstrating the long-term importance of pastoralism in New Mexico. Variations in the relative abundance of livestock through time may reflect changes …

The Role Of La 20,000 In Spanish Colonial Mining, Mineral Circulation, And Nascent Communities Of Practice, Danielle M. Huerta

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

Site LA 20,000 was likely among the largest ranching enterprises established along the Camino Real during the 17th century. Located 20 miles southwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and strategically positioned 5.2 miles from San Marcos Pueblo, one of the largest producers of Rio Grande Glaze Ware pottery, and 1.3 miles from the Cerrillos Hills, where there were known turquoise and galena lead mines.  The data presented suggest that LA 20,000 may have been a multiethnic locus of production where access to shared materials did not translate into uniform technological practice. Instead, the assemblage reflects the emergence of nascent and …