Anthropology Commons^™

Chinese Dragon Robe, Kate E. Beaver

Department of Anthropology

This report examines a traditional Chinese dragon robe attributed to China during the Qing Dynasty. The dragon robe is housed in the May Weber Ethnographic Study Collection at Loyola University Chicago. This report studies the attribution, technique, cultural production and use, and aesthetics and patterns of the robe. The goal of this report is to provide researchers with a clear description of the textile, the materials used, the creation techniques, and details of the cultural symbolism and significance of the robe.

Inventing New Pilgrimage And Religious Tourism In Lombok, Indonesia, Ujang Mahadi, Moch. Khafidz Fuad Raya, Aibdi Rahmat, Jonsi Hunadar, Rindom Harahap

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In the contemporary Muslim world, especially in Indonesia, the boom in religious tourism is increasingly widespread after the discovery of the grave sites of saints (wali) or people who are considered holy. More than that, pilgrimage is increasingly popular when these sites display natural views and multifaceted aspects, thereby adding to the intimacy of Islamic meditation and veneration rituals. This article focuses on five holy tombs in Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara), considered tombs of Muslim saints. Using ethnography with observational techniques and unstructured interviews, we explore the construction of veneration and the marketing efforts of pilgrimages to the …

Conceptualising Sacred Grove Tourism For Future Research Models - A Research Note, Debasish Batabyal, Rupa Sinha Dr., Kareem M. Selem Dr.

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Sacred groves or woodlands are known in tourism settings, they require a long historical process, and their classification as a unique tourism element is expanded in academic literature. To explore the characteristic features of sacred grove tourism, this research note reviews existing studies of tourism. Moreover, this research note seeks to uncover interesting socio-religious, cultural, and conservation dimensions that could guide policy-making in nature-based tourism. A comprehensive review of the tourism literature was conducted to determine whether sacred groves were included as a tourism feature. This research analysed previous studies on nature-based, religious, and cultural heritage tourism to formulate a …

Black Swans And Safety Nets: Food Aid, Dispersal, And Eugenics In Corbin Hollow, Glenn Davis Stone, Richard K. Robinson

Southern Anthropologist

No abstract provided.

Queer Of Color Critique And The Politics Of Epistemic Agency: Rural Educators Desettling Curricular Expectations, C.A. Langerud, Madelaine Adelman, Daniel D. Liou

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

The purpose of this research is to use queer of color critique (QOCC) as an analytical framework to explore rural K-12 educators’ epistemic agency. The research focuses on educators’ engagement with a national initiative by an advocacy organization to distribute LGBTQ+ and racially diverse books to K-12 schools. The analysis centers on the educators’ praxis of epistemic agency against settled expectations associated with including queer and trans People of Color’s (QTPOC’s) stories in their schools. Our findings on educators’ epistemic agency center on three areas of knowledge and activity. First, educators demonstrate their ability to be aware of their local …

Seminar: Playing As Inquiry At Rocket, Cristo Leon, Sarah Lynne Bowman, Kjell Hedgard Hugaas

STEM for Success Resources

This PowerPoint presentation presents Playing as Inquiry, a methods-forward account of the León Multimodal Protocol (LMP) for studying transformation in tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) at scale. The presentation is designed for scholarly audiences interested in qualitative methods, game studies, and transdisciplinary research design, with an explicit commitment to accessibility through consistent verbal description of visual materials.

The talk begins by situating TTRPGs as layered narrative, social, and material systems in which meaning emerges across embodied performance, language, rules negotiation, artifacts, platforms, and memory over time. From this foundation, the presentation identifies a core methodological problem: traditional qualitative approaches struggle …

Review: Mountains Of Blame: Climate And Culpability In The Philippine Uplands., David Gowey

Journal of Ecological Anthropology

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Effectiveness Of The One Paleopathology Workshop, Julianne R. Stamer, Mario Apata Mamani, Bernardo Arriaza, Robin Bendrey, Kelly Blevins, Tessa Campbell, Nicole Gottdenker, Rebecca Gowland, Haagen Klaus, Carina Marques

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Background and objectives: One Paleopathology is a novel concept in Paleopathology that extends the One Health paradigm into the past. A workshop at the University of Durham, UK, was held prior to the 2024 International Society for Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health (ISEMPH) meeting, firstly to define and expand the concept of One Paleopathology and secondly to generate transdisciplinary research and outreach under this framework. This article presents a logic model to evaluate how effectively the workshop met its goals.

Methodology: Two surveys were conducted, one immediately following the workshop and at the 1-year mark. These surveys assess the direct …

Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): The Textile Impressions, Orit Shamir

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

During the excavations at Kibbutz Megiddo (al-Lajjun), thirteen linen textile impressions and coiling marks on pottery were discovered. The textile impressions exhibit either a delicate or a crude texture. Textiles were used to cover ceramic vessels to prevent them from drying too quickly, which could cause the vessel to crack. Impressions on the interior of vessels suggest that they were modeled, apparently using clay coils, around a textile bag filled with wet sand, which provided their general rounded shape. The basketry impressions on the bases of pottery vessels were not created intentionally but resulted from placing freshly shaped pots on …

Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): The Faunal Remains, Guy Bar-Oz, Laila Abado

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

This report discusses a small bone assemblage retrieved from the Hellenistic–Mamluk strata at Kibbutz Megiddo (al-Lajjun). The assemblage is predominantly composed of livestock taxa, including sheep, goats, cattle and chickens. Notably, camel bones are present in almost all strata, with the exception of the Hellenistic period stratum. Pathological analysis of cattle foot bones suggests that these animals were also used as beasts of burden.

Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): The Coins, Ariel Berman, Gabriela Bijovsky

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The 61 coins discovered during the excavations at Kibbutz Megiddo provide modest numismatic evidence for a multi-period site, dating from the Seleucid to the Mamluk periods. However, the starting date of occupation could not be established, as the early coins were found in disturbed loci. The majority of the Islamic coins belong to the Mamluk dynasty. Of special interest is an Il-Khānid fals found in a Mamluk context.

Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): The Glass Finds, Tamar Winter

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The glass finds from the site at Kibbutz Megiddo cover a long chronological range, from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries CE. The significance of this assemblage lies predominantly in the presentation of glass finds from the Early Islamic and Mamluk periods, as published specimens from these periods in the Megiddo region are quite scarce. Moreover, many of the vessels from the Early Islamic and Mamluk periods are elaborately decorated, supporting the notion of an affluent population at the site in these periods.

Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): Remains From The Hellenistic–Mamluk Periods / קיבוץ מגידו (א־לג'ון): שרידים מהתקופות ההלניסטית עד הממלוכית, Yotam Tepper, Edna J. Stern

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavation at Kibbutz Megiddo revealed eight strata dating to the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Abbasid, Crusader and Mamluk periods, as well as a modern stratum. The remains indicate an almost continuous sequence of settlement at the site from the third century BCE to the present. For the first time, remains dated to the Hellenistic, Early, Middle and Late Islamic periods are documented in the Legio-Megiddo region. The Roman finds likely represent a settlement in the vicinity of the Roman legion base and the Jewish village of Kefar ‘Othnay. Its inhabitants maintained trade connections with nearby settlements and urban centers …

Community Engagement And Experiential Learning To Understand Food Insecurity In Georgia’S Urban Environments, Gregory Gullette, Jenna Andrews-Swann, Nicole Villamil, Christin Cain

Southern Anthropologist

No abstract provided.

Airbnb And The End Of The Local, Nadia Beyersdorf

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how second-home ownership and self-catered tourism reshape community life in Tenby, Wales. While gentrification research often focuses on permanent displacement, less attention has been given to the movement of temporary residents that erodes local culture, social ties, and transforms everyday relationships in coastal towns.

Book Review: Macarthur As Spirit: A Review Of Spirit Power: Politics And Religion In Korea’S American Century, Jieon Yoo

Asia Pacific Perspectives

No abstract provided.

From Progressive Politics To Media Censorship: Analyzing The Trajectory Of Lgbt Rights In Taiwan And China, Sabrina Malec

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

No abstract provided.

Hosts, Scouts, And Female Indentured Sexual Servitude In Contemporary Japan, Caroline Norma, Seiya Morita

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This article sweeps away glossy abstractions obscuring the indenturing of women in sexual servitude in Japan. These abstractions were generated by anthropologists writing in English in the first two decades of the 21^st century who inverted the relationship between perpetrator and victim to suggest that female customers exploited hosts. To overturn this view and expose the ‘gendered reality that [i]s really going on’ in Japan, this article differently explains from a feminist perspective how present-day host and scout businesses indenture Japanese women in sexual servitude. This role is one of both procuring victims as well as keeping young women …

A Stable Isotope Comparison Of The Biogenic Carbonate Of Mammalian Tooth Enamel From The Modern Ohio River Valley And Fort Ancient Buffalo Sites, Sara Elizabeth Slack

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values change in response to anthropogenic factors (Ghosh & Brand, 2003). Little is known about the effects of anthropogenic climate and land use change on the ecology of the Ohio River Valley. The goal of this research was to quantify the effects of European colonization on the native ecology of the region. The specific questions of this research were: (1) How have mammalian tooth enamel δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C compositions shifted over time within the Ohio River Valley in response to anthropogenic climate change and vegetation? (2) Are there differences …

Table 3 - Gregoricka & Ullinger 2026, Lesley Gregoricka, Jaime Ullinger

Gregoricka et al. 2026 AJBA

No abstract provided.

Table 2 - Gregoricka & Ullinger 2026, Lesley Gregoricka, Jaime Ullinger

Gregoricka et al. 2026 AJBA

No abstract provided.

Table 1 - Gregoricka & Ullinger 2026, Lesley Gregoricka, Jaime Ullinger

Gregoricka et al. 2026 AJBA

No abstract provided.

Geospatial Investigations Of Big Buckhead Cemetery, Millen, Ga, Audrey E. Popard

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Geospatial investigations of burials are increasingly recognized as the most efficient and ethical means of determining grave locations in forensic and bioarchaeological research. A methodology of multi-tiered geospatial investigation has been applied to the Big Buckhead Baptist Church cemetery in Millen, GA. Using the systematic layering of geospatial technologies, the present study seeks to identify ground surface anomalies, with the objective of delineating known and potential unknown burial locations. It is hypothesized that the layered use of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), will allow for the most efficient and accurate demarcation …

Reclaiming Presence: An Anthropological Study Of Digital Disconnection And Meaning-Making, Leslie De Paz

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Human attention is increasingly at risk in an unregulated digital ecosystem where overconsumption shapes neurological function, social interaction, and the ways people make meaning of everyday life. Dominant discourse around digital overuse tends to medicalize the problem, framing it as individual addiction or clinical dysfunction. In this thesis, I argue that such framing obscures what a cultural phenomenon is fundamentally, one in which people are actively questioning their relationship with technology, building awareness, and developing practices that help them slow down and reclaim agency within algorithmically mediated environments. This study draws on 22 semi-structured interviews with Gen Z and millennial …

Endocranial Lesions: A Paleopathological Study Of Late Medieval Skeletal Remains From Żelewo Poland, Francesca Aleen Meyer

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The site of Żelewo is located in a rural area of northwestern Poland, a region historically known as Pomerania. Skeletal remains from the cemetery associated with the archaeological site Żelewo 1-3, dating mostly to the 13th-15th centuries, are likely associated with a nearby Cistercian monastery. Numerous individuals from this site show evidence of endocranial lesions. To evaluate potential factors associated with the lesions, a differential diagnosis was performed based on macroscopic observations of endocranial lesion morphology and distribution. This study takes into account estimated age at death, biological sex, and other signs of pathology in the body. Potential confounding factors, …

Skeletal Markers: Interpreting Trauma, Healing, And Survival Through Osteological Remains From Medieval Pomerania, Michael Mulliner-Szyndler

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Traditionally, studies in bioarcheology have cited the presence of individuals with evidence of healed traumatic injuries and certain pathologies as an indication of social care either at the time of the trauma or throughout the individual’s lifetime. Here, I present three case studies of individuals who present with signs of having survived traumatic injuries and related pathologies. These individuals are from a late medieval cemetery in Żelewo, in the historical region of Pomerania in present-day northwestern Poland. The site is associated with the nearby town of Kołbacz, which is home to the oldest Cistercian monastery in Pomerania. This study aims …

Enhancing Healthcare Accessibility For Maya Immigrants In Northeast Ohio, Ellen D. Barnes

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

This research considers the efforts of healthcare practitioners and community workers in enhancing healthcare accessibility for Maya immigrant communities in northeast Ohio. Through ethnographic interviews and participant-observation research, I analyze how practitioners interpret their work with community members to navigate economic disparities and questions of legal standing, as well as cultural and linguistic differences. I also consider ways in which healthcare providers have sought to promote institutional change. This research gives insight into how institutional structures shape efforts for culturally informed care and how healthcare providers and healthcare seekers negotiate relationships within these confines.

Entre Nos: A Three-Part Study Exploring The Experiences Of The American Association Of Hispanics In Higher Education Members, Monique Posadas

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Membership and participation in national associations or professional societies are the cornerstone of academic and career advancement in higher education. These organizations allow faculty and career professionals to connect and grow their networks. However, like other social structures, they can also reflect, reinforce, and reify exclusionary colonial, hegemonic norms. Professionalization for people of color in the academy, through formalized organizations and societies, was grossly delayed, despite the emergence of “mother societies” at the turn of the century. Academics of color took matters into their own hands to build professional networks. While associations are assumed to be academic and professionally rich …

Hegemonic Microtonality: Decolonizing The Soundscape Of Music Theory Pedagogy, Ash K. Wetty

Honors Theses

This thesis examines how Western music theory pedagogy—long organized around tonal and twelve-tone equal-temperament frameworks—structures both what is taught and how students are trained to listen. Through a literature review tracing the historical construction of tonal universality in undergraduate curricula, the project argues that dominant models of music theory reproduce broader epistemic hierarchies inherited from Western conservatory traditions. Situating these histories within my own experience as a student navigating institutional listening norms, the thesis combines critical self-reflection with ethnographic research conducted across five liberal arts institutions, including the CBB consortium and JanPlan research at Wesleyan University and Amherst College. Rather …

Afro-Indigenous Burial Ground Gpr Survey Data From Umass Boston Archaeological Work, Shelter Island, Ny, John M. Steinberg, John Schoenfelder, Nedra Lee, Stephen Mrozowski, Chiara M. Torrini, Tess Ostoyich, Claire Ross, Kristen Delatour, Joseph E. Kinney

Data and Datasets

Survey data from the ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey at the Afro-Indigenous Burial Ground (AIBG) at Sylvester Manor, Shelter Island, NY. Zip folder contains raw recorded data (radargrams). Additional files include zipped shapefiles for GPR transects, trees and rocks; and  dat file. Fieldstone marker files include zipped folders with an excel sheet listing numbered fieldstone markers, and a sheet listing the photographs of the fieldstone markers. Fieldstone marker number allows tor joining the photographs, and the "rock" shapefile to the list of markers.

The .rd7 files are the type generated by MALA GPR systems to record raw data (they are …