Anthropology Commons^™

Making Tabby, Making Place: Examining A Gullah Geechee Wattle And Tabby Daub Dwelling Through Thin Section Analysis, Jacob E. Hamill

Graduate Masters Theses

Tabby is a building material made from lime, sand, oyster shell, and water that is geographically associated with the Sea Islands of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. This material was used from the early 18^th century to end of the American Civil War to construct all-manner of buildings in the Sea Islands region. Enslaved African descendant communities constructed wattle and tabby daub dwellings within plantation landscapes, and these settlements are interpreted as spaces where enslaved people exercised greater spatial autonomy.

This thesis analyzes the remains of a wattle and tabby daub structure located on what was once Old Fort …

Documenting The Effects Of Laboratory Sorting In Zooarchaeology: Lessons Learned From The Cixwicn Project, Kristine M. Bovy, Virginia L. Butler, Michael A. Etnier, Sarah K. Campbell

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Zooarchaeologists routinely analyze assemblages that were initially sorted into major animal type (birds, mammals, fish, invertebrates) by students or lab technicians with varied backgrounds in zooarchaeology. Sorting errors are probably made in this initial phase, which can affect taxonomic representation and understanding of human–animal relationships. Recent study of the immense faunal assemblage (over 1 million NSP [Number of Specimens]) from Čḯxwicən (45CA523), a 2,700-year-old Lower Elwha Klallam village located on the coast of Washington (USA), allows us to systematically analyze trends in sorting errors. For example, 22.6% of the bird bones included in our sample were initially missorted into other …

A Bishnoi Woman’S Odhani: Gendered Labor, Environmental Ethics, And Textile Traditions In Rajasthan, Nidhi Patel

Department of Anthropology

This report examines an embroidered odhani (woman’s shawl) attributed to a Bishnoi artisan from Rajasthan, India. The odhani is housed in the May Weber Ethnographic Study Collection at Loyola University Chicago. Close analysis of technique and contextual evidence is used to reattribute the textile, which was originally mislabeled and situates it within the contexts of gendered labor and environmental ethics within the Bishnoi community. Utilizing the frameworks of materialist and eco-spiritual feminism, the report argues that the odhani functions as a site of ecological resistance, cultural transmission, and women’s embodied knowledge, as well as a garment.

The Commodification Of Native American Remains: The Use Of Native American Remains Within Educational Institutions And The Implementation Of Nagpra, Molly Nowak

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Indigenous communities have been commodified within educational institutions such as museums, universities, and governmental agencies throughout American history. Unethical collection practices have allowed for a disproportionate representation of Indigenous remains and materials within educational institutions. Indigenous bodies, funerary objects, religious materials, and other important cultural materials have been stolen from their communities and used for scientific discovery and education. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), passed in 1990, created legal protections for Indigenous graves and remains and instigates the return of the stolen materials. This project reviews the historical contexts behind the collection of Indigenous remains, the …

Kentucky History Is Native History: Decolonizing Native Portrayals In Kentucky Museums., Mandala Gupta Verwiebe

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Utilizing prominent decolonial museums scholarship, interviews conducted with anthropology and museum professionals, and Kentucky museum exhibitions, this research explores the history of Kentucky’s public institutions’ Indigenous representation and recommends guidelines to improve their portrayal of Native people. Through a historical analysis, this research finds factors that influence Kentucky institutions’ portrayals of Native history, such as early harmful grave looting of Indigenous ancestral remains, the prominence of the Myth of the Dark and Bloody Ground, and a weakened state governmental Native American Heritage Commission. After considering both decolonial theory and the experiences of Kentucky heritage professionals, this research recommends three methods …

The Effect Of Antemortem Tooth Loss On Craniofacial Shape In Apes And Humans, Ashley R. Laster

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Antemortem tooth loss (AMTL) (i.e., defined as tooth loss occurring before death) is common among humans and many primates, and several studies have examined AMTL across various primate groups. Some research indicates that AMTL can influence masticatory function and diet; however, the effects of AMTL on craniofacial shape and biomechanics have not been extensively analyzed. We assessed craniofacial and mandibular shape in relation to AMTL, anticipating that individuals with at least one tooth lost antemortem would display significant differences in cranial and/or mandibular shape compared to those without AMTL. AMTL rates were evaluated in three primate species: wild-caught samples of …

Ecological Interactions Of Large Mammals In Luangwa, Zambia, Jahzara Osborne

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The connection between mammalian behavior in national parks and human-driven environmental change outside national parks is tenuous. National parks are often considered the last vestiges of natural space, yet they are created and maintained by humans. South Luangwa National Park (SLNP) at the southern end of the East African Rift System (EARS) is a microcosm of this global problem. EARS is a biodiverse region made up of numerous smaller branches. In the Luangwa Valley, this biodiversity has been protected through conservation historically, but dynamic geopolitical forces have affected the relationship between large mammals and humans by extracting humans to create …

Foodways As Agentive Response To Disaster In Colonial New Orleans: The French Quarter Fires Of 1788 And 1794, Helen V. Bouzon

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Disasters have plagued the City of New Orleans since its foundation in 1718. This year marks the twentieth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Most locals have personal memories of Hurricane Katrina or have friends and family who experienced the storm. The effects of Hurricane Katrina were far-reaching and often life-changing. However, Hurricane Katrina is not the only major disaster to have left an indelible mark on the landscape and culture of New Orleans. Two fires in the eighteenth century destroyed significant portions of the colony and left approximately seventy percent of the population homeless. And yet, we know very little about …

Human Evolution: A Musical Portrait, Chloe S. Roper

Senior Honors Projects

The story of human evolution has been an elaborate progression entrenched in metamorphic processes and associated trial and error to create the species we are today. While these milestones are primarily explored through an academic lens, intellectual ideas are less often conveyed through a creative or abstract approach, such as through music or other art forms. Similarly, while music is often employed to evoke emotion, inspire reflection, or symbolize experiences, it is underutilized in conveying intellectual ideas. This project explores the juxtaposition of benchmark concepts of what makes our species distinctly human with instrumental musical expression in order to design …

Addiction In The Prison System: Recidivism And Alternatives, Daniel R. Bowers

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The United States criminal justice system has the highest number of incarcerated individuals in the world, with nearly 2 million people currently being behind bars, and around 7.5 million arrests per year according to the most recent available statistics. A key factor in this is addiction, specifically substance use disorders. Between 58% to 68% of adults arrested are addicted to one or more substances, with 68% of drug involved individuals being rearrested within three years of being released. This recidivism rate is incredibly high, and when combined with current prison and jail overcrowding, has created massive problems for the United …

Healing On Their Own Terms: Self-Guided Attuning And Mental Health Among Chinese “Youth”, Ziran (Ted) Zhou

Honors Theses

This thesis explores how Chinese “youth” experiencing emotional distress pursue healing outside formal psychiatric frameworks. Drawing on thirteen qualitative interviews and guided by theories from medical anthropology, this study examines how young people engage Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practices and everyday bodily adjustments to manage suffering. Rather than rejecting care altogether, participants turned toward culturally resonant practices that emphasized gradual self-attuning (自我调节, zìwǒ tiáojié) to internal rhythms. Healing was framed not as rupture or diagnosis, but as a relational and moral process: one that preserved emotional dignity, protected family honor, and maintained social harmony. The findings challenge assumptions that psychiatric …

Doin' Time: Entertainment And Exploitation At Decommissioned Prison Museums In The United States, Jessi Robbins

Master's Theses

This thesis aims to explore how decommissioned prison museums in the US, such as Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary (BMSP), shape societal attitudes and understanding of the carceral system as a whole and the presence of systemic racism within by addressing three questions: (1) What histories do prison museums tell, and which are erased?, (2) How do objects displayed in prison museums reflect past and present racial attitudes toward the incarcerated?, and (3) Does visiting or working at a prison museum affect individual attitudes regarding the US carceral system? Grounded in James Scott’s (1992) concept of “hidden transcripts” and Michel Foucault’s …

Healthcare Access And Agency In Material Culture: A Specialized Analysis Of Pharmaceutical Artifacts From Louisville’S West End., Sara Marian (Deurell) Ignacio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The American Victorian Period of the 1870s to 1920s was a time of significant transitions in medicine. In Louisville, Kentucky, this period saw an influx of Black healthcare professionals and the founding of Louisville National Medical College, the state’s first medical school open to people of color. A number of these professionals lived and/or practiced in the Beecher Terrace study area, which was excavated between 2017 and 2020. Patent medicine brands and archival records were examined qualitatively in order to understand neighborhood and case study household health concerns and consumer choice. Statistical analyses of the medicine bottles recovered during the …

Sex-Based Differences In Osteoarthritis In Early Medieval Spain: A Case Study From Visigoth And Carolingian Period Terrassa., Jordan Chatellier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Beginning in 1995, individuals from the Sant Pere church complex in Terrassa, Spain were exhumed. Using 21 biological females and 32 biological males collectively between the Visigoth (5^th – 8^th centuries) and Carolingian (9^th – 11^th centuries) periods from this collection, this research examined the difference in osteoarthritis between estimated phenotypic sexes. For osteoarthritis to be present, an individual needed to meet one of two criteria: 1. two or more of the following was present: macroporosity, sclerotic bone, joint deformation, and marginal osteophytes, or 2. eburnation had occurred. Through employing embodiment theory, along with gender and …

Analyzing Sedentism In The Built Environment: A Case Study In Archaeological Geophysics At Boundary Village, Uintah County, Utah, Alix Sofie Piven

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This thesis presents a case study that evaluates the ability of near-surface remote sensing to generate archaeological data suitable to answer questions about human behavior. Specifically, this project assesses the ability of two remote sensing methods, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetic gradiometry to resolve subsurface archaeological features that are markers of sedentism. In this study, the markers of sedentism are features of village sites where their variability is linked to the anticipated and actual length of time spent occupying a domestic site. A comparative dataset was generated to assess how specific subsurface archaeological features would look in GPR and magnetic …

Examining Stable Isotope Variation Of Herbivores In South Luangwa Valley In The Context Of Anthropogenic Influences, Taylor Hubbard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stable isotopes are an effective tool for inferring mammalian behavior. Though there are multiple factors that can influence mammalian diets, anthropogenic influence is one that is often overlooked. For example, it is important to consider how wildlife living in areas where there are frequent, documented human-wildlife interactions will modify behavior. National Parks (NPs) are a great example of this because of the common misconception that since there are protections in place, that means it is devoid of anthropogenic influence. South Luangwa National Park contradicts this misconception. Though there are protections for wildlife in place within the park, it is unfenced …

Dental Microwear Of Miocene Primates From The Carpathian Basin, Rudabánya, Hungary, Anna K. Wilcox

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study reconstructs and compares the dietary habits of the late Miocene primates Anapithecus hernyaki and Rudapithecus hungaricus by analyzing dental microwear patterns on fossilized teeth recovered from Rudabánya, Hungary. Previous research suggested that these sympatric species were both primarily frugivores but were unable to separate them by diet. However, earlier studies were limited by smaller sample sizes and less advanced methodologies. This study used an expanded sample and modern microwear texture analysis techniques to compare molar and incisor microwear patterns between the two species. Results revealed that Rudapithecus molars exhibited higher complexity compared to Anapithecus molar complexity, suggesting a …

The Politics Of The Black Womb: How Education And Power Reinforce The U.S. Black Maternal Health Crisis, Foluke Akinkunmi

Honors Scholar Theses

This study investigates the alarming maternal mortality rates among Black women in the U.S. today first by exploring the historical exploitation of Black maternal bodies during enslavement and with the rise of professionalized gynecology. It challenges the narrative that attributes these outcomes to individual choices or supposedly inherent biological factors, arguing instead that the devaluing of Black women’s well-being and authoritative knowledge have been constructed along with the United States itself. To advance a constructive response, the paper analyzes curriculum competencies for obstetric and midwifery healthcare providers, surveys of Black women's birthing experiences in the previous 20 years, and interviews …

Male And Female Contributions To Sexual Dimorphism, Catherine L.W. Clayton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since Darwin, the evolution of sexual dimorphism connects to different evolutionary mechanisms reflecting both natural selection and sexual selection. In primates, body size dimorphism has been attributed to multiple factors, including sexual selection, fecundity selection, ecological selection, and other factors. In contrast, canine tooth size dimorphism has been primarily associated with sexual selection in males with minor change in females, with other factors playing only a secondary role. This suggests that the degree to which body size dimorphism and canine size dimorphism covary, controlling for phylogeny, should reflect the strength of sexual selection. Conversely, the magnitude of divergence between the …

Trade, Commerce, Ceremony In Association With The Kizh Village Of Lukuupagna Ca-Ora-162, Aurelia R. Torres Ms.

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The Kizh of Southern California were an influential part of the trade, commerce, and ceremonial networks in the region before the invasion of the Spanish colonists into their ancestral territory. Their ancestral territory consisted of what is today known as Santa Catalina, Santa Nicholas, Santa Clemente, Santa Barbara Island, Los Angeles County, northern Orange County, western San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. At time of Spanish contact, the Kizh people identified themselves as “Kizh”, the people of the willow houses”. After the Kizh were forced into the Spanish mission system, the Spanish renamed them the “Gabrieleño” connecting them to the …

Coming Back To Life: Inner Work, Intentional Containers And Feminine Leadership For Social Change — A Phenomenological Case Study Of A Social Change-Oriented Organization And The Self, Maria Trias Arraut

Dissertations

This qualitative study explores the phenomenon of inner work within social change organizations through an in-depth case study of a nonprofit organization dedicated to women’s empowerment and transformation. Using a phenomenological approach and ethnographic methods, the research combines intensive 7-month fieldwork in 2016 with reflective analysis years later, shaped by my own evolving relationship with inner work practices, providing a unique perspective on how inner work lived experience shapes individuals, organizational culture, and social change efforts.

The findings reveal that the social change organization (SCO) operated through three distinct yet interconnected levels of inner work practice: tending to the personal …

Interobserver Agreement Of Human Osteological Analysis On The Szeged, Hungary Skeletal Collection, Alleyia Bailey

All Theses

Biological anthropologists develop human skeletal biological profiles to identify skeletal remains and build demographic knowledge of past and modern peoples. Biological anthropologists estimate age-at-death, sex, stature, ancestry, and the presence of injury or pathology to develop biological profiles. While biological profiles are at the basis of the work anthropologists perform, there is a lack of research concerning the reproducibility and interobserver agreement rates of the methods used to create biological profiles. Due to the risk of variability stemming from the education, training, and experience of observers, along with variation that can arise from population affinity, examining the interobserver agreement rates …

“Just Broken Rocks” The Lower Colorado River Through The Lens Of The Coastal Migration Theory, Ruth Musser-Lopez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

My thesis is that archaeological evidence from the Havasu Landing Site (CA-SBR-1456) in San Bernardino County, California, supports the Coastal Migration Theory (CMT) proposed by Davis and Madsen (2020). The CMT suggests that humans followed the Pacific coastline to America during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), approximately 24,000 years ago (Erlandson 2024). I examined the site’s minimally modified cobbles, described as “just broken rocks,” confirming them to meet the definition of “creative minimization tools,” a criterion of the CMT. I found clustering of the minimization and other atypical stone tools with siliceous blade cores representing a 30,000-year-old East Asian technology …

Pedro Aceves Mfa Thesis, Pedro M. Aceves

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

My Work is about looking at Cruising through a queer decolonial lens. Using multiple mediums such as photo, glass, Augmented reality, and film, I explore these queer histories and aesthetics through not just an anthropological approach but also an artistic epistemological approach weaving together narratives of prehispanic and modern queer Latinidad.

The Human Legacy: Agriculture, Civilizations, Strife, And Pandemics Changing Our Climate, Jacalyn M. Wittmer Malinowski

Climate Change and the Individual, 2025-26

For most of human history, climate has shaped our lives, while our influence on it remained minimal. However, the notion that early humans had no measurable impact on the climate before industrialization is inaccurate. Early in human history, activities – such as the rise of agriculture, the growth of civilizations, periods of conflict, and pandemics – altered greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere. These changes contributed to significant periods of climate change long before the burning of fossil fuels set us on the path to today’s global climate crisis.

“Floptok Is Not A Trend. It’S A Lifestyle”: Camp, Performativity, And Community Dynamics In An Adolescent Tiktok Subculture, Drake Hansen

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Floptok is an online meme-sharing community or subculture that began to take shape in 2021, united by a particular sensibility and set of memetic materials. To outsiders, Floptok is seen as a loud, brash, and often abrasive community whose memes, characterized by low-quality audio and video, often feature “icons”—a range of invented characters and real people—and audio of pop songs heavily edited to feature hypersexual lyrics from the rapper CupcakKe, as well as portions of the 2019 Chinese pop song “Yěhuāxiāng.” This thesis built on scholarship in digital and young people’s folklore in an ethnographic case study of Floptok’s humor …

Tracing Clovis Landscapes: Chert Sourcing At The Copelin Valley Site In Kentucky., Shaylee Scott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study conducts a raw material sourcing analysis of Clovis lithic artifacts from Copelin Valley, Hart County, Kentucky, a key Clovis occupation site. Over a decade of documenting private collections and recent archaeological investigations confirm the site's significance within the Paleoindian landscape. Using reflectance spectroscopy, a non-destructive technique, this research assesses chert source probabilities for over 100 Clovis points and tools. By integrating spectral data with geological sourcing frameworks, this study examines raw material procurement strategies and their implications for Clovis mobility and settlement. The findings reveal patterns in material selection, shedding light on occupation intensity, technological organization, and landscape …

Contagions Of Doubt: Denialism And The Spread Of Medical Conspiracy Theories, Haley Boom

Anthropology

Denialism and conspiratorial thinking have long shaped public perceptions of science and medicine, but the COVID-19 pandemic exposed how rapidly these forces can evolve and spread in a digital age. This thesis examines the historical roots, psychological foundations, and modern amplification of medical conspiracy theories, with a particular focus on vaccine skepticism and COVID-19-related misinformation. As a literature review, it synthesizes existing interdisciplinary research from psychology, public health, and communication studies to explore how medical conspiracy beliefs emerge from complex interactions between cognitive biases, emotional needs, mistrust in institutions, and evolving media environments. The rise of social media, political polarization, …

Primates Shed Light On Glowing Mammals – Adaptation Or Epiphenomenon?, Juliana Hicks

Anthropology

Fluorescence is the ability of chemicals and materials to give off visible or invisible light after absorbing radiation such as ultraviolet light. Fluorescence has been documented in several mammalian families, yet Primates, as an order, have received limited attention in this regard. Within Primates, the suborder Strepsirrhini has been particularly overlooked. Strepsirrhines are compelling subjects due to their retention of primitive mammalian characteristics, representing a significant knowledge gap with respect to the occurrence of fluorescing pelage within the class Mammalia. To address this gap, we investigated the presence and absence of fluorescence in the pelage of preserved museum strepsirrhine specimens …

Accuracy Of Angular Displacement Measurements Using Imu, Aidan Mills

Anthropology

As a part of a larger group, this research focused on gathering data from accelerometers to gather further knowledge on how these devices could be used in further experiments. Using the Sparkfun Artemis accelerometer, angular displacement was isolated and tested to understand the parameters and abilities of the device. Simple tests were run moving the device through 90 degree angular changes. The data collected by the accelerometer was then analyzed using code written specifically to graph angular changes. The data was run through a low and a high pass filter to account for any drift experienced during the tests. An …