Archaeological Anthropology Commons^™

Taphonomic Considerations On Pinworm Prevalence In Three Ancestral Puebloan Latrines, Morgana Camacho, Alena M. Iñiguez, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

For archaeological studies it is always necessary to consider taphonomic factors that could have influenced in ancient material preservation. Parasite eggs are usually highly degraded in ancient sites dated from all periods of time and taphonomic factors are mentioned to explain absence and low quantity of eggs found. In this study, we compare parasite egg recovery of three Great House latrines: two from Aztec Ruins (Rooms 219 and 225) and one from Salmon Ruins. We compared through statistical regression the recovery of eggs with the abundance of two classes of decomposers: mites and nematodes. These microorganisms have relation with nematode …

New Evidence Of Ancient Parasitism Among Late Archaic And Ancestral Puebloan Residents Of Chaco Canyon, Rachel E. Paseka, Carrie C. Heitman, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Archaeoparasitology provides a unique perspective on the health and habits of ancient cultures through the identification of parasite remains in archaeological materials. We identified eggs of the human whipworm, Trichuris trichiura, in coprolites recovered from Late Archaic (1926–1751 cal. BCE) and Ancestral Puebloan (1039–1163 cal. CE) sites in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. Our findings represent the earliest record of T. trichiura in North America, the first record of the species from Chaco Canyon, and the first record of a macroparasite from a Late Archaic site (Atlatl Cave) on the Colorado Plateau. T. trichiura is common in the …

Autologous Bone Flap Resorption Years After Subtemporal Craniotomy, John Oladapo Obafunwa, Emily E. Hammerl, David Jaskierny, Livia A. Taylor, Lynette Russell, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

In Spring of 2012, the partially undressed and skeletonized remains of a homeless adult Hispanic male was found in a fairly open wooded area in Nebraska. The remains showed evidence of extensive pathologies, which included healed traumas and surgeries. Examination of the decedent's medical records revealed that he had a history of kidney and liver problems, alcohol abuse, several traumas including a major head injury that necessitated a craniotomy, and radiological features of neurocysticercosis. The autologous bone flap, which was replaced after the craniotomy, had resorbed significantly away from the edges of the injury. Death was variously attributed to craniocerebral …

Science At Engineer Cantonment, Hugh H. Genoways, Brett C. Ratcliffe, Carl R. Falk, Thomas E. Labedz, Paul R. Picha, John R. Bozell

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Conclusions

It is our contention that Thomas Say, Titian Peale, Edwin James, and their colleagues of the Stephen Long Expedition of 1819–1820 were heavily engaged in scientific research, which took the form of the first biodiversity inventory undertaken in the United States. This accomplishment has been overlooked both by biologists and historians, but it should rank among the most significant accomplishments of the expedition. The results of this inventory continue to inform us today about environmental, faunal, and floral changes along the Missouri River in an area that is known to be an ecotone between the deciduous forests of the …

Feminist Science And Chacoan Archaeology: Reply To Ware., Carrie Heitman

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Ware's comment misses the point of Heitman's (2016) article and further demonstrates the need for feminist science perspectives.

El comentario de Ware no comprende lo fundamental del artículo de Heitman (2016) y demuestra aún más la necesidad de perspectivas científicas feministas.

Innovation Through Large-Scale Integration Of Legacy Records: Assessing The “Value Added” In Cultural Heritage Resources, Carrie Heitman, Worthy Martin, Stephen Plog

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Using the Chaco Research Archive (CRA) as a case study, in this article, we discuss the spectrum of intellectual decisions: conceptualization, design, and development, required to make legacy records (accumulated over many years through numerous archaeological expeditions) publicly accessible. Intellectual and operational choices permeated the design and implementation of the digital architecture to provide internet access to the vast information structures inherent in legacy records for the cultural heritage of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. We explore how an expansive but focused repository can enable opportunities for research and foster communities of co-creation. We also use the CRA as a case …

From Icon Of Empire To National Emblem: New Evidence For The Fallow Deer Of Barbuda, Sophia Perdikaris, Allison Bain, Sandrine Grouard, Karis Baker, Edith Gonzalez, A. Rus Hoelzel, Holly Miller, Reaksha Persaud, Naomi Sykes

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Barbuda and Antigua’s national animal is the fallowdeer, Dama dama dama, a species native to the eastern Mediterranean that has been transported around the world by people during the last 8000 years. The timing and circumstances by which fallow deer came to be established on Barbuda are currently uncertain but, by examining documentary, osteological and genetic evidence, this paper will consider the validity of existing theories. It will review the dynamics of human–Dama relationships from the 1500s AD to the present day and consider how the meaning attached to this species has changed through time: from a symbol of colonial …

A Catch 22 Of 3d Data Sustainability: Lessons In 3d Archaeological Data Management & Accessibility, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Jennifer Von Schwerin

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Archaeologists can now collect an inordinate amount of 3D data. But are these 3D data sustainable? Are they being managed to make them accessible? The MayaArch3D Project researched and addressed these questions by applying best practices to build four prototype tools to store, manage, visualize, and analyze multi-resolution, geo-referenced 3D models in a web-based environment. While the technical aspects of these tools have been published, this position paper addresses a catch 22 that we, as archaeologists, encounter in the field of 3D archaeology – one that formed the initial impetus for the MayaArch3D Project: that is, while the quantity of …

Estimating Age Of Rock Cairns In Southeast Alaska By Combining Evidence From Successional Metrics, Lichenometry, And Carbon Dating, Bruce Mccune,, Nijmah Ali,, Ralph J. Hartley, William J. Hunt Jr.

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

We estimated ages of rock cairns in alpine tundra in southeast Alaska by combining information from three general classes of methods, each of them imperfect, but considered together providing better estimates than any of the three alone. We used lichenometry, radiocarbon dating, and five successional metrics: score on a nonmetric multidimensional scaling axis of vegetation composition, cover-weighted average successional class of organisms, overgrowth of contact points between rocks, sum of species cover, and species richness. Lichenometry estimated absolute ages, but with considerable error because we violated key assumptions. Successional metrics provided relative ages, probably with more precision than lichenometry, but …

Cross-Cousin Marriage Among The Yanomamö Shows Evidence Of Parent–Offspring Conflict And Mate Competition Between Brothers, Napoleon A. Chagnon, Robert F. Lynch, Mary K. Shenk, Raymond Hames, Mark V. Flinn

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Marriage in many traditional societies often concerns the institutionalized exchange of reproductive partners among groups of kin. Such exchanges most often involve cross-cousins—marriage with the child of a parent’s opposite-sex sibling—but it is unclear who benefits from these exchanges. Here we analyze the fitness consequences of marrying relatives among the Yanomamo¨ from the Amazon. When individuals marry close kin, we find that (i) both husbands and wives have slightly lower fertility; (ii) offspring suffer from inbreeding depression; (iii) parents have more grandchildren; and (iv) siblings, especially brothers, benefit when their opposite-sex siblings marry relatives but not when their same-sex siblings …

Continuity And Change In Puebloan Ritual Practice: 3,800 Years Of Shrine Use In The North American Southwest, Phil R. Geib, Carrie Heitman, Ronald C.D. Fields

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Radiocarbon dates on artifacts from a Puebloan shrine in New Mexico reveal a persistence in ritual practice for some 3,800 years. The dates indicate that the shrine had become an important location for ceremonial observances related to warfare by almost 2000 cal. B.C., coinciding with the time when food production was first practiced in the Southwest. The shrine exhibits continuity of ritual behavior, something that Puebloans may find unsurprising, but also changes in the artifacts deposited that indicate new technology, transformations of belief, and perhaps shifting cultural boundaries. After briefly describing this shrine, we discuss some of the artifacts that …

An Iterative 3d Gis Analysis Of The Role Of Visibility In Ancient Maya Landscapes: A Case Study From Copan, Honduras, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

For several decades, Geographic Information Systems (GISs) have held center stage in archaeological studies of ancient landscapes. Recently, three-dimensional (3D) technologies such as airborne LiDAR and aerial photogrammetry are allowing us to acquire inordinate amounts of georeferenced 3D data to locate, map, and visualize archaeological sites within their surrounding landscapes. GIS offers locational precision, data overlay, and complex spatial analysis. Three-dimensionality adds a ground-based perspective lacking in two-dimensional GIS maps to provide archaeologists a sense of mass and space more closely attuned with human perception. This article uses comparative and iterative approaches ‘tacking back and forth’ between GIS and 3D …

Major Fallacies Surrounding Stone Artifacts And Assemblages, Harold Dibble, Simon J. Holdaway, Sam C. Lin, David R. Braun, Matthew J. Douglass, Radu Iovita, Shannon P. Mcpherron, Deborah I. Olszewski, Dennis Sandgathe

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

While lithic objects can potentially inform us about past adaptations and behaviors, it is important to develop a comprehensive understanding of all of the various processes that influence what we recover from the archaeological record. We argue here that many assumptions used by archaeologists to derive behavioral inferences through the definition, conceptualization, and interpretation of both individual stone artifact forms and groups of artifacts identified as assemblages do not fit squarely with what we have learned from both ethnographic sources and analyses of archaeological materials. We discuss this in terms of two fallacies. The first is the fallacy of the …

What Can Gis + 3d Mean For Landscape Archaeology?, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Until recently Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have held center stage in the archaeologist's geospatial toolkit, and there is no doubt that archaeologists have moved beyond the mapdbut into what? In the early years, criticisms voicing GIS as environmentally-deterministic were abundant. What methods and tool have archaeologists used to overcome these criticisms? New geospatial technologies such as airborne lidar and aerial photogrammetry are allowing us to acquire inordinate amounts of georeferenced 3D datad but do these 3D technologies help overcome criticisms of environmental determinism? TogetherdGIS þ 3Dd can link georeferenced 3D models to underlying data adding a ground-based humanistic perspective lacking …

Palynological Investigation Of Mummified Human Remains, Karl Reinhard, Marina Milanello Do Amaral, Nicole Wall

Karl Reinhard Publications

Pollen analysis was applied to a mummified homicide victim in Nebraska, U.S.A., to determine the location of death. A control sample showed the normal ambient pollen in the garage crime scene. Ambient windborne types, common in the air of the region, dominated the control. Internal samples were analyzed from the sacrum, intestine, and diaphragm. Microfossils were recovered from the rehydrated intestine lumen. The intestinal sample was dominated by Brassica (broccoli). The sacrum sample was high in dietary types but with a showing of ambient types. The pollen from the diaphragm was dominated by ambient pollen similar to the control samples. …

Pseudoscorpions Of The Family Cheiridiidae (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones) Recovered From Burial Sediments At Pachacamac (500–1,500ce), Peru, Johnica J. Morrow, Livia Taylor, Lauren Peck, Christian Elowsky, Lawrence Stewart Owens, Peter Eeckout, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Fragmented remains of pseudoscorpions belonging to the family Cheiridiidae (Arachnida, Pseudoscorpiones) were recovered from Ychsma polity (c. AD 1000–1475) burial sediments from Pachacamac, Peru. Sediments from 21 burials were examined following rehydration in 0.5% trisodium phosphate for 48 h and subsequent screening through a 250 lm mesh. Materials larger than 250 lm were surveyed for the presence of arthropods. A total of two samples contained pseudoscorpion fragments, which were collected and quantified to determine the minimal number of pseudoscorpions present per gram of each sample. Following quantification, pseudoscorpion specimens were imaged utilizing confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) to assist with …

Assessing The Archaeoparasitological Potential Of Quids As A Source Material For Immunodiagnostic Analyses, Johnica J. Morrow, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

In the present study, quids from La Cueva de los Muertos Chiquitos (CMC) were subjected to ELISA tests for 2 protozoan parasites, Toxoplasma gondii (n=45) and Trypanosoma cruzi (n=43). The people who occupied CMC, the Loma San Gabriel, lived throughout much of present-day Durango and Zacatecas in Mexico. The known pathoecology of these people puts them into at-risk categories for the transmission of T. gondii and T. cruzi. Human antibodies created in response to these 2 parasites can be detected in modern saliva using ELISA kits intended for use with human serum. For these reasons, quids were reconstituted and …

Prehistoric Pathoecology As Represented By Parasites Of A Mummy From The Peruaçu Valley, Brazil, Karl Reinhard, Adauto Araújo

Karl Reinhard Publications

Paleopathologists have begun exploring the pathoecology of parasitic diseases in relation to diet and environment. We are summarizing the parasitological findings from a mummy in the site of Lapa do Boquete, a Brazilian cave in the state of Minas Gerais. These findings in context of the archaeology of the site provided insights into the pathoecology of disease transmission in cave and rockshelter environments. We are presenting a description of the site followed by the evidence of hookworm, intestinal fluke, and Trypanosoma infection with resulting Chagas disease in the mummy discovered in the cave. These findings are used to reconstruct the …

Temporal And Spatial Distribution Of Enterobius Vermicularis (Nematoda: Oxyuridae) In The Prehistoric Americas, Karl J. Reinhard, Adauto Araújo, Johnica J. Morrow

Karl Reinhard Publications

Investigations of Enterobius sp. infection in prehistory have produced a body of data that can be used to evaluate the geographic distribution of infection through time in the Americas. Regional variations in prevalence are evident. In North America, 119 pinworm positive samples were found in 1,112 samples from 28 sites with a prevalence of 10.7%. Almost all of the positive samples came from agricultural sites. From Brazil, 0 pinworm positive samples were found in 325 samples from 7 sites. For the Andes region, 22 pinworm positive samples were found in 411 samples from 26 sites for a prevalence of 5.3%. …

Cleaning Puparia For Forensic Analysis, Leon G. Higley, Tierney R. Brosius, Karl Reinhard, David Carter

Karl Reinhard Publications

We tested procedures for removing adipocere from insect samples to allow identification. An acceptable procedure was determined: (i) Samples were sorted in petri dishes with 75% alcohol to remove any larvae, adult insects, or other soft-bodied material. (ii) Samples of up to 24 puparia were placed in a vial with 15 mL of 95% acetone, capped, and vortexed for a total of 30–90 sec in 10- to 15-sec bursts. This step removed large masses of adipocere or soil from specimen. (iii) Specimens were removed from acetone and placed in a vial of 15 mL of 2% potassium hydroxide (KOH) and …

Cryptosporidium Parvum Among Coprolites From La Cueva De Los Muertos Chiquitos (600–800 Ce), Rio Zape Valley, Durango, Mexico, Johnica J. Morrow, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

In the present study, 90 coprolites from La Cueva de los Muertos Chiquitos (CMC) were subjected to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests for 3 diarrhea-inducing protozoan parasites, Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia duodenalis, and Cryptosporidium parvum, to determine whether these parasites were present among the people who utilized this cave 1,200–1,400 yr ago. These people, the Loma San Gabriel, developed as a culture out of the Archaic Los Caracoles population and lived throughout much of present-day Durango and Zacatecas in Mexico. The Loma San Gabriel persisted through a mixed subsistence strategy of hunting-gathering and agricultural production. The results of …

"A Mother For All The People": Feminist Science And Chacoan Archaeology, Carrie C. Heitman

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

In 1997, Alison Wylie outlined an epistemic and ontological critique of archaeological inquiry to advance feminist science studies. Wylie’s work, I argue, remains relevant and potentially transformative for analysis of the cultural florescence that took place in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico during the ninth through twelfth centuries A.D. Archival, archaeological, and ethnographic data presented here suggest that women had important and undertheorized roles to play in the social transformations that defined emergent Chacoan society. Legacy data made available through the Chaco Research Archive provide evidence in support of Lamphere’s (2000) ritual power model interpretation of the Chacoan florescence. The advent …

The Baller Biface Cache: A Possible Clovis Site In Hitchcock County, Nebraska, Alan J. Osborn

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Twenty-six Clovis implement caches are known from western North America. In cases where time-sensitive artifacts (e.g., Clovis projectile points or mammoth ivory rods) or adequate information about their provenience and geological context are absent, assigning temporal and cultural affiliation has been challenging. Such is the case with a cache of eight large bifaces, four of which were donated by Albert E. Baller in the early 1900s to the University of Nebraska State Museum. The cache was discovered along with debitage within a small tributary of the Republican River in south-central Nebraska. The four donated Baller bifaces have been curated since …

Medieval Nemea: Building A Public Digital Resource, Lauren A. Vagts, Effie Athanassopoulos

UCARE: Research Products

This site presents medieval ceramics from the excavations at the site of Nemea, in southern Greece. We have created a digital resource with results and artifacts from archaeological excavations conducted in the 1970s and 1980s, which have remained unpublished. The website incorporates a variety of materials, including excavation notebooks, maps, data bases, photographs, and 3D models of ceramics. Omeka was selected as the software for this project for several reasons. Omeka offers the Dublin Core metadata as a way to standardize and organize digital data, allowing its users access to a well-developed platform. Omeka is also an open source software …

Integrative 3d Recording Methods Of Historic Architecture: Burg Hohenecken From Southwest Germany, Aaron C. Pattee

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

This research explores the methodology and application of photogrammetric and laser-scanning recording methods to a castle ruin, with the primary purpose of digitally preserving the castle. Both methods generated interactive 3D models via the combination of still images (photogrammetry) and precise laser measurements (laser-scanning), which were then combined into a single model. The case study is the medieval castle ruin Burg Hohenecken located in the city of Kaiserslautern in southwest Germany. The castle was active from 1212-1689, as one of over fifty castles within the region of the Pfalz. The inhabitants included the noble von Hoheneck family and various …

Usda-Unl Artifacts Roadshow: The Development Of A 2d Archive Of Great Plains Projectile Points, Maia Behrendt

UCARE: Research Products

The Archaeological Survey is primarily concentrated through Federal and State lands. Nebraska like much of the Great Plains is overwhelmingly privately owned. As a consequence less than 1% of the state has been subject to professional survey. Private land owners, however, know of many archaeological sites that have not been documented. Engagement with the public about sites and about collected artifacts thus has the potential to greatly increase knowledge of the past.

Over the past three years the University of Nebraska and the USDA Forest Service have conducted “Artifacts Roadshows” to talk with land owners about private artifact collections. These …

Past Meets Future: Combining Gis, 3d Technologies, And Legacy Data To Reanalyze Ceramics At Copan, Honduras, Stephanie Sterling, Heather Richards-Rissetto, René Viel

UCARE: Research Products

The archaeological site of Copán—a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Honduras—was a primary center for cultural and economic exchange in the Maya world from the fifth to ninth centuries. Our research investigates the sociopolitical climate of the city immediately preceding this collapse. This poster presents the results of a pilot study intended to evaluate the potential of using a combination of digital technologies and legacy data to reanalyze a subset of diagnostic ceramics from select sites outside of Copan’s urban core. Our methods involved:

(1) Applying photogrammetry to generate 3D models for approximately 30 potentially temporally-diagnostic ceramic types

(2) Digitizing, …

Chaco Landscapes: Data, Theory And Management, Ruth Van Dyke, Stephen Lekson, Carrie Heitman, Julian Thomas

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The Colorado Plateau is a land of long horizons punctuated by dramatic buttes, mesas, and mountain ranges. The rich cultural heritage and natural beauty of this region hold meaning for the millions of tourists who visit each year to experience this iconic landscape. Many of these same places on the Plateau are still considered central to indigenous religious practices, histories, and oral traditions of descendent communities in the region. This landscape is also defined by the complex connections and histories of diverse resident communities. Ancient communities of the Plateau are the focus of ongoing major anthropological investigations into such issues …

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, …

A Problematic Test Of The Kin Selection Hypothesis Among The Urak-Lawoi Of Ko Lipe, Thailand: Commentary On Camperio Ciani, Battaglia, And Liotta (2015), Paul L. Vasey, Doug P. Vanderlaan, Raymond Hames, Amornthep Jaidee

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Camperio Ciani et al. argued that the Urak-Lawoi people of Ko Lipe island live in a ‘‘traditional,’’ ‘‘subsistence primitive society’’ reminiscent of the ‘‘ancestral’’ human past and that their socio-cultural situation is ‘‘remarkably similar’’ to Samoa. On this basis, they asserted that the Ko Lipe Urak-Lawoi are an appropriate population for determining the role that kin selection played in the evolution of male androphilia. The purpose of this commentary is to outline some of our concerns with this characterization and with the statistical analyses conducted by Camperio Ciani et al. in their study of the Urak-Lawoi.