Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

Reading Exercise (You Are The Hero): Dedicated To The Providence River Under The Mall, 02.17.2026, Deborah Fischer

Masters Theses

This play uses the performative potential of guilt, forgiveness, and self-help techniques as a catalyst for a new dynamic, one in which the pursuit of a false narrative, along with the structures it generates, becomes more real than reality itself. It employs “bad acting” and the practice of cold reading to stage a series of acts that function as an entry point into one’s own psyche, leveraging the peripheral space around familiar actions to allow chance, free will, and the experience of “real time” to temporarily come into effect. PLAYER 1: The bad actor is the most utopian one. CLOWN: …

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 Integrative Anthropological Ecology; Pluralism, Power, And Socioecological Futures, Komang Ariyanto

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

No abstract provided.

Beyond Judicial Intent: The Agency Of The Defense Counsel In Ozawa’S And Thind’S Supreme Court Cases, Bret K. Luchs

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

This thesis seeks to examine how specific legal strategies by the defense counsel in Ozawa v. United States, 260 U.S. 178 (1922), and United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, 261 U.S. 204 (1923), compelled the Supreme Court of the United States into a reactive and contradictory position. A re-examination of Ozawa and Thind delves deeper into the legal briefs and arguments made by Takao Ozawa and Bhagat Singh Thind, alongside their legal teams. These briefs, opinions of the court, past lower court cases, and personal statements by Ozawa and Thind demonstrate how they did not surrender to the confines of …

Will There Be A Pill For That? ‘Money Dysmorphia’ And The Medicalization Of Struggles For Subsistence, Bojan Savic

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

This article questions the rationality, operation, and effects of money dysmorphia as an emerging mental health diagnosis. It critiques the medicalization of financial angst amid the capitalist “polycrisis”, showing how the individuation and somatic pathologization of class subordination, socioeconomic precarity, and struggles for subsistence obscure capitalist inequalities, depoliticize them, and shield them from critique. I identify five concurrent strategies through which struggles for subsistence are medicalized: trivialization, reversal of social import, repetition, direct depoliticization, and the substitution of inequality with poverty. Furthermore, I show how the medicalizing discourse reifies money dysmorphia by constructing its social costs. The article concludes by …

Reason And All My Senses: Surveying The Post Enlightenment Frame Of Reason Through Contemporary Philosophy, Cognitive Psychology, And Cognitive Linguistics, Joshua T. Lowe Rev. Dr.

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

This dissertation argues that Christian theology and practice are aided and enriched by a more complete understanding of reason by surveying recent studies and views in theology, philosophy, cognitive psychology, and cognitive linguistics. Since the Enlightenment, Christian theology has assumed widely the Enlightenment model of human reason as ideally acontextual, that is, free from constraints of contexts, and therefore universal, that is, applicable in all contexts. Recent developments from a variety of perspectives challenge this model of rationality. Some challenge the acontextualism of the Enlightenment understanding by showing how it arose from and depends on a context, and that context …

Sex Differences In Adult Frailty At The Late-Terminal Classic (C. 750-1000 Ce) Maya Site Of Lower Dover, Rose Rioux

Honors Thesis

While it has been suggested that the compounded effects of population growth and climatic pressures over the Classic period (c. 300-1000 CE) led to a health crisis among the Maya, there is no current knowledge of whether there were significant sex differences in risks of mortality and frailty associated with metabolic stressors. This research assesses sex differences in frailty and mortality of adults (n=52) from the medium-sized Maya polity of Lower Dover in the upper Belize River Valley from the Late Preclassic (c. 300 BCE-150 CE) to Terminal Classic (c. 750-1000 CE). Osteological methods of estimating age and sex were …

Fire History, Ecological History, And Historical Human-Environment Interactions In The Northern Great Plains, James Victor Benes

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation explores the spatiotemporal signatures of fire in North American grassland ecosystems. In three chapters, I explore different aspects of fire history in the northern Great Plains. Chapter 1 is an introduction. Chapter 2 focuses on the Euro-American Settlement Period (ca. 1850–1950 C.E.). Fire histories from six different lakes in the Nebraska Sandhills are compared with two periods of historic drought and the establishment of United States Post Offices. Five of the six records show increased levels of biomass burning during the initial phases of Euro-American Settlement. Chapter 3 is a long-term (ca. 15,000 years), high-resolution fire history and …

Digital Phobia: An Inquiry For Mapping The Unseen Dimension Of New Digital Anxiety, The ‘Digiphobia’, Amarjit Kumar Singh ,Library Assistant, Md. Arshad Ali , Professional Assistant, Dr. Pankaj Mathur, Deputy Librarian,

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Background: As technology continues to advance, individuals' interactions with digital platforms have become integral to daily life. Amidst this technological evolution, a novel concern emerges—Digital Phobia, hereafter referred to as “Digiphobia.” This phenomenon, although not previously explored in scholarly literature, necessitates an in-depth investigation due to its potential impact on individuals' well-being. Our research employs a two-step methodology to investigate its existence, implications, and manifestations.

Introduction: This research paper introduces and proposes the term "Digiphobia" as a comprehensive conceptualization of anxiety arising from interactions with digital spaces, applications, and environments. The proliferation of digital technologies has led to the emergence …

“Nails Done, Hair Done, Everything Did!”: Consumption And The Creation Of Black Feminine Selves, Simone Reid

Honors Theses

This thesis examines how race and gender shape the meaning that Black women associate with their beauty consumption practices and spending. Much of the existing feminist scholarship on beauty has been postfeminist, privileging the concept of agency and empowerment over structural realities. However, the materialist feminist frame has more utility to address how beauty operates within the lives of Black women as a form of distinct gendered racial oppression. The concept of aesthetic capital emerges from the materialist feminist perspective and suggests that beauty demands the investment of considerable economic resources and can deliver economic returns. Despite this, aesthetic capital …

The Abuse Of Darwinism (And Social Darwinism) For The Purposes Of Discrimination, Jessica N. Kantrowitz

Honors Student Research

Throughout most of history, people have tried to justify their discrimination against other groups of people in any way they can, especially using biology and evolutionary theories as reason. When Charles Darwin published his book “On the Origin of Species”, introducing his theory of evolution and the work and experiments he did to prove this theory, it caused many to question their previous bigoted beliefs. For some, however, Darwin’s theory of evolution, which would come to be referred to simply as Darwinism, only further proved their biases, or they could, at least, make it sound like they did. Later on, …

A Mixed Methods Study Of Cultural Competence Among Nursing Students In Kenya, Sylvia Waweru

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

Significance and Background: Kenya has been experiencing an increase in cultural and ethnic diversity. As a result of cultural differences, health disparities among ethnic groups in Kenya are increasing. A component of patient centered care involves the incorporation of cultural aspects of health and illness in the delivery of nursing care. Understanding cultural competence of nursing students will provide guidance on educational needs related to cultural competence.

Purpose:. The purpose of this study was to assess nursing students’ cultural competence (CC) in the areas of cultural awareness, knowledge, sensitivity, skills, encounters and desire. Nursing students’ views on caring for …

Moral Distress, Burnout, And Moral Injury In Healthcare Professionals, Sophia Gibson

Anthropology Undergraduate Honors Theses

For doctors and other health care professionals, experiences of care too often involve burnout and moral distress. Making both visible to begin addressing them takes up the main concern of my thesis. Burnout and moral distress swallow a life. Suddenly you aren’t going on that shopping trip with friends, you can forget about going to that movie or play. You are too tired to drag yourself out of bed, instead getting caught in a cycle of sleep and work with no time for a break or even to process what happened last shift. Who’s going to have a nice relaxing …

Dismantling Binary Assumptions In Sex Estimation: Uplifting Trans And Gender Diverse Identities In Forensic Anthropology, Audrey Holbeck

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Forensic anthropology is a study within the field of physical anthropology that seeks to apply osteological expertise to legal and criminal situations. One of a forensic anthropologists’ most important jobs is to build a biological profile, consisting of age, biological sex, stature, and ancestry, in correspondence to an unidentified decedent. As we enter the third decade of the 21st century, instances of violence against trans and gender non-conforming individuals are unfortunately prominent, however, there has also been more awareness shed on trans activism. Trans individuals are at a higher risk of being victims of violent crime, and thus, forensic anthropologists …

Dental Disparities: A Quantitative & Regional Analysis Of Male Oral Health In The United States, Hannah Merritt, Gordon Rakita

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Project of Merit Winner

Multiple factors contribute to the oral health of male individuals in the United States, including economic, regional, and gender disparities. My study compares health care coverage and poverty rates to indicators of oral health status and dental care access such as percentage of tooth lost, number of dental visits, and oral health services at federally qualified health centers. This oral health data is drawn from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention across all fifty states in the year 2018 and from the United States Census. By examining this data, I will be able to answer …

Was Facial Width-To-Height Ratio Subject To Sexual Selection Pressures? A Life Course Approach, Carolyn R. Hodges-Simeon, Graham Albert, George B. Richardson, Timothy S. Mchale, Seth M. Weinberg, Michael Gurven, Steven J.C. Gaulin

Anthropology and Museum Studies Faculty Scholarship

Sexual selection researchers have traditionally focused on adult sex differences; however, the schedule and pattern of sex-specific ontogeny can provide insights unobtainable from an exclusive focus on adults. Recently, it has been debated whether facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR; bi-zygomatic breadth divided by midface height) is a human secondary sexual characteristic (SSC). Here, we review current evidence, then address this debate using ontogenetic evidence, which has been under-explored in fWHR research. Facial measurements were collected from 3D surface images of males and females aged 3 to 40 (Study 1; US European-descent, n = 2449), and from 2D photographs of males and …

Health Disparities Between Women And Men In Medieval Europe: A Bioarcheological Study Of Gender Roles, Ella Uren

Conspectus Borealis

No abstract provided.

280— Exploring The Geographic Distribution Of Childbed Fever Deaths In Mid-19th Century Rochester, Ny, Meaghan Parks

GREAT Day Posters

Childbed fever, formally called puerperal fever or puerperal septicemia, is an infection typically contracted by women after childbirth. Historically, childbed fever was a serious threat to maternal health. Childbed fever is caused by exposure of open wounds or abrasions, which are common after giving birth, to group A and B Streptococcal bacteria. Ignaz Semmelweis discovered that hand washing using a chlorinated solution reduced cases of childbed fever in 1847. This project reviews the instances of death from childbed fever in Rochester, New York from 1837-1860 and later from 1907-1919 and attempts to determine which areas of the city had the …

Small Group Learning Is Associated With Reduced Salivary Cortisol And Testosterone In Undergraduate Students, Kristin Snopkowski, Kathryn Demps, Ross Griffiths, Karen S. Fulk, Scott May, Kimberly Neagle, Kayla Downs, Michaela Eugster, Tessa Amend

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Small group learning activities have been shown to improve student academic performance and educational outcomes. Yet, we have an imperfect understanding of the mechanisms by which this occurs. Group learning may mediate student stress by placing learning in a context where students have both social support and greater control over their learning. We hypothesize that one of the methods by which small group activities improve learning is by mitigating student stress. To test this, we collected physiological measures of stress and self-reported perceived stress from 26 students in two undergraduate classes. Salivary cortisol and testosterone were measured within students across …

Kinship Ties Across The Lifespan In Human Communities, Jeremy Koster, Dieter Lukas, David Nolin, Eleanor Power, Alexandra Alvergne, Ruth Mace, Cody T. Ross, Karen Kramer, Russell Graves, Mark Caudell, Shane Macfarlan, Eric Schniter, Robert Quinlan, Siobhan Mattison, Adam Reynolds, Chun Yi-Sim, Eric Massengill

ESI Publications

A hypothesis for the evolution of long post-reproductive lifespans in the human lineage involves asymmetries in relatedness between young immigrant females and the older females in their new groups. In these circumstances, inter-generational reproductive conflicts between younger and older females are predicted to resolve in favor of the younger females, who realize fewer inclusive fitness benefits from ceding reproduction to others. This conceptual model anticipates that immigrants to a community initially have few kin ties to others in the group, gradually showing greater relatedness to group members as they have descendants who remain with them in the group. We examine …

Determination Of Intersex Humans In Human Remains, Audria Payne

CURCE Annual Undergraduate Conference

Currently, there isn’t much research on whether forensic anthropologists include the identification of intersex humans in human remains. Forensic anthropologists tend to have varied training that is related to identifying skeletal remains, but there isn’t much research about how to identify intersex humans after death or whether they have come across intersex in skeletal remains at all, besides those they have classified as ambiguous. In this paper, I will be researching various skeletal remains to see if the current identification methods of identifying sex are accurate in identifying intersex. I will also research ambiguous and undetermined remains to see if …

Mobilizing Heads And Hearts For Wildlife Conservation, Valérie A. M. Schoof, Simon L'Allier

Animal Sentience

Highlighting the shared evolutionary relationships between humans and animals — and recognizing that all species, including humans, are unique in their own way — may facilitate caring for and conserving animals by tapping into a human emotion: empathy.

The Effects Of Common Methods Of Soft Tissue Removal On Skeletal Remains: A Comparative Analysis, Emily Silverman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The removal of soft tissue from skeletal remains is a process familiar to a wide array of scientific fields and the methods used to perform it are likewise numerous yet inconsistent. In forensic investigations and crime labs across the country, there lacks a standardization for this process. This lack of standardization pairs with a distinct lack of literature on the potential benefits and risks associated with each method as well as basic information on the proper amount of additives, temperatures, or time estimations. In a forensic context, human remains may be the only evidence available, which makes any damage or …

The Effects Of Common Methods Of Soft Tissue Removal On Skeletal Remains: A Comparative Analysis, Emily Silverman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The removal of soft tissue from skeletal remains is a process familiar to a wide array of scientific fields and the methods used to perform it are likewise numerous yet inconsistent. In forensic investigations and crime labs across the country, there lacks a standardization for this process. This lack of standardization pairs with a distinct lack of literature on the potential benefits and risks associated with each method as well as basic information on the proper amount of additives, temperatures, or time estimations. In a forensic context, human remains may be the only evidence available, which makes any damage or …

Rock Art Management And Landscape Change: Mixed Field Assessment Techniques For Cultural Stone Decay, Kaelin M. Groom

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As tourism continues to grow as one of the world’s most ubiquitous markets, the development and promotion of non-invasive techniques for cultural stone decay analysis and landscape change are vital to establishing conditional base-lines to best aid cultural heritage management (CRM) efficacy. Using rock art as a medium, this dissertation presents three independent case studies employing the Rock Art Stability Index (RASI) and repeat photography to explore the merits of mixed rapid field assessment techniques in relation to CRM and heritage tourism. While rock art is only one example of irreplaceable world heritage resources, examining how they decay and what …

Claiming The Indomitable Wave: Masculinities, Sexualities, And The Realm Of Surfing In Costa Rica, Joseph C. Recupero

Student Publications

Examining the relationship between masculinity, sexuality, and the sport of surfing in the context of Costa Rica. Questions the nature of emergent counter identities in the hyper-masculine realm of the surfing subculture and the ways in which the emergence of counter identities changes the nature of the subculture. Focuses on the anthropology of sport, the anthropology of sexuality, and theories of territoriality.

Healthy Aging In The North: Sociocultural Influences On Diet And Physical Activity Among Older Adults In Anchorage, Alaska, Britteny M. Howell

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

Increasing rates of overweight, obesity, and related cardiovascular diseases among older adults in the United States present unique public health challenges. Cross-cultural research has shown marked variation in health across the world’s elder populations because aging is a biological process rooted in sociocultural context. The sociocultural environment contributes to complex negotiations of food and physical activity patterns for older adults. It is well established in the literature that urban residents report low levels of physical activity and have easy access to fast food outlets, which tend to be concentrated in lower-income neighborhoods. I utilize a biocultural framework, integrating nutritional anthropology …

Working With The Remains In Cambodia: Skeletal Analysis And Human Rights After Atrocity, Julie M. Fleischman

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This essay will discuss the research being conducted on Khmer Rouge-era human skeletal remains in Cambodia, and the implications of this work. First, the Cambodian project to conserve and analyze the remains at the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center (Choeung Ek) will be briefly discussed. This exceptional undertaking was the first complete scientific analysis of human remains from a Cambodian mass gravesite. Second, the author’s independent research at Choeung Ek and a collaborative project at another mass gravesite will be reviewed. The author’s research focuses on the traumatic injuries and demographics of the remains at Choeung Ek, while also incorporating cultural …

Teaching: Natural Or Cultural?, David F. Lancy

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

In this chapter I argue that teaching, as we now understand the term, is historically and cross-culturally very rare. It appears to be unnecessary to transmit culture or to socialize children. Children are, on the other hand, primed by evolution to be avid observers, imitators, players and helpers—roles that reveal the profoundly autonomous and self-directed nature of culture acquisition (Lancy in press a). And yet, teaching is ubiquitous throughout the modern world—at least among the middle to upper class segment of the population. This ubiquity has led numerous scholars to argue for the universality and uniqueness of teaching as a …

Ethics In The Field: Contemporary Challenges, Lisa C. Depaoli

Journal of Ecological Anthropology

No abstract provided.