Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

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 …

Social Identity And Personhood At An Early Byzantine Cemetery: Late Antique Child Burials At Syedra, Turkiye., Mekenzie Riley Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bioarchaeological studies of children in the past have proliferated in recent years and illustrate the informational depths accessible through investigations of mortality, age, and health and disease. Alongside analyses of childhood stress and mortality, the mortuary treatment of children provides critical insight into the social structures and identity formation processes that individuals or groups are subject to in life. This thesis will investigate the intersections of childhood, gender and sex, space, and mortuary treatment as seen in a Byzantine cemetery comprised primarily of children at the site of Syedra, Türkiye through bioarchaeological and proteomic analysis. Specifically, it seeks to explore …

Restorative Survey Of A Human Osteological Teaching Collection: Mitigating Objectification And Structural Violence After Death, Helene Simon, Mekenzie Davis

The Cardinal Edge

Interdisciplinary discussions considering the impacts of dubious acquisition and management of human skeletal collections have identified these assemblages as venues for perpetuating structural violence after death. Lack of provenance across many large and small “legacy” skeletal collections prevents clear solutions for treatment of individuals who cannot be clearly associated with descendant communities or identified as donors. A critical examination of our department’s collection and classroom presentation practices as they pertain to the individuals in the Human Osteological Teaching Collection (HOTC) serves to mitigate this violence and restore a degree of personhood to the individuals who contribute to generations of education. …

Resolving Commingling, Restoring Identity: An Interdisciplinary Collaboration And Ethical Study Of Individuals From A Human Skeletal Teaching Collection, Morgann L. Lucas, Morgan J. Elmore, Christine Chen, Carolann Cockerill, Mekenzie Davis, Vivian N. Pham, Matthew Kolmann, Linda Fuselier, Kathryn E. Marklein

The Cardinal Edge

In Fall 2022, human skeletal remains were discovered in the Department of Biology’s Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy Laboratory. No documentation about the acquisition or curation history was found. With no current protocols for repatriating individuals in university skeletal teaching collections, an interdisciplinary research team analyzed the skeletal remains to resolve to commingle and identify the people. Using standardized methods in forensic anthropology, we estimated the minimum number of individuals represented through taphonomic, demographic, paleopathological, and morphological variables and variation. Results indicated, minimally, 36 to 56 individuals represented by 250 bones. Of these individuals, 12 were estimated as probable female, 16 as …

Does The Genome Of A Putatively Specialist Moth (Schinia Gracilenta) Contain A Signal Of The Indigenous Cultivation Of Its Host Plant (Iva Annua), Wren Renquist

2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference

When one species depends on one another for survival, they may have shared demographic histories. Further, when symbionts have shorter life spans, their rate of evolution may be quicker than that of their hosts. For this reason, detecting a recent demographic signal in a symbiont’s genome may often be easier than directly studying the host.

Here I study the slender flower moth (Schinia gracilenta) and its host plant, sumpweed (Iva annua). Sumpweed is thought to have been cultivated in North American ca. 5000 BC - AD 1700 and its range may have been expanded during this time. I collected S. …

Anthropogenic Influences Of Play In The Green Monkeys Of Barbados, Rose Amrhein

2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference

There are multiple theories behind the evolutionary origins and functions of play behavior in the animal kingdom, all with varying levels of support. Some argue play originated as a byproduct of individuals having excess energy in a resource-rich environment while others argue it arose as a way for young individuals to enhance the physical and mental skills needed to survive into adulthood. Many believe that both these theories are coexisting and applicable to some degree. However, previous play studies usually focused on one group of organisms, failing to consider how animals’ environment directly impacts the structure of their play and …

Reconsidering Scales And The Binary In Forensic Anthropology: A Critical Analysis Of Morphoscopic Data Utilized In Sex Estimation Standards., Bailey N. Watson

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

This research explores sex estimation standards used in forensic anthropology in an effort to further the conversation about forensic anthropology's binary-focused language and methods. Discussions regarding sex estimation methodology are important in light of gender variance in the general population. Presently, there is minimal published research on the identification of gender non-conforming individuals in forensic anthropology.

Two researchers individually assigned scores to features associated with sexual dimorphism in the os coxae according to existing methods for 253 individuals, equally represented by self- reported males and females. These data were statistically analyzed for correlation and overlap between features.

Results mainly point …

Combating Frailty: Application Of A Modified Skeletal Frailty Index In Modern Military And Civilian Populations., Emily M. Frazier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conceptualizing, quantifying, and evaluating frailty in human skeletal remains is critical to understanding and interpreting physiological health and stress among past populations. While many researchers focus on frailty in bioarchaeological samples, developing models for mortality risk and individual- and population-specific indices of stress, no current methods directly address frailty in forensic contexts. This study considers the applicability of a modified index for assessing frailty in forensic anthropology by comparing distributions of 8 biomarkers of stress (linear enamel hypoplasia; periodontal disease; caries; osteoarthritis; intervertebral disc disease; rotator cuff disorder; antemortem fracture; and surgical procedure) using the original skeletal frailty index (SFI) …

"When The Voices Of Children Are Heard": Evaluating The Biological Effects Of Socioeconomic Status On Children In Postmedieval London., Ashley R. Ezzo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the most vulnerable members of society, children (and their treatment) may reveal important sociocultural and socioeconomic praxes throughout human history. During the Postmedieval period, children, especially low socioeconomic status (SES) individuals, participated in the workforce. By examining the demographic distributions and paleopathological profiles of juvenile skeletal remains from high SES (St. Bride’s Crypt and Chelsea Old Church) and low SES (St. Bride’s Lower and Crossbones) Postmedieval (1700-1850 CE) London cemeteries, we can better understand how SES impacted the biological health and mortality of children. While results indicated higher mortality risk associated with low SES circumstances, most differences in pathological …

In Vitro Immune Activation By Treponema Pallidum And The Effect On Osteoclastogenesis: First Experimental Step Towards An Integration Between Osteoimmunology And Paleopathology., Emily Ann Rich

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

The presence of pathogens in the human body influences the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines by activated immune cells. These cytokines, and other factors, regulate osteoclastogenesis and osteoclast activity. Through experimental osteoimmunology, interactions between the inflammatory response and bone cell physiology may provide insight into how immune processes can be translated into the lesions or abnormalities observed in the osteological record. In this research, our objective was to determine if the cytokines produced by activated immune cells increase osteoclastogenesis and osteoclast activity. To evaluate this hypothesis, we used two main protocols, one for immune activation and one for osteoclastogenesis, that utilized …

Experimental Immunology And The Potential For Osteopathological Reconstructions : Pursuing An Experimental Foundation For The Skeletal Inflammatory Index., Megan Elizabeth Duncanson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Individuals who mount a strong inflammatory response may produce a shift in the systemic levels of inflammatory mediators, which may lead to a potential hyper-inflammatory phenotype (HIP). Systemic inflammation can increase severity in local inflammatory processes detected in bone lesions. This thesis investigated in vitro if human immune cells pre-treated with inflammatory inducers would affect the inflammatory response against Porphyromonas gingivalis or Staphylococcus aureus (both associated with osteological lesions). We exposed human peripheral blood mononuclear cells to bacterial lysates, or pro-inflammatory cytokines. Sequentially, we exposed the same culture to either P. gingivalis or S. aureus. The final expression of …

This Is Just A Phase : The Impact Of Population Structure On Haplotype Phasing And Linkage Disequilibrium Measures At Functional Genetic Sites., Roxanne Kaaren Leiter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The block-like structure of the human genome has been the subject of many scientific papers and is of practical significance in large-scale genome-wide association studies. How stringent haplotype block boundaries are within and between populations has been the subject of ongoing debate within human population genetics. This thesis will contribute to the description of universal and population-specific haplotype blocks at functional sites, namely across the IL-10 gene family (including IL-10, IL-19, IL-20 and IL-24), which is involved in a number of immune system processes, and MAPKAP-K2, an adjacent and functionally significant kinase gene. Beyond the description of blocks across these …

Detecting Evidence Of Systemic Inflammation From Osteological Markers In The Indian Knoll Population Of Ohio County, Kentucky., Krysta Wilham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Indian Knoll is an Archaic shell midden site located in the Green River region of west-central Kentucky, and was excavated twice in the first half of the 20^th century. While Indian Knoll has been the subject of frequent bioarchaeological studies, the present study presents an osteological analysis of the relationships between skeletal markers commonly associated with local inflammatory processes, and that have the potential to be used as proxies for systemic inflammation. The analysis revealed a significant positive association in the presence of periodontal disease (PD) and periosteal lesions (PL), suggesting a potential underlying hyper-inflammatory status or phenotype. These …

Effect Of Migration, Carrying Capacity, And Fecundity On The Formation Of Clinal Patterns During Range Expansions., Neha J. Angal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Range expansions, empirically and in simulations, lead to clinal patterns of genetic diversity. Clines are often used as spatial markers of past migrations. This study investigated the effects of migration, growth, and carrying capacities on clinal patterns during range expansions, using forward-time simulations in Nemo. Initial results show, in the absence of prior population structure, range expansions result in a loss of diversity strongly affected by migration, growth, and carrying capacity. This loss of diversity did not persist to the final generation, corresponding to 10,000 years, indicating clinal patterns are less durable than previously assumed—challenging the utility of clinal patterns …

A Retrospective Study On The Effect Of Immunotherapy Treatment On Nasal Polyposis., Johanna Haejean Yun

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Inside the paranasal sinuses, multiple saclike masses protrude from the lining, blocking one’s sense of taste and smell, clogging one’s nose with nasal congestion, and causing a continuous runny nose with postnasal drip. This is a common case of nasal polyposis. Nasal polyposis affects up to four percent of the general population, making it one of the most common chronic diseases of the upper respiratory tract (Settipane 1996). Moreover, in cadaveric studies, the prevalence has been as high as 40% (Larson et al 1994). Nasal polyps commonly occur in adults over the age of 40, predominantly in males—with a 2:1 …

Upper Pleistocene Human Dispersals Out Of Africa: A Review Of The Current State Of The Debate, Amanuel Beyin

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Although there is a general consensus on African origin of early modern humans, there is disagreement about how and when they dispersed to Eurasia. This paper reviews genetic and Middle Stone Age/Middle Paleolithic archaeological literature from northeast Africa, Arabia, and the Levant to assess the timing and geographic backgrounds of Upper Pleistocene human colonization of Eurasia. At the center of the discussion lies the question of whether eastern Africa alone was the source of Upper Pleistocene human dispersals into Eurasia or were there other loci of human expansions outside of Africa? The reviewed literature hints at two modes of early …