Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

Using Fiber-Optic Reflectance Spectroscopy (Fors) To Identify Human Decomposition Fluid Characteristics In Plant Leaves And Soil, Anielle Duncan

Masters Theses

Anthropologists may be asked by law enforcement or family members to assist in the search for missing deceased individuals. The search areas are often in harsh, rugged terrain for which some technologies, such as ground penetrating radar, cannot be used. Fiber-optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) is a portable instrument that can collect information on plants and soil in the surrounding environment, even in austere environments. This study aimed to test whether FORS could be used to identify decomposition fluid in nearby plants and soil in the visible near-infrared (VNIR) and short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectral regions. Using FORS to analyze the spectral …

A Handy Study Of Secular Change In Metacarpals Using The Terry Collection And Utk Donated Skeletal Collection, Helen E. Martin

Masters Theses

Hand morphology reflects an individual’s physical interaction with the world around them. Technological innovation, improved nutrition and health, changes levels of physical activity, and other environmental factors provoke secular change in skeletal morphology. This study elaborates on previous secular change research that has documented the narrowing of the American skeletal form in recent American history, and it contributes new information to this field by focusing on metacarpals. By utilizing a dataset comprising individuals from the Robert J. Terry Collection (N=213) and adults from the UTK Donated Skeletal Collection (N=180), this study examines metacarpal morphology for secular change over a 170-year …

Dental Calculus: Future In Forensics, Emily Elgin

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Male And Female Rib Sternal Ends And The Effects Of Aging Using Elliptical Fourier Analysis, Marta M. Paulson

Masters Theses

Sex and age make up two of the main tenets of the biological profile. Most anthropologists would argue that sex is one of the most important aspects of the profile. When creating a biological profile, the first step is to estimate sex of the individual because this can affect age estimation using the os coxa or estimations of stature. Past studies have noted that even though ribs carry out the same function in males and females there are morphological differences that can affect age estimation using the ribs. This study uses Elliptical Fourier analysis to compare differences in overall shape …

Intra-Skeletal Variation In Stable Isotopes Through Non-Destructive Approaches: Applications Of The Patterns Of Skeletal Remodeling To Biological Anthropology, Armando Anzellini

Doctoral Dissertations

Stable isotope analysis is a well-established method in biological anthropology used to deliver data on residence, diet, and life history. Samples for these analyses are often collected from the diaphyses of long bones with an assumption of an expected rate of turnover between five and ten years, depending on the skeletal element. However, the biological foundations of this assumption are still uncertain, especially concerning the intra-skeletal and intra-element variation of isotopic signatures that may relate to patterns of remodeling. Exploring these gaps in intra-element isotopic variation requires fine-grained work using multiple bones from multiple individuals, but such work is limited …

Morbidity, Mortality, And Marginalization: An Intersectional Investigation Of Respiratory Stress And Differential Frailty In Industrial-Era England, Derek A. Boyd

Doctoral Dissertations

Respiratory disease affects more than one billion people today, particularly in urbanizing areas of low- and middle-income countries due to overcrowding, air pollution, poor sanitation, and differential access to life-sustaining resources. We can look to the past to understand the social, economic, and environmental factors that influence respiratory disease burden among urban dwellers because conditions in the urbanizing areas of antiquity mimic those observed in lower- and middle-income countries today. This study explored the impact of classism, sexism, and regional inequalities on respiratory disease burden among urban dwellers with differing levels of social and economic marginalization in England during the …

Sphenoidal Sinuses And Spherical Harmonics: Variation And Covariation Of The Most Morphologically Diverse And Least Understood Paranasal Sinus, Katharine Grace Josephine Ryan

Doctoral Dissertations

Understanding the shape variation of the human sphenoidal sinus is important to several areas of research. This includes clinical investigation (sinus pathology and safe endoscopic endonasal surgical practice) and paranasal sinus evolution (for which there is still no consensus). Yet, the sphenoidal sinus has high morphological variation, prohibiting its quantification through traditional geometric morphometric landmarking methods. The sphenoid body, and thus also the sinus contained within, is located directly at the developmental center of the basicranium in humans, where the three cranial fossae meet at the midline, and adjacent to the three synchondroses which are the sites of cranial base …

Body Size Interactions With Pubic Symphysis Age-At-Death Estimation: A Critical Analysis Of Senescence Of The Pubic Symphysis Components, Elizabeth A. Ronald

Masters Theses

Biological anthropologists struggle with accuracy and precision during age-at-death estimation when attempting to correlate biological age with chronological age, especially in older adults. Research has shown that intrinsic and extrinsic factors can cause this discrepancy. Anthropologists have recently found that body size may affect age-at-death estimation, with larger individuals being more commonly overaged and smaller individuals being underaged (Merritt, 2019; Wescott and Drew, 2015). This study elaborates on previous work in three ways. First, by applying Hartnett’s (2010) pubic symphysis phase method as the age-at-death estimation method used, which has not been assessed for body size interactions and is likely …

A Study Comparing “Better Body Bags” Versus Standard White Body Bags To Estimate Relative Preservation Of Human Genomic And Morphological Information, Serena A. Thariath

Masters Theses

In disaster scenarios, identification of the dead usually is delayed until after help is given to the living. During delays in recovery and transport of deceased individuals, decomposition of soft tissues will occur at a fast rate if individuals are not refrigerated. The Better Body Bag, or BBB, was designed for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) with features such as a vacuum seal, reflective coating, and absorbent pad to help delay the onset of decomposition that could render someone unidentifiable. In this study, the BBB was tested to determine if the individuals placed within a BBB yielded …

Ischiopubic Index: A Metric Approach To Estimating Sex In The Pelvic Region, Tripoli G. Mulvihill

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Secular Change In Croatian Male Crania: 1812-1973, Ileana Ilas

Masters Theses

The study of secular change is the study of changes that have taken place in the human body during recent centuries. Although changes that affect populations are generally understood to occur over many centuries and millennia, anthropological studies have shown that population changes have occurred in the last two centuries, over a relatively small time period comprising a mere two hundred years. Biological anthropologists in particular are interested in how the human skeleton has changed in recent history, whether in the limbs, the torso, or the cranium. Changes have been observed in all areas of the skeleton, and these changes …

Curvilinear Fractures In Burned Remains: An Assessment Of The Relationship Between Fracture Convexity And Fire Directionality, Kimber G. Cheek

Masters Theses

Burned remains present a challenge for forensic anthropologists due to the variable nature of fires, the unique way fires impact remains, and the impact of heat changes on the analysis of the remains. A topic of extensive study is the fracture patterns seen in burned remains. Curvilinear fractures are one type of fracture that was originally discussed in the context of studying the preburned state of remains (Baby, 1954; Binford, 1963; Buikstra and Swegle, 1989). These fractures are thought to be created through the kinetic energy generated as muscles shrink and pull on the periosteum, fracturing the bone below (Symes …

An Analysis Of Mincer's Method And Ut-Age, Sarah Hartman

Masters Theses

Third molars have the most developmental variation of all human dentition, yet Mincer’s method and the computer program UT-Age use third molars to estimate the age of migrants crossing the U.S. border. Most migrants subjected to dental exams are classified as Hispanic. However, the term and reference samples used to estimate age do not account for the possible population variation that the term “Hispanic” can encompass. Additionally, third molar reference samples do not address the possible influence of impaction on third molar development. The objective of this study is to assess the effects of various sources of third molar variation …

Simulating Fluvial Transport Patterns Of Human Remains In The Tennessee River, Karli Palmer

Masters Theses

Law enforcement and search and recovery personnel often encounter difficulties when trying to determine where to find a decedent within an aquatic environment. Drowning, boating accidents, and other water related deaths are not uncommon. However, expensive equipment such as sonar and remote operated vehicles, or specially trained rescue divers are often required when searching for remains. Due to both public health and ethical concerns, there is a lack of controlled studies on aquatic decomposition and fluvial transport of human remains, which has contributed to the difficulty of predicting where remains in the water may be located. The purpose of this …

Climate Change And Human Responses, Caroline Znachko, Armando Anzellini, Katherine Parker, Christa Hicks

Anthropology Publications and Other Works

The Department of Anthropology’s Visiting Lecture Research Series is an ongoing edited volume compiling research products created by (under)graduate students for the Department of Anthropology’s Visiting Lecture Program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Each volume in the series, compiled by its own (under)graduate student editors and approved by the Department Head, includes original research products by participating (under)graduate students.

The Department of Anthropology’s Visiting Lecture Program, also known as Current Trends in Anthropology (ANTH357/550), is a symposium held annually each fall semester with a different theme for the purpose of exposing students to anthropologists from around the world and …

Assessing Multiple Lines Of Evidence For Gene Flow In Archaeological Contexts, Angela Marie Mallard

Doctoral Dissertations

This multi-study dissertation assesses the ability of two skeletal analysis methods—a model-bound quantitative genetic method (Relethford-Blangero) and a model-free biological distance method (Mahalanobis’ D²)—to evaluate gene flow in the U.S. Southwest and Northwest Mexico based on archaeological models. The first study uses dental metric data from the Sonoran Desert and Mogollon Rim (c. 1600 B.C. to A.D. 1450) to pilot the Relethford-Blangero method in this context. Notably, the method shows that populations from two large sites have less than expected dental variance, failing to support a gene flow event despite material culture pointing to at least two coexisting …

Chemical Elemental Analysis Using Portable X-Ray Fluorescence As A Means Of Sorting Commingled Human Remains, Matthew Mikal Davis

Masters Theses

Anthropological analyses include the examination of individual skeletal elements to estimate the biological profile of an unknown individual (age, sex, stature, and ancestry). Commingled human remains (the remains of multiple individuals mixed together) present a significant challenge to these analyses. Commingled skeletal elements may appear similar in size and color, making visual determinations of which bones belong to a certain person insufficient to ensure accurate sorting. Furthermore, when remains are fragmentary as well as commingled, it is more complicated to re-associate each element with a single individual. Traditional methods of sorting commingled remains include pair matching, osteometrics, taphonomic assessment, and …

Finger Ridge-Counts Correlate With The Second To Fourth Digit Ratio [Post-Print], Richard Jantz

Anthropology Publications and Other Works

Objectives

This study examines the relationship of finger ridge-counts to second to fourth digit ratio, which has not yet been definitively demonstrated. The related question of sex dimorphism in finger ridge-counts is further elucidated.

Methods

A sample of Germans, including 1134 males and 1031 females, was examined for sex dimorphism in the finger ridge-counts. Second and fourth digit lengths were measured in a sub-sample of 91 males and 100 females to compute second to fourth digit ratio. Principal component scores were obtained to investigate sex dimorphism and the correlation between ridge-counts and digit ratio. Regression and analysis of covariance were …

Reconstructing The History Of Koch Cemetery, Clare Remy

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

This project examined commingled and fragmentary skeletal remains from Koch Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri, where thousands of epidemic victims were buried in mass graves. There were two primary research objectives: 1) to use archival research to construct a site history and understand patient demographics, and 2) to decommingle and estimate collection population. Archival research used Ancestry LE and Newspapers.com to collect data on the demographics of the dead and historical social dynamics of healthcare. Zooarchaeological and forensic anthropological methods, including zonation and landmark analysis, were used to estimate the minimum number of individuals (MNI) and most likely number of …

Reconstructing The History Of Koch Cemetery, Clare Remy

Select or Award-Winning Individual Scholarship

This project examined commingled and fragmentary skeletal remains from Koch Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri, where thousands of epidemic victims were buried in mass graves. There were two primary research objectives: 1) to use archival research to construct a site history and understand patient demographics, and 2) to decommingle and estimate collection population. Archival research used Ancestry LE and Newspapers.com to collect data on the demographics of the dead and historical social dynamics of healthcare. Zooarchaeological and forensic anthropological methods, including zonation and landmark analysis, were used to estimate the minimum number of individuals (MNI) and most likely number of …

Assessing The Precision Of Cranial And Mandibular Morphoscopic Traits From 3d Surface Scans, Sarah Thomas Schwing

Masters Theses

Virtual anthropological (VA) methods have been successfully used to capture metric data in the form of standard caliper measurements as well as volumetric data from various human skeletal elements. Virtual anthropological investigations of morphoscopic traits have increased over the past two decades, however, greater attention has been paid to investigations of metric data and to the use of CT technologies. Few studies have focused on morphoscopic data and fewer have employed 3D surface scans in data collection. Morphoscopic VA studies largely pertain to age estimation using the os coxa; fewer pertain to sex estimation and, to the author’s knowledge, no …

Pterion And Broca’S Area: An Exploration Of Asymmetry In The K-S Distance, Bryn R. Dalrymple

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Anatomage Table 6, Melanie A. Allen, Niki Kirkpatrick, Elizabeth R. Agosto

UT Libraries Faculty: Peer-Reviewed Publications

Anatomage Table 6, which launched in the fall of 2018, is the latest software for users of the Anatomage Virtual Dissection Table. Anatomage Table 6 comprises numerous virtual anatomy dissection and study tools for use by anatomy students and instructors. This review provides an overview and assessment of Anatomage Table 6’s primary tools and advanced navigation features.

Mass Grave Detection With The Use Of Geophysics, Madelyn M. Knaub

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Identifying Cystic Fibrosis (Cf) Skeletally: A Proposed Differential Diagnosis, Clare Remy

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disorder that affects the mucosal lining of the lungs and digestive system due to a defective gene that causes blockages of tubes, ducts, and passageways. The type of mutation correlates with the severity of the condition, but with modern medicine individuals can live into their 50s. We propose a differential diagnosis for identifying CF in the skeleton based on bony pathologies that occur in higher frequency in CF patients. CF patients exhibit chronic sinusitis, clubbing of hands and feet, vertebral fractures/collapse and abnormal curvature, significantly shorter stature, lower bone density, rib fractures, and an …

Understanding How Racism Physically Feels In The Moment For Young African American Women, Emma M. Burklin

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Variation In Cortical Bone Distribution In The Aging Adult Appendicular Skeleton, Alice Fazlollah Gooding

Doctoral Dissertations

This study considers the effects of age on the distribution of bone in the adult skeleton. Age effects on the skeleton have been studied for diagnosis of osteoporosis or as mechanical compensatory changes to bone shape with loss in density. However, adult skeletal morphology is the result of a lifetime of genetic, dietary, activity, and biochemical factors. With these influences, it unclear at what age(s) bone geometry shifts to adapt to the physiological and mechanical demands placed on it, or, how these adaptations vary within and between bones.

This research addresses these questions by examining skeletal data obtained from the …

The Influence Of Body Size On Sexual Dimorphism, Haley Elizabeth Horbaly

Masters Theses

Accurate sex estimation of human skeletal remains is imperative for skeletal biologists, and relies upon the sexual dimorphism between males and females in a population. The degree of dimorphism, and hence the accuracy of sex estimation methods, are known to vary among populations, and while such global patterns have been well studied, the underlying causes of this variation are relatively unclear. Body size—a sexually dimorphic trait that also varies among populations—has previously been shown to affect skeletal morphology, yet whether specific body size parameters, such as stature and body mass, influence the expression of traits used for nonmetric sex estimation …

An Exploration Of The Effects Of Taphonomy On Isotope Ratios Of Human Hair, Tiffany Bivens Saul

Doctoral Dissertations

Isotope analyses of human remains have been conducted with growing frequency over the past thirty years in anthropology, in both archaeological and forensic contexts. Analyses of isotope ratios of elements such as carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, and strontium from teeth, bones, and hair have provided information regarding individual diet and geographic movement during different life stages. Hair grows at a predictable rate and provides a serial recording of diet and travel history for the weeks and months just prior to death. What has not been systematically studied is whether postmortem decompositional changes to the body have an effect upon isotope …

The Effects Of Racialization On European American Stress In The Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries, Kimberly T. Wren

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores disparities in stress among European Americans (EA) and between EA and African Americans (AA) in racialized communities in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Comparisons among EA and between EA and AA are conducted to understand the biological consequences of racialization. Racialization is the process of assigning people to hierarchical categories for purposes of political, social, and economic discrimination. This dissertation investigates how racialization might have affected childhood stress using biocultural theory and facets of critical archaeology theory. Indicators of stress from skeletonized individuals in the William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection, Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection, and the Robert …