Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

A Bioarchaeological Investigation Of The Courtney-Anderson Cemetery, Lauren Scott

Master's Theses

Located in Perry County, Mississippi, the Anderson Family Cemetery represents an abandoned turn-of-the-century Piney Woods cemetery. The cemetery is located on land once owned by the Courtney and Anderson families, who farmed the area until it was taken under eminent domain by the United States government in 1942. The purpose of this thesis is to present three osteobiographies created from human remains and material culture recovered from three graves excavated from within the cemetery in 2022 to explore the lifeways of rural Piney Woods families of Mississippi at the turn-of-the-century.

Among the graves explored, one did not contain evidence of …

Subadult Cortical Bone Analysis As An Indicator Of Childhood Health Status Among The Tipu Maya Population, Jaime Thomas

Master's Theses

This thesis explores juvenile health at the contact Maya site of Tipu in western Belize. The associated cemetery was excavated and provided a large and well-preserved population. Although Tipu has been a focus of many studies, few studies have focused on subadults and none on their cortical development, which can allow insight into access to necessary nutritional resources.

Some 108 femora belonging to individuals aged birth to 13 years with femora previously sectioned at midshaft provided the sample. External dimensions taken included diaphyseal length, circumference, medial-lateral diameter and anterior-posterior diameter. Additionally, cortical thickness was measured at four points, and 95 …

An Assessment Of The Use Of Photogrammetry In Cranial Metric And Non-Metric Studies, Amy Hair

Master's Theses

Methods in biological anthropology have made tremendous leaps in recent years and with the increasing rise in technology there is no reason to suspect that this trend will be decreasing. Particularly methods in 3D digitization have not only increased but have also become more accessible in bioarchaeology. One method, photogrammetry, offers bioarcheologists a unique opportunity to easily collect and process cranial metric and non-metric data that can be used to quantify biological relatedness. While these advances are expected to continue, it is ignorant to assume that they represent a fail proof solution. A critical examination is necessary to quantify the …

Three-Dimensional Analysis Of The Development Of Upper Arm Musculoskeletal Stress Markers In Late Adolescents And Young Adults Of Archaic And Mississippian Populations Of Tennessee, Heather Marie Guzik

Master's Theses

This study compares three methods for the evaluation of morphology of musculoskeletal attachment sites. Two methods were macroscopic and the third was microscopic, utilizing three-dimensional laser scanning and fractal analysis The morphology of 19 upper limb attachment sites was observed in 33 males aged 15 and 30+ years, dating to the Archaic and Mississippian periods from the southeastern U.S. It was hypothesized that 1) the microscopic method would identify subtler differences than the macroscopic methods; 2) enthesis development would be greater in the Mississippian population due to the increased subsistence workload, even among younger individuals; and 3) late adolescents would …

Paleopathology At The Shady Grove Site (22qu525): A Study Of Health In The Upper Yazoo Basin During The Middle Mississippian Period, Christopher Brady Davis

Master's Theses

The Mississippian Period (AD 1000-1539) is characterized by increasingly sedentary populations, mound building, ranked societies, and intensified agriculture. As agriculture spread throughout the Eastern Woodlands, it led to widespread health consequences, including poor nutrition and increased levels of infection. Also, environmental shifts during the Mississippian Period (AD 1000-1539) caused drier conditions, potentially leading to crop failures further exacerbating nutritional problems.

This thesis focuses on the health of the Shady Grove site in the Upper Yazoo Basin, a Middle to Late Mississippian medium sized mound center where an ossuary containing up to 100 individuals was excavated in 2010. Focusing only on …

One Big Puzzle, Two Thousand Tiny Pieces: An Analysis Of The Juvenile Remains From The Shady Grove Ossuary, Jaimie Arlene Ide

Master's Theses

This thesis is an inventory and analysis of the juvenile remains excavated in 2010 from a Middle Mississippian ossuary at the Shady Grove site (22QU525), located in the Mississippi Delta. This project presents a clear challenge given the commingled and incomplete nature of the sample, as well as the preservation biases associated with subadult material, but this research offers valuable insight into the demographic pattern of the larger population at the site, as well as the mortuary practices which created the ossuary at Shady Grove. A “bone-by-bone” inventory revealed the presence of 43 juvenile individuals between the ages of 0 …

A Paleopathological Analysis Of The Moran French Colonial Cemetery, Jennifer Lynn Funkhouser

Master's Theses

This research examines the health experiences of early eighteenth-century European immigrants to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Most were low-status individuals forcibly expulsed from France and brought to Biloxi to colonize Louisiana. Historical records report the immigration effort was poorly provisioned and that large numbers died from malnutrition and disease soon after arrival. The remains of 30 adults, presumably colonists from this period based on collagen dating and grave goods, have been recovered at the Moran site (22HR511). DNA analysis (n = 8) suggests all are European. Most are males, and only one lived past age 40. Estimated mean height is …