Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

Lucy Through The Years -- Temporal Trends In The Australopithecus Dentition, Olivia Ervin

Anthropology Undergraduate Honors Theses

Australopithecus afarensis, an extinct human ancestor (ca. 3.75 – 2.95 million years ago) first distinguished in 1978, has a dense fossil record. Until recently, A. afarensis fossils were primarily known from two locations, Laetoli, Tanzania, and Hadar, Ethiopia, that are approximately 1750 kilometers apart. Additionally, there is no temporal overlap between the sites; fossils from Laetoli are older than 3.5 Ma and those from Hadar stretch from 3.4 – 3.0 Ma. For some tooth positions, the Laetoli and Hadar fossils subtly differ in size and shape. Previous research indicated that some of these differences could be attributable to evolutionary change, …

The Impacts Of Environment And Host Evolutionary Relationships On Lemur Microbiota, Rachel B. Burten

Doctoral Dissertations

Recent studies have shown that the mammal microbiome is modified by environmental conditions, and that reduced microbiome functionality is associated with host health issues. Microbiome data in wild and captive primate populations can therefore be used to assess their health as they encounter a variety of environments. Comparative studies of the microbiome can also inform disease ecology, conservation, and captive management strategies tailored to different primate species. Therefore, this study examines how the hair, oral, and gut microbiota of nine wild and captive lemur species are determined by host phylogenetic relationships and host environment. I found that host species identity …

Stable Carbon And Nitrogen Isotope Analysis Of Infant Feeding Practices And Stress In 18th-19th Century Pointe-Aux-Trembles, Québec, Sydney Holland

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis is a bioarchaeological study of infant feeding practices and early life stress in 18th -19th century Pointe-aux-Trembles, a rural community near Montréal, Québec that was known to practice wet nursing. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of 62 incremental dentine samples were used to reconstruct the feeding histories of 10 infants (age) interred between 1709-1843. At least 6 of 10 infants display evidence of breastfeeding, with weaning foods (e.g., porridge, bread) typically introduced between ~1.5-5.5 months of age and weaning completion around 10.5-13.5 months. Isotopic and/or dental evidence of stress (e.g., enamel hypoplasia) was identified in 8 of …

The Effects Of Diet, Size, And Phylogeny On Primate Dental Proportions, Rudolph J. Wilkins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It is generally appreciated that there is a relationship between the relative size of the incisors, mandible length, and diet in primates. More specifically, the differences in relative incisor size among primate species are believed to be evolutionary adaptations to their use during food processing and acquisition. While this satisfactorily explains relatively large incisors, it fails to address the relatively small incisor size seen in many taxa. One hypothesis is that there is a trade-off between molar size and incisor size in species with relatively short mandibles. The following study uses two-way ANOVA to evaluate the possibility that spatial constraint …

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 …

Sociocultural And Familial Factors Associated With Symptom Experience At Midlife Among Women In Nagaland, India, Peteneinuo Rulu

Doctoral Dissertations

This cross-sectional study examines the sociocultural and familial factors that are associated with symptom experience at midlife among women in Nagaland. More specifically, the study examines the factors associated with symptoms at midlife, the relationship between symptoms at midlife, household stressors, ethnopolitical problems, and various measures of stress, and the buffering effects of social support against the negative effects of stress on symptoms at midlife. Data from 151 women aged 40-55 were collected from 4 regions in Nagaland, India. The most common symptoms reported during the past two weeks were headaches (72%), tiredness or lack of energy (67.5%), and hot …

Avian Scavenging In The Forensic Context, Austin Millwood

Senior Theses

Many cultures have recognized the importance of birds in scavenging. However, within forensic literature and research, avian scavenging is an understudied phenomenon. Despite this, researchers have shown that scavenging by birds is unique from other types of scavenging in that birds can rapidly cause complete skeletonization, leave relatively little bone damage, and can spread remains and artifacts over a large area. Here birds known to scavenge are explained in a biological context and then their effects on remains are analyzed. Birds are capable of completely scavenging human remains in as little as 5 hours, depending on many understudied factors. Avian …

Head Shapes And Toothaches: A Study Of Cranial Modification And Dental Pathology At Muna, A Late Pre-Hispanic Cemetery From The Archaeological Sanctuary Of Pachacamac (Lima, Perú)., T Naomi Nakahodo Moromizato

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis is a bioarchaeological analysis of cranial modification and dental pathology in a sample of human remains excavated from the pre-Hispanic MUNA cemetery. This cemetery was on the outskirts of the Archaeological Sanctuary of Pachacamac in the Lurín Valley. The cemetery was comprised of disturbed skeletal remains and relatively well preserved fardos funerarios (funerary bundles) from the Late Intermediate Period (1100-1470 CE) and early Late Horizon (1470-1532 CE). The results of this thesis show that the skeletal remains and fardos likely belonged to a single community, and the analyzed sample showed intra-site variation of the fronto-occipital cranial modification. The …

Shoe Modifications And Foot Health: A Case Study From Roman Britain, Casey Elizabeth Kay Boettinger

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this thesis, I undertake an examination of foot care practices in Antiquity. The majority of the discussion surrounding foot care comes from evidence of shoe modifications at Vindolanda, a Roman auxiliary fort located in northern Britain. I provide a general discussion about herbal and non-herbal remedies for foot conditions, as recorded by medical authors. This discussion precedes a case study of selected shoes from Vindolanda, where I write about five modification types that demonstrate the sort of knowledge that existed at Vindolanda. The findings from this thesis suggest that podiatric knowledge and foot care existed as early as the …

Understanding The Environmental And Genetic Influence On Fluctuating Asymmetry And Developmental Instability In Primates, Ashly N. Romero

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explored the impact of environmental factors on the development and perpetuation of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and sought to understand the role evolution may play in the FA exhibited in two primate populations: the free-ranging Cayo Santiago rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and the Southwest National Primate Research Center olive baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis). Demographic, ontogenetic, secular, external, and genetic factors were examined. Specifically, this dissertation investigated FA over all ontogenetic stages, across decades, between sexes, in association with ecological catastrophes, and with tooth pathology to try and tease apart factors that may influence FA and developmental instability. This dissertation …

Cultural Behaviors And Their Influence On The Proximal Femur: Comparisons Of Postural Behavior, Occupation, And Subsistence-Settlement Between A Pre-Contact And Historic Sample, Joanna Klein

Master's Theses

Little is known archaeologically about the Late Woodland Schroeder Mounds mortuary group from west-central Illinois. As such, bioarchaeological data is at the forefront of archaeological problem-solving for not only the site, but the geographical area as well. Skeletal data such as proximal femur angles and activity markers contribute to the understanding of subsistence-settlement trends and postural behavior of the mortuary complex. Femoral neck version is associated with postural behaviors such as squatting and kneeling. The neck-shaft angle is linked to mobility and settlement patterns. Bicondylar angle was explored to see if behaviors had any affect. Allen’s fossa and Poirier’s facet …

Social Tolerance, Cooperation, And Constraint Shape Differentiated Social Relationships In Female Chimpanzees, Stephanie Fox

Anthropology ETDs

In this dissertation, I investigate variables that promote and constrain female-female social relationships in chimpanzees, a species where females disperse at sexual maturity, reside primarily among non-kin as adults, and where fission fusion social structure can reveal how female social behavior responds to different social contexts. I conducted my research using a combination of detailed behavioural data that I collected during a one-year field season (2019-2020) and long-term data (2010-2019) collected by the Kibale Chimpanzee Project. I show that female chimpanzees form stable, differentiated social relationships, which reflect active preferences and variation in social tolerance (Chapter 2); females leverage these …

An Investigation Into Peak Limb Compliance In College Sprinters, Lilian Sahibdeen

Anthropology

During running, the limb acts as a mechanical spring where it compresses and recoils to release elastic potential energy with each ground contact. Maintaining maximal running speed is particularly important during sprinting. Individuals with stiffer limb springs are more efficient because of this. Limb stiffness can be calculated using Hooke’s law (k=F/ ΔL), where k is the spring constant, F is the peak ground reaction force, and ΔL is the change in hip height between the initiation of limb contact and the middle stance phase. Many factors contribute to limb stiffness and this study examines how stiffness variers with contact …

Gendered Bodies, Engendered Lives: Bioarchaeological Exploration Of The Intersectionality Of Gender, Health, And Trauma At Turkey Creek Pueblo, Arizona (Ad 1225-1286), Claira Elizabeth Ralston

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation examines the relationships between sex, gender, and health at Turkey Creek Pueblo (AD 1225-1286), the earliest aggregated Pueblo community in the Point of Pines region of east central Arizona, to better understand their roles in producing differential health outcomes. To gain a view of these interactions, I use osteological, mortuary, and ethnohistoric data to explore how gender, as a social institution, informed divisions of labor and experiences with traumatic injury at Turkey Creek Pueblo, because this site was occupied during a socially dynamic and important period in the pre-contact American Southwest. Using these data, I explore how sex, …

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 Microwear Of Miocene Primates From The Turkana Basin Of Northern Kenya, Leah K. Myerholtz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Comprehending the dietary patterns of Turkana Basin primates from the late Paleogene and early Neogene can contextualize the role of food choice in the evolution of higher primates in Africa. Dental Microwear Texture Analysis (DMTA) quantifies wear on the enamel of a tooth and can be used as a proxy to infer aspects of a taxon’s diet in the past. DMTA can provide insight into what specific animals in the past ate, rather than what they were capable of eating, and by extension, reflect food availability related to habitat preferences or environmental fluctuation. Here, primates from six Oligocene through Pliocene …

Monitoring Welfare In Captive Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes) Using Individual Positional Behavior And Substrate Use Profiles, Joseph Lara

Theses and Dissertations

The welfare of captive chimpanzees partly depends on the structural features present in their enclosure. An individual’s manner of expressing positional behaviors depends on these environmental characteristics and may be reflective of their physical and mental health. This thesis seeks to further the scientific understanding of the relationships between positional behavior, substrate use and captive chimpanzee welfare. In pursuit of this goal, I designed and installed a novel vertical climbing aid onto a climbable platform structure within an enclosure at the chimpanzee sanctuary, Chimp Haven, in an effort to encourage mobility and vertical space use in the enclosure’s residents. Additionally, …

The Scaling Method: Body Mass Reconstruction Of East African Hominins, Julianna Rose

Anthropology Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis details a series of novel methods developed to estimate body masses of hominin fossils using 3-D point cloud registration software. All analyses were conducted through 3-D modeling software that supported the remote study of five fossil femora from East Africa. The fossil computer models were repeatedly aligned with anatomically modern human femora to determine their scaling relationship with the objective of using the scaling factor of the human references to estimate the body mass of the fossils, on the basis of the femoral head breadth. Body mass estimates obtained through this technique were compared to estimates using more …

Dental Calculus: Future In Forensics, Emily Elgin

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

An Exploration Of The Correlation Between Body Mass And Skeletal Measurements Of The Long Bone Joints And Diaphyses, Caroline Genius

Honors Theses

Body mass is a characteristic of the human body that can aid in narrowing down potential identifications of unidentified individuals. However, when faced with skeletal remains, body mass is not easily ascertained, especially when the remains are incomplete. This research explores the potential correlation between body mass and long bone dimensions in order to aid in identification efforts. The limited research done prior has been conducted almost exclusively on the lower limbs—therefore, one of the primary foci of this study is to assess the efficacy of using the joint surfaces and shaft measurements of the upper limbs. Five long bones …

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 …

Fatty Females And Muscular Males: Investigating Human Sexual Dimorphism Across The Upper And Lower Skeleton, Brooklin Edwards

Anthropology Undergraduate Honors Theses

The sexual dimorphism profile of human body composition produces a unique pattern. Compared to other primates, humans have a mild size dimorphism; however, human males have a particularly muscular upper body and human females have a permanent fatty composition. These findings have resulted in varying interpretations related to sexual selection, mating systems, and male competition. Using humerus and femur measurements collected from 9 primate species, we investigated how the pronounced sexually dimorphic tissue composition of humans influences skeletal elements compared to the other primates. We hypothesized that over the course of human evolution, human females developed a body composition that …

“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 …

“... I Thought You Were Black .” An Autoethnographic Exploration Of The Fragmentation Of Identity And Culture., Sherley Arias-Pimentel

Honors Theses

"If anthropology doesn't break your heart, then you're not doing it right." - Ruth Behar Writing this thesis has been a trying experience. Within these pages, you will find the therapeutic expedition of a caramel-colored, Spanish-speaking, second-generation black Dominican woman from Newark, NJ who took advantage of this research opportunity to better understand the racial and ethnic parts of her identity which have caused her much turmoil and low self-esteem. Centering myself, my identity, and my story in this research and grappling with the complexities of the subject matter has been an exhausting yet liberating experience. I have contemplated many …

Error Rates In Sex Determination Of Human Skeletal Remains, Vanessa Slone

Anthropology

The possible fallibility of forensic methods has been under scrutiny for over a decade. Left out of the initial reviews were methods within forensic anthropology. A literature review was conducted to examine modern methods in determining the biological sex of human skeleton remains and their associated error rates in making a correct determination. Results showed no significant correlation between the number of traits being considered the subsequent error rate in determining sex. The skull was shown to be the least accurate in determining biological sex with the pelvis showing the lowest rate of error. Finally, between regression line-based methods and …

Humanity's Fate: An Analysis Of Speculative Human Evolution In Literary Fiction, Celeste T. Johnson

Senior Theses

Speculative human evolution is a literature subgenre of science fiction that explores the potential future of humanity and descendant species. Little academic research has been done to evaluate the scientific accuracy of works of this genre or assess the relationship between the themes presented in the works and our current world. Future human species and their evolutionary journeys were assessed for scientific possibility through comparison with current research in fields such as anthropology, evolutionary biology, and sociology. It was found that the species depicted in works of speculative human evolution were largely based in scientific accuracy and could possibly exist …

Variation In Habitual Activity And Body Composition: A Segmental Body Comparison Of Runners And Swimmers, Madelyn Hertz

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There is considerable evidence that differences in patterns of habitual activity influence the distribution of skeletal tissue within the human skeleton, but little is known about variation in soft tissue. This thesis examines body composition and surface scan data from runners, swimmers, and a ‘recreational control’ population to investigate differences in the properties of limb segment surface areas and volumes, muscle mass, and fat mass. It also explores the relationship between activity and aging through the examination of body composition and volumetric measurements in older-adult habitual swimmers. The findings show that resulting limb segment properties support assumptions of running as …

Environmental Drivers Of Dispersal In Black-And-White Ruffed Lemurs (Varecia Variegata), Amanda Mancini

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Dispersal is a fundamental aspect of primates’ lives, influencing population connectivity through gene flow, driving community structure and assembly, and having important consequences for adaptation and speciation. Primates disperse within an environmental context, with both intervening and local environmental factors affecting the motivation, capacity, timing, and success of dispersal at all phases. Direct evaluations of primate dispersal are challenging given the rarity of dispersal events and the large distances that animals often settle from their departure site, therefore indirect measures– such as the use of population genetic data– are more common.

The field of landscape genetics enables researchers to combine …

Stable Isotope Analysis Of Breastfeeding And Weaning Practices In 19th Century Montreal, Jess Sadlowski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A plethora of changes occurred in nineteenth century Montreal including industrialization, population growth, urbanization, and women in the workforce. These changes likely affected how infants and children were cared for, including breastfeeding and weaning practices. Using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of serial dentine sections of 21 teeth from a French-Canadian population interred at Saint Antoine (AD 1799-1854), this study reconstructs infant feeding practices from a low-middle socioeconomic status population. Adult female diet emphasized C₃ foods with variable terrestrial and aquatic protein. Lack of isotope results limited information about the diets of subadults. In one individual, weaning was …

From Micro To Macro: Examining Potential Microbiome Mediated Influences On Human Growth And Health Outcomes Through Breastfeeding And Antibiotic Exposures, Nicole K. Phillips

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Human microbiome research has rapidly developed over the past two decades yet absent from most research is the composition and dynamics of microbiomes within human populations. Given the limitations in longitudinal studies which requires decades of repeated microbe taxonomic testing of a population sample, an alternative option is to examine microbiomes and their influences via proxies using pre-existing health datasets. This research demonstrates preliminary associations between presumed disrupted and supportive microbiomes dynamics proxied by antibiotic and breastmilk exposure respectively. Using health record data across the life span from approximately 500,000 U.K. participants, this research demonstrates variable altered growth and health …