Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

Lifestyle Of Shellmound Builders In Brazil (Galley Proofs), Sabine Eggers, C. C. Petronilho, K. Brandt, J. Filippini, Karl J. Reinhard

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The contact of inland and coastal prehistoric groups in Brazil is believed to have been restricted to regions with no geographical barrier, as is the case in the Ribeira de Iguape valley. The inland osteological collection from the riverine shellmound Moraes (5800–4500 BP) represents a unique opportunity to test this assumption for this region. Despite cultural similarities between riverine and coastal shellmounds, important ecological and site distribution differences are expected to impact on lifestyle. The purpose of this study is thus to document and interpret health and lifestyle indicators in Moraes in comparison to coastal shellmound groups. Specifically we test …

Mechanical Properties Of Plant Underground Storage Organs And Implications For Dietary Models Of Early Hominins, Nathaniel J. Dominy, Erin R. Vogel, Justin D. Yeakel, Paul J. Constantino, Peter W. Lucas

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

The diet of early human ancestors has received renewed theoretical interest since the discovery of elevated d13C values in the enamel of Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus. As a result, the hominin diet is hypothesized to have included C4 grass or the tissues of animals which themselves consumed C4 grass. On mechanical grounds, such a diet is incompatible with the dental morphology and dental microwear of early hominins. Most inferences, particularly for Paranthropus, favor a diet of hard or mechanically resistant foods. This discrepancy has invigorated the longstanding hypothesis that hominins consumed plant underground storage organs (USOs). Plant USOs are …

The Multiple Dimensions Of Male Social Status In An Amazonian Society, Christopher Von Rueden, Michael Gurven, Hillard Kaplan

ESI Publications

"In all human societies, individuals differ in social status depending upon their age and personal ability (Sahlins, 1958; Service, 1971). In laboratory-based small group studies, status hierarchies emerge spontaneously (Bass, 1954; Campbell et al., 2002; Kalma, 1991). Even among “egalitarian” foragers, who are characterized by widespread resource sharing (Kaplan & Gurven, 2005; Winterhalder, 1986) and some degree of status-leveling (Cashdan, 1980), certain individuals consume more resources, get the best pick of mates, and take a more central role in group decision-making (Boehm, 1999; Trigger, 1985; Wiessner, 1996). Whether implicit or overt, classification by social status is a human universal. While …

Inferences Regarding The Diet Of Extinct Hominins: Structural And Functional Trends In Dental And Mandibular Morphology Within The Hominin Clade, Peter W. Lucas, Paul J. Constantino, Bernard A. Wood

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

This contribution investigates the evolution of diet in the Pan – Homo and hominin clades. It does this by focusing on 12 variables (nine dental and three mandibular) for which data are available about extant chimpanzees, modern humans and most extinct hominins. Previous analyses of this type have approached the interpretation of dental and gnathic function by focusing on the identification of the food consumed (i.e. fruits, leaves, etc.) rather than on the physical properties (i.e. hardness, toughness, etc.) of those foods, and they have not specifically addressed the role that the physical properties of foods play in determining dental …

Aging And Inflammation In Two Epidemiological Worlds, Michael Gurven, Hillard Kaplan, Jeffrey Winking, Caleb Finch, Eileen M. Crimmins

ESI Publications

Humans evolved in a world with high levels of infection resulting in high mortality across the life span and few survivors to advanced ages. Under such conditions, a strong acute-phase inflammatory response was required for survival; however, inflammatory responses can also promote chronic diseases of aging. We hypothesize that global historical increases in life span at older ages are partly explained by reduced lifetime exposure to infection and subsequent inflammation. To begin a test of this hypothesis, we compare C-reactive protein (CRP); levels in two populations with different epidemiological environments: the Tsimane of Bolivia and persons in the United States. …

Bent Bones: The Pathological Assessment Of Two Fetal Skeletons From The Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt, Darcy Cope

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study evaluates two fetal individuals (B532 and B625) from the Kellis 2 cemetery (Roman period circa A.D. 50 A.D. 450), Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt, that display skeletal anomalies that may explain their death. Both individuals exhibit bowing of the long bones in addition to other skeletal deformities unique to each individual. To assess these pathologies a differential diagnosis based on the congenital occurrence of long bone bowing is developed. Long bone bowing is selected because it is the more prevalent abnormality in the paleopathological literature and the other abnormalities are not as easily identifiable in the literature. For the …

Disturbing Constructions Of Tropical Savannas And The People Who Burn Them, Cynthia Fowler

Faculty Scholarship

The transition from equilibrium to non-equilibrium models of ecosystems in the biological sciences during the past several decades parallels an evolution in the ways that anthropologists understand culture. Reconceptualizations of ecosystem processes (e.g., disturbance) and units (e.g., landscapes) are apparent in fire science where they have influenced a conversion from the belief that fire is a destructive artificial force to the belief that fire is a controllable natural element. What adjustments have fire scientists made in their understandings of people who ignite fires? Even though fire science literature is voluminous, the sociocultural and biophysical relationships surrounding fire are insufficiently understood. …

Use Of Palm Trees As A Sleeping Site By Hamadryas Baboons In Ethiopia, Amy Schreier, Larissa Swedell

Publications and Research

Hamadryas baboons sleep on cliffs throughout their range, and this can be attributed to the safety cliffs provide against predators in the absence of tall trees. In this paper, we report the first documented occurrence of hamadryas baboons sleeping in doum palm trees rather than on cliffs. Data derive from a study of hamadryas baboons at the Filoha site in lowland Ethiopia. During all-day follows, data were collected on travel patterns, band activity, and location. Variation in the baboons’ home range was characterized using vegetation transects. We discovered that one band in this population, Band 3, occasionally slept in doum …

Composition And Seasonality Of Diet In Wild Hamadryas Baboons: Preliminary Findings From Filoha, Larissa Swedell, Getenet Hailemeskel, Amy Schreier

Publications and Research

Here we report the first year-round quantitative data on dietary composition and seasonality in wild hamadryas baboons. Study subjects were adult male members of Band 3 at the Filoha field site in central lowland Ethiopia. Data collection consisted of 10-minute focal samples during all-day follows 4-6 days per month over the course of one year. The two largest contributors to the diet were Hyphaene thebaica and Acacia senegal, and these were the only plant species found in the diet during every month of the year. Other relatively major contributors to the diet, such as Cyperus grandibulbosus, Seddera bagshawei, …

Structural Bone Density Of Pacific Cod (Gadus Macrocephalus) And Halibut (Hippoglossus Stenolepis): Taphonomic And Archaeological Implications, Ross E. Smith

Dissertations and Theses

Describing prehistoric human subsistence strategies and mobility patterns using archaeofaunal assemblages requires archaeologists to differentiate the effects of human behavior from natural taphonomic processes. Previous studies demonstrate that differences in bone density both within and between taxa contribute to variation in element representation in archaeofaunal assemblages. Measurements of contemporary Pacific Cod (Gadus macrocephalus) and Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) skeletal elements using Dual Energy Absorptiometry (DEXA) and hydrostatic weighing revealed differences in bone volume density between elements and taxa.

Density values were highest in Pacific cod and halibut jaw elements; the lowest bone volume densities were measured in Pacific cod and …

Paranthropus Boisei: Fifty Years Of Evidence And Analysis, Bernard A. Wood, Paul J. Constantino

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

Paranthropus boisei is a hominin taxon with a distinctive cranial and dental morphology. Its hypodigm has been recovered from sites with good stratigraphic and chronological control, and for some morphological regions, such as the mandible and the mandibular dentition, the samples are not only relatively well dated, but they are, by paleontological standards, reasonably-sized. This means that researchers can trace the evolution of metric and nonmetric variables across hundreds of thousands of years. This paper is a detailed1 review of half a century’s worth of fossil evidence and analysis of P. boisei and traces how both its evolutionary history and …

Settlement Patterns In The Lower Mississippi River Valley, Carl Philipp Lipo, Robert C. Dunnell

Anthropology Datasets

No abstract provided.

The Evolution Of Zinjanthropus Boisei, Paul J. Constantino, Bernard A. Wood

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

Many people assume that OH 5, the type specimen of Paranthropus boisei, collected in 1959, was the first evidence of that taxon to be found, but OH 3, recovered in 1955, predated the discovery of OH 5 by four years. Thus, Paranthropus boisei recently celebrated the equivalent of its fiftieth birthday. This review marks that milestone by examining the way our understanding of this taxon has changed during its fifty, or so, year history.

Cod Fish, Walrus, And Chieftains: Economic Intensification In The Norse North Atlantic, Sophia Perdikaris, Thomas H. Mcgovern

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

Introduction

Just over a thousand years ago, Scandinavian voyagers crossed the grey waters of the North Atlantic to briefly explore the coast of North America. These now well publicized transatlantic trips were part of larger economic, environmental, and social developments of the Viking Age, and were the product of an Iron Age chiefly society with a complex economy incorporating both classic “prestige goods” and “staple goods” components. The Viking Age expansion was the result of linked factors of economic intensification, military and technological advances, climate change, and intense com-petition among chiefly elites and between elites and commoners. The period saw …

Dai Medicine: Preservation Of And Changes In Ancient Healing Practices, Geoffroy Fauchet

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This independent study project discusses the general concept and theories of Dai medicine and focuses on the conservation of and transformation that both, the traditional and modern Dai medical system have undergone over time.

Growing Up With Glen, Kathryn Miles

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

Ecologists refer to it as 'shifting baselines.' Anthropologists call it 'environmental generational amnesia.' Both refer to the slow change in the ways we respond to and define the environment. As biologists and social scientists have deftly argued, definitions of environmentalism and sustainable resource use are often based on our earliest experiences with nature. We then use these memories as the basis for our understanding of the natural world and its use. Ultimately, this creates a generational approach to issues of conservation, particularly with regards to such contentious issues as water rights and the changing face of the American West. At …

An Interim Report Of The Viking Age Archaeofauna From Hrísheimar, Mývatn District, N Iceland, Thomas H. Mcgovern, Sophia Perdikaris, Ramona Harrison, Konrad Smiarowski, Norie Manigault

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

The excavations at Hrísheimar in Mývatnssveit in N Iceland are producing a very large archaeofauna, which can now be dated through both radiocarbon and two major volcanic tephra layers (the Landnám tephra of ca AD 871 and the Veiðivötn 930 tephra). While much of the site has been destroyed by wind erosion, substantial midden deposits (which overly earlier structures in some cases) still remain along the NE edge of the site area. While excavation is ongoing and only a small portion of the very substantial archaeofauna has been analyzed so far, it may be useful to present an interim working …

Isotope Sourcing Of Prehistoric Willow And Tule Textiles Recovered From Western Great Basin Rock Shelters And Caves: Proof Of Concept, Larry V. Benson, E. M. Hattori, H. E. Taylor, S. R. Poulson, E. A. Jolie

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Isotope and trace-metal analyses were used to determine the origin of plants used to manufacture prehistoric textiles (basketry and matting) from archaeological sites in the western Great Basin. Research focused on strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and oxygen (¹⁸O/¹⁶O) isotope ratios of willow (Salix sp.) and tule (Schoenoplectus sp.), the dominant raw materials in Great Basin textiles. The oxygen-isotope data indicated that the willow and tule used to produce the textiles were harvested from the banks of rivers or in marshes characterized by flowing water and not from lakes or sinks. The strontium-isotope …

Strategies Of Sex And Survival In Hamadryas Baboons: Through A Female Lens, Larissa Swedell

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Perspectives On Reproduction And Life History In Baboons, Larissa Swedell, Steven R. Leigh

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Engaging Local Non-Governmental Organizations (Ngos) In The Response To Hiv/Aids., Helen Cornman, Curt D. Grimm, Sujata Rana

Anthropology

During the past few years, a number of key donor programs have scaled up their global response to the crisis of HIV and AIDS. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the World Bank’s Multi-country HIV/AIDS Program (MAP), and other bilateral donors and charitable foundations have raised significant resources to fight HIV/AIDS. Spending on HIV/AIDS in low- and middle-income countries increased from $1 billion in 2000 to $6.1 billion …

Squirrel Monkey Pelvic Morphology And Difficult Pregnancies: It's Not All In The Hips, Lucinda Freeman

Anthropology Undergraduate Senior Theses

Researchers at the CNPRR have observed a reduction in the reproductive success of female squirrel monkeys of Bolivian origin (Saimiri boliviensis boliviensis) due to nonviable termination of their pregnancies. Difficulties with pregnancy, including dystopias and stillborn infants, seem to be a result of an extremely large fetal to mother weight ratio. This factor has led to studies of the pelvic size and shape in the Bolivian origin female squirrel monkeys. Aksel and Able (1983) devised a pelvimetry method for evaluating the bony structures of the pelvis in order to predict perinatal outcome. This thesis will apply the pelvimetry methods of …

Mom's Day Out: Investigating The Proximate Causes Of Allomothering In Squirrel Monkeys, Amber Wright

Anthropology Undergraduate Senior Theses

Allomothering, which is defined as non-material infant care, is a behavior that is found among many animal species. Although it is widely acknowledged in primate species in particular, it is not well understood. Allomaternal behavior is well documented but the proximal causes are not known. Most primate species live in groups and have intense social relations which govern every aspect of their behavior. Allomothering could then be better understood by looking at the social relationships that exist between members of a group. This research tries to better understand what causes certain females to allomother over others by looking at the …

A Comparison In Osteological Measurements Of Two Populations From East Tennessee, Corrine Vitek

Honors Theses

Forensic anthropology is the identification of skeletal remams in medicolegal death investigations. The foundation of forensic anthropology rests on "documented" skeletal collections, which provide a crucial repository of information from which experts can rely upon to make determinations about human skeletal remains. A "documented" skeletal collection is one in which the demographics (e.g., ancestry, sex, age, height) of each individual are supported by known facts about the decedent at the time of his/her death. A quantitative comparison between the Hamilton County Forensic Center's(HCFC) skeletal collection to the William M. Bass collection housed at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK) …

Where Have All The Native Fish Gone? The Fate Of Fish That Lewis And Clark Encountered On The Lower Columbia River, Virginia L. Butler

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

As part of a special issue of the 'Oregon Historical Quarterly,' discusses the native species of fish in the lower Columbia River described by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in 1805-06. They identified red charr, salmon trout, sturgeon, anchovy, skeet, and other fish that Indians caught and used as trade items with the Corps of Discovery. However, editors of the Lewis and Clark journals have often erred in identifying the fish Lewis and Clark described; the challenge in identifying anadromous fish lies in changing coloration, markings, and examination of habitat. There has been a drastic decline of native fish since …

An Interim Report Of A Viking-Age & Medieval Archaeofauna From Undir Junkarinsfløtti, Sandoy, Faroe Islands, Thomas H. Mcgovern, Colin Amundsen, Sophia Perdikaris, Ramona Harrison, Yekaterina Krivogorskaya

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

Cooperative international excavations at the site of Undir Junkarinsfløtti (27020) in the village of Sandur on the island of Sandoy, Faroe Islands in May 2003 recovered a stratified bone - rich midden deposit extending from the Viking Age to the early medieval period. The animal bone collection contains domestic mammals (cattle, sheep, dog, goat, and pig) and substantial amounts of fish (mainly cod), birds (mainly puffin and guillemot), and shellfish (mainly limpet). While the current collection has the archaeological limitations inherent in column samples, it suggests persistence of substantial pig keeping into the 13th c, and strongly indicates a sustainable …

A 15th C. Archaeofauna From Akurvík, An Early Fishing Station In Nw Iceland, Colin Amundsen, Sophia Perdikaris, Matthew Brown, Yekaterina Krivogorskaya, Salena Modugno, Konrad Smiarowski, Shaye Storm, Malgorzata Frik, Monica Koczela, Thomas H. Mcgovern

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

This is a report of analysis of 15th c bone materials from the site of Akurvík in NW Iceland excavated in 1990. A small international project in Árneshreppur district recovered a series of stratified midden deposits associated with small turf structures on an eroding beachfront. Radiocarbon dates identify at least two major phases of occupation and use, one extending into the mid 13th century, and the other dating to the mid 15th century. This report documents the animal bone collection from the later 15th c occupation. Dominated by cod fish, these deposits appear to be the product of seasonal fishery …

Animal Bones From Sondum (27012) Sandoy, Faroe Islands 200 Season Collection, Thomas H. Mcgovern, Seth Brewington, Sophia Perdikaris, Colin Amundsen

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

Introduction

This paper reports on analysis of animal bones collect in 2000 by the Faroese Museum from a stratified but eroding beach front cliff in on the island of Sandoy. The site designation is Sondum, 27012 and the bone materials have been kindly sent to the CUNY laboratories for analysis by the excavator Simun Arge. While conditions of bone preservation are not as good as at the Undir Junkarinsfløtti locality to the SW across the embayment, and sample size is much smaller, a substantial amount of bone was recovered from datable which adds to our understanding of early economic patterns …

Adaptive Responses Of Paleoindians To Cold Stress On The Periglacial Northern Great Plains, Alan J. Osborn

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Archaeologists' cumulative knowledge about Paleoindians has grown substantially during the past two decades, and accomplishments have been impressive. I find, however, that much of the research regarding the archaeology of the Paleoindian period is primarily descriptive and highly particularistic. In this essay, I propose that our understanding of Paleoindian artifact assemblages, associated ecofactual materials, and human remains can be more meaningful within a broader biophysical context. We must ask how the archaeological record of the Late Glacial period might provide paleoanthropologists with greater insights into early hunter-gatherer anatomy, physiology, diet, health, and behavior. I propose that our understanding of hunter-gatherer …

Hunter-Gatherers In Jackson Hole, Wyoming: Testing Assumptions About Site Function, Kenneth P. Cannon, Dawn R. Bringelson, Molly Boeka Cannon

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The settlement-subsistence pattern of hunter-gatherers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has been viewed historically as an economic system organized around the altitudinal distribution of seasonally ripening food crops and has come to be known as high country adaptation (HCA). Although this study does not take issue with the basic tenet of the modelhunter- gatherer movement through altitudinal zones for the exploitation of seasonally available resources-we critically assess the normative functional interpretations presented by previous investigators. We examine artifacts in three lithic assemblages from southern Jackson Hole in terms of the organization of technology as a means to investigate each locale's function …