Other Anthropology Commons^™

Advancements In Archaeology Through Remote Sensing, Austin Valentine

Student Scholarship & Creative Works

One aspect of remote sensing applied to archaeology is through the utilization of aerial photography. Some of the first records of aerial photographs being applied to the discipline of archaeology date back to the late 1920’s. One such example was a series of photographs taken by the famous pilot Col. Charles Lindberg. Col. Lindberg, who was actually fascinated with the field of archaeology, made a series of flights taking photographs of the Chaco Canyon in New Mexico as well as Maya ruins in both Mexico and Guatemala.

Since, archaeology has become a science that can be conducted from both aloft …

A Method For Determining Damage Within Historic Cemeteries: A First Step For Digital Heritage, Justin E. Malcolm

Honors Undergraduate Theses

While it is true that historic cemeteries are places that contain a wealth of knowledge about the history of a community they are sometimes not well maintained. The information within can be lost as grave-markers are damaged either by natural causes or human interaction. In larger cemeteries preserving these significant places can sometimes be difficult due to a number of different factors. Therefore focusing preservation efforts on specific locations where damage is more likely to occur is crucial to ensure that the monuments that are the most at risk are preserved. One possible way of accomplishing this is through the …

Feeding The Children: A Paleodietary Reconstruction Of Juveniles From Kuelap, Peru, Marley Denierio

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Before reaching adulthood, every individual experiences a period of dependency, the juvenile period, during which they rely on the older, more experienced members of their society for their security, subsistence and care. This juvenile period is an important stage of life for human physical and physiological development. In bioarchaeology, there has been limited research conducted on juveniles, particularly, the development of their own social identity and influences. The research method of stable carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) isotope analysis is used to reconstruct the paleodiet of juveniles to determine their dietary composition. Specifically, this research is focused on Kuelap, located …

Examining The Relationship Between Traditional Ecological Knowledge And Cultural Resource Management, Erin Chiniewicz

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Fire-Affected Rock In Inland Southern Californian Archaeology: An Investigation Into Diagnostic Utility, Shannon Renee Clarendon

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The post-firing variability of fire-affected rock (FAR) recovered from a stone-cooking platform within a prehistoric stone grill was examined. This examination tested the physical properties of FAR recovered from site CA-SBR-3773, located the Crowder Canyon Archaeological District in San Bernardino County, California. There is a lack of archaeological research in this area of Southern California; however, this project established a fundamental perspective of thermal feature reuse and episodes of firing activity for prehistoric cooking features by examining the physical changes FAR experienced due to various heat exposures. Regional archaeologists often encounter these features as they speckle the landscape of upland …

Evaluating Causes Of Error In Landmark-Based Data Collection Using Scanners, Brian M. Shearer, Siobhan B. Cooke, Lauren B. Halenar, Samantha L. Reber, Jeannette E. Plummer, Eric Delson, Melissa Tallman

Publications and Research

In this study, we assess the precision, accuracy, and repeatability of craniodental landmarks (Types I, II, and III, plus curves of semilandmarks) on a single macaque cranium digitally reconstructed with three different surface scanners and a microCT scanner. Nine researchers with varying degrees of osteological and geometric morphometric knowledge landmarked ten iterations of each scan (40 total) to test the effects of scan quality, researcher experience, and landmark type on levels of intra- and interobserver error. Two researchers additionally landmarked ten specimens from seven different macaque species using the same landmark protocol to test the effects of the previously listed …

The Anthropocene, Overview, Scott W. Schwartz

Open Educational Resources

This presentation offers an overview of the developing concept of The Anthropocene -- a term coined to describe our current geological epoch, in which human impact on the planet will leave a permanent trace.

The Index Of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature From The Lone Star State, Robert Z. Selden Jr., C. Britt Bousman

CRHR: Archaeology

Cultural resources management (CRM) reports represent a rapidly growing proportion of our knowledge associated with archaeological undertakings in the United States. Historically, these reports were printed in limited numbers and distributed to a few libraries and individuals, and few were distributed beyond the political boundaries of any given state. Libraries on the distribution list are reticent to allow patrons to check out these reports due to the fact that they have—and will only ever have—a single copy. Late in 2009, the Texas Historical Commission (THC) permitting guidelines for CRM reports were updated, requiring CRM contractors to submit a digital copy …

A Stylistic Analysis Using Multivariate Statistics Of Oneota Pottery From The Upper Mississippi, Blue Earth, And St. Croix River Valleys, Michelle Neumann

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Pottery is one of the most abundant artifact types recovered from late pre-contact habitations sites in the upper Midwest. As a material with inherent plasticity, pottery reflects changes in people's preferences and traditions in aspects of its form and design quickly through time and space. Analyzing different facets of pottery has the ability to provide extensive information about people in the past: their resource utilization, technology, traditions, economic exchange, regional interaction, ideology, and or group identity. Yet, a significant challenge in pottery analysis is deriving comprehensive and testable conclusions in terms of types and styles that reflect patterned cultural behavior …

Patterns Of Enslavement And Economic Oppression Of Central Virginia, Hannah Bedwell

Undergraduate Research Posters

I address how anthropologists can identify the patterns and development of slavery and economic oppression through archaeology and the visualization of Virginia enslavement. I focus on the enslaved people of James Madison's Montpelier. I use 3D modeling as a foundation for integrating enhanced visuals with the goal of presenting a tangible understanding of the enslaved individuals in relation to the artifacts and history of the archaeological sites. I intend to show a common theme in economic oppression by comparing modern themes in slavery and examining Fraser D. Neiman's synthesis of the evolutionary perspective of slavery, and how little has changed …

Incidence Of An Astronaut Not Closing The Pressure Garment Visor On Reentry, Cameron M. Smith

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Audiovisual records of a Project Mercury pilot's activities during an orbital flight indicate that his visor was left open during reentry and descent to the sea surface, phases of flight during which cabin pressure loss was to be mitigated by suit pressurization; however the suit could not have been pressurized with the visor open. Thus, for a presently unknown reason, a critical safety step—sealing the visor and making a pressure suit integrity test before re-entry—was overlooked in this flight, a fact itself unreported in any flight review or historical documents known to the author. The lesson is clear: even a …

A Localized Approach To The Origins Of Pottery In Upper Mesopotamia, Elizabeth Gibbon

Laurier Undergraduate Journal of the Arts

No abstract provided.

Pressure Test Results Regarding Convolute Elbow Segments And Biomedical Monitoring, Cameron M. Smith

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Pacific Spaceflight’s Mark II / III pressure garment (model Gagarin with one newly-built elbow segment on the left arm) was pressurized to evaluate the mobility allowed by the newly-installed convolute arm compared to the right arm’s older convolute elbow segment. Additionally a new helmet hold-down cable system was tested, as well as the C02 scrubbing system and heart rate, Sp02, suit’s exhausted gas C02 levels and a new communication system. At pressures of 2.3psi – 2.5psi the helmet hold-down cable came free of the new hardware (a sailboat’s one-way cleat system), raising the helmet ring explosively. This resulted from the …

Flight Test Of Pacific Spaceflight Pressure Garment Mark Ii In Bell 206 Jet Ranger, Cameron M. Smith

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Pacific Spaceflight’s Mark II pressure garment (model Gagarin) was test flown to 17,200 feet MSL (5,242m) while worn and operated by Dr. C.M. Smith. The garment and its portable life support system (PLSS) maintained appropriate pressure, temperature and carbon dioxide levels throughout the 47-minute flight. The suit also provided sufficient elbow mobility, due to its convolute joints, for the suited person to operate the portable life support system’s manual suit pressure setting valve and the hand-held radio.

Amethyst, Aprotropala, And The Eye Of Re, Laurel Hackley

Theses and Dissertations

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A Critical Evaluation Of Gender Studies In Archaeological Accounts Of Etruscans, Amelia Varteresian

Honors Scholar Theses

An evaluation of the past analysis of Etruscan archaeological discoveries, with a focus on the gender analysis of the artifacts. Several prominent analysis of artifacts and tombs are reevaluated in terms of potential context within the Etruscan society, as well as evaluated in terms of analysis bias primarily based in gender.

Hypobaric Chamber Test Of Pacific Spaceflight Pressure Garment Mark I At Copenhagen University Hospital, Cameron M. Smith

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Pacific Spaceflight's first proof-of concept pressure garment, the Mark I (model Gagarin), was worn by a test subject in a pressure chamber to test stable maintenance of blood oxygenation, body temperature and suit pressure. While breathing normal air at a simulated altitude of 4,000m (c.13,000ft) the test subject's blood oxygenation was 90%, a figure expected for an altitude of 2,590m (8,500ft). The test subject's blood oxygenation climbed back to normal (96%-95%) as the hypobaric chamber was repressurized to sea level figures. The garment successfully maintained the test subject in the first half of the Blood Oxygenation Disassociation Range of …

Review Of High Altitude Aviation Preoxygenation / Denitrogenization Procedures And Draft Pressure Schedule For Open-Cockpit Balloon Flight To 65,000 Feet, Cameron M. Smith

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Aviation Decompression Sickness (DCS) is a well-known and well documented phenomenon in which a spectrum of physiological and cognitive symptoms result from aircrew exposures to altitudes greater than roughly 10,000 feet, where atmospheric pressures and the partial pressure of oxygen are significantly lower than the mean pressures in which the human body has evolved. The main factors involved in the likelihood of DCS are (a) exposure altitude, (b) exposure time at altitude, (c) preoxygenation / denitrogenization duration and procedure and (d) exercise at the exposure altitude. Mitigation of DCS is largely achieved by (a) preoxygenation / denitrogenization before flight, (b) …

Experiments To Measure The Effects Of Timber Harvesting Equipment On Surface Lithic Scatters, Douglas J. Baughman

All Master's Theses

The importance of cultural resource preservation cannot be overstated; however local economies are at least as important. Due to conservative archaeological site protection practices in Region 5 of the United States Forest Service, the economy of Northeastern California is being adversely affected. In an attempt to help the Forest Service make more informed management decisions and improve the Northeastern California economy, I undertook experiments on the effects of timber harvesting on lithic scatters on Modoc National Forest. The experiments involved placement of 225 glass tiles (proxy lithics) in each of three plots subject to vehicle traffic and log dragging by …

Choosing The Best Plant For The Job: A Cost-Effective Assay To Prescreen Ancient Plant Remains Destined For Shotgun Sequencing, Nathan Wales, J. Alberto Romero-Navarro, Enrico Cappellini, M. Thomas P. Gilbert

Anthropology Articles

DNA extracted from ancient plant remains almost always contains a mixture of endogenous (that is, derived from the plant) and exogenous (derived from other sources) DNA. The exogenous ‘contaminant’ DNA, chiefly derived from microorganisms, presents significant problems for shotgun sequencing. In some samples, more than 90% of the recovered sequences are exogenous, providing limited data relevant to the sample. However, other samples have far less contamination and subsequently yield much more useful data via shotgun sequencing. Given the investment required for high-throughput sequencing, whenever multiple samples are available, it is most economical to sequence the least contaminated sample. We present …

Socio-Politics Of Smuttynose Island: A Look Into The Glass Importation Industry Of Early New England Fishing Sites, Lauren Silverstein

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Smuttynose Island of the Isles of Shoals is a well preserved archaeological site that documents approximately 400 years of human activity. Four years of excavation has recovered a significant amount of material related to the intensely occupied, seasonally utilized fishing stations on Smuttynose. This project examined a concentrated sample of approximately 2,000 pieces of glass vessels related to two periods of fishing activity on Smuttynose Island (1640-1720 and 1760-1830). By determining the date and type of manufacture present in the concentration of fishing period glass and comparing the two specific time periods of the fishing industry, the project highlights how …

Binding Ochre To Theory, Simone E. Nibbs

Pomona Senior Theses

Widely found throughout the archaeological and artistic records in capacities ranging from burial contexts to early evidence of artistic expression, red ochre has been studied in archaeological and art conservationist communities for decades. Despite this, literature discussing binders is disparate and often absent from accessible arenas. Red ochre is important historically because its use can be used to help further the understanding of early humans, their predecessors, and their cognitive capabilities. However, there is not much written speculation on the processes involved in binder selection, collection, and processing. Based on the idea of these three activities associated with binders, I …

Xrf And The Corrosion Environment At Camp Lawton: A Comprehensive Study Of The Archeological Microenvironment Of A Civil War Prison Camp, Amanda L. Morrow

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Author's abstract: Handheld X Ray Fluorescence (XRF) technology is a new and emerging method in the field of archeology. This thesis discusses the results of XRF comparative analysis and comparative chemical analysis between a given ferrous metallic artifact's corrosion environment (the surrounding soil matrix) and the subsequent corrosion products formed on the artifact. The hypothesis is that the data will demonstrate a chemical correlation between the two. Iron and chlorine are the two major elements discussed in the study. The artifacts in the sample set have been collected from Camp Lawton (9JS1), a Confederate Prison for Union Soldiers located in …

Non-Native Discourse About The Goals Of The Onondaga Nation’S Land Rights Action, Sarah Wraight

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

On March 11, 2005, the Onondaga Nation became the last nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy to file suit against New York State for what it claims was the illegal seizure of the vast majority of its aboriginal land between 1788 and 1822. The Nation is asking for a declaratory court judgment condemning New York’s actions and recognizing that the Onondagas still bear legal title to their homelands. (Onondaga Nation v. State of New York et al., [2005]:12-14). It argues that the suit is not possessory, but rather is an attempt to regain certain rights to the land. The …

Review Of Early Prehistoric Agriculture In The American Southwest, By W. H. Wills. Santa Fe, New Mexico: School Of American Research Press, 1988. 196 Pages., Alan J. Osborn

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Last paragraph:

Wills's book provides archeologists with an innovative account of why and how past hunter-gatherers initially expanded their food-getting activities to include the cultivation of domesticated crops. His study makes use of a variety of subjects including r- and K-selection, density-dependent responses, risk minimization, the forager-collector continuum, maize phenology, Holocene environments, technological change, stylistic variation, social boundaries, and mating networks. Wills also offers new information and reassessments of the archeological record at Bat, Tularosa, Cordova, and Cienega Creek caves in the Mogollon highlands. He approaches the archeological literature for the American Southwest with healthy skepticism. And he challenges many …