Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons^™

Digitally-Mediated Practices Of Geospatial Archaeological Data: Transformation, Integration, & Interpretation, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Kristin Landau

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Digitally-mediated practices of archaeological data require reflexive thinking about where archaeology stands as a discipline in regard to the ‘digital,’ and where we want to go. To move toward this goal, we advocate a historical approach that emphasizes contextual source-side criticism and data intimacy—scrutinizing maps and 3D data as we do artifacts by analyzing position, form, material and context of analog and digital sources. Applying this approach, we reflect on what we have learned from processes of digitally-mediated data. We ask: What can we learn as we convert analog data to digital data? And, how does digital data transformation impact …

Osl And Ceramic Analysis At The Humphrey Site, Ryan Mathison

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

The Sand Hills of Nebraska are a unique environment located in the west-central portion of Nebraska. This portion of North America has long supported human life. One group in particular that called the Sand Hills home are the Dismal River people. Dismal River is the name that archaeologists gave to a group of horticulturalists that lived in circular structures on the sand dunes, often near the rivers, in the Sand Hills. This group, while generally known through archaeology, also has a potential historic or ethnographic presence in the form of the Cuartalejo Apache visited by Ulibarri, and potentially mentioned by …

Seduction, Promises And Disneyfication Of Barbuda Post Irma, Sophia Perdikaris, Rebecca Boger, Emira Ibrahimpašić

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

Under the guise of post-hurricane development, the national government of Antigua and Barbuda exploited the disasterscape of post Hurricane Irma Barbuda to usher in a new wave of economic development that has left Barbudans separated from their unique culture and identity. In this article we explore what are inhabited vs. uninhabited spaces, the effects of Colonial Christian ideas on cultivated vs. uncultivated lands and the effects of capitalist seduction to traditional landscapes and seascapes. We argue that this neocolonial approach to traditional lifeways increases vulnerability of both people and environment. By wiping out diversity and culture in order to replace …

Pacifying Hunter-Gatherers, Raymond B. Hames

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

There is a well-entrenched schism on the frequency (how often), intensity (deaths per 100,000/year), and evolutionary significance of warfare among hunter-gatherers compared with large-scale societies. To simplify, Rousseauians argue that warfare among prehistoric and contemporary hunter-gatherers was nearly absent and, if present, was a late cultural invention. In contrast, so-called Hobbesians argue that violence was relatively common but variable among hunter-gatherers. To defend their views, Rousseauians resort to a variety of tactics to diminish the apparent frequency and intensity of hunter-gatherer warfare. These tactics include redefining war, censoring ethnographic accounts of warfare in comparative analyses, misconstruing archaeological evidence, and claiming …

The Trail Of Courage: A Mini-Ethnographic Case Study Exploring The Feasibility And Acceptability Of Integrated Equine-Assisted Therapy (Ieat) On Yazidi Adolescent Girl Wellbeing, Kari F. Eller

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In 2018, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Nadia Murad, a Yazidi woman who captured the attention of the world with her story of survival from the combatant and abusive hands of ISIS. Murad used her voice to speak out against wartime sexual assault and in doing so, has supported the wellbeing of women and girls around the world. A Goodwill Ambassador, her example and work has visibilized their trail of courage and lifted up the importance of work to support their wellbeing. This research, in albeit a very small way, seeks to follow Murad’s path. Though literature abounds …

After Irma, Disaster Capitalism Threatens Cultural Heritage In Barbuda, Rebecca Boger, Sophia Perdikaris

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

After Hurricane Irma, disaster capitalism threatens cultural heritage in Barbuda. A year and a half after the storm hit, efforts to exploit Barbuda to benefit the rich and powerful threaten to erode culture, identity, and traditional land relations in the name of “development.”

Fundamentals Of Qualitative Analysis In Family Medicine, Wayne A. Babchuk

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The primary purpose of this article is to provide family physician researchers interested in conducting a qualitative research study a concise guide to the analysis. Drawing from approaches outlined in popular research methodology textbooks and employing an exemplar from a minority health disparities research study, this article outlines specific steps useful for researchers and practitioners in the field of family medicine. This process of qualitative data analysis is situated within the larger framework of qualitative research to better position those new to qualitative designs to more effectively conduct their studies. A 10-step process useful for guiding qualitative data analysis is …

Chaco Canyon, New Mexico: A Caretaker City And A Pilgrimage Destination, Larry Benson, Deanna N. Grimstead, John R. Stein, David A. Roth, Terry I. Plowman

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Some Southwestern archaeologists continue to ascribe to the hypothesis that Chaco was agriculturally productive to the point that it could support at least a few thousand full-time residents. This paper suggests an alternative hypothesis; i.e., Chaco was marginally productive and could only support a few hundred permanent residents. Isotopic analysis of mammal teeth found in trenches cut through platform mounds fronting Pueblo Bonito indicate the possibility that much of the meat consumed by Chacoan residents and visitors came from higher elevation sites bordering the San Juan Basin. We suggest that resident population estimates based on great house room numbers and …

Citizenship Education And Global Migration: Implications For Theory, Research, And Teaching. James A. Banks, Ed. Washington, Dc: The American Educational Research Association (Aera), 2017, 528 Pp., Jennifer N. Rutt

UNL Office of Research and Innovation, Social/Behavioral Sciences Research Consortium

Migration is a worldwide phenomenon, which is only increasing. The growing population diversity in many nation-states has escalated the need for inclusion among minoritized populations. Distinguished scholar of diversity and multicultural education James A. Banks compiled a book examining how global migration is initiating a reconsideration and reconceptualization of citizenship education by educators. This volume emerged out of the Global Migration, Structural Inclusion, and Citizenship Education Across Nations conference in 2015, which focused on bringing together scholars across multiple fields connected to multicultural education and citizenship to discuss the impact of global migration.

The book’s main premise is that, regardless …

Life In Lincoln: Deciphering The Archaeological Material Culture Of A Turn Of The 20th Century Neighborhood, Amy Neumann

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

In June 1999, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) conducted a two-week salvage archaeology project during the early construction phase of the Kauffman Residential Center, an honors dormitory on campus. Nineteen archaeological features were discovered and fourteen were excavated from this historically residential area covering approximately one city block. The excavated archaeological materials include a large number of glass bottles, ceramics, metal artifacts, faunal remains, and personal items dating to the turn of the 20th century.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Lincoln, Nebraska experienced substantial population growth. The city thrived on manufacturing and purchasing goods allowing the economy …

Rural Sense: Value, Heritage, And Sensory Landscapes: Developing A Design-Oriented Approach To Mapping For Healthier Landscapes, Judith Van Der Elst, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Lily Díaz-Kommonen

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Landscape design needs a novel value system centred on human experience of the landscape rather than simply on economic value. Design-oriented research allows us to shift the focus from mechanistic paradigms towards new sensemaking approaches that value both the sensual and the cognitive in human experience. To move in this direction, we investigate cultural and natural aspects of sensory experience in rural landscapes, arguing that: (1) rural (non-urban) regions offer diverse sensory experiences for optimising human health; and (2) spatial interconnectedness between rural and urban areas means that healthy rural regions are critical for urban development. Our key argument is …

Rural Sense: Value, Heritage, And Sensory Landscapes: Developing A Design-Oriented Approach To Mapping For Healthier Landscapes, Judith Van Der Elst, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Lily Díaz-Kommonen

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Landscape design needs a novel value system centred on human experience of the landscape rather than simply on economic value. Design-oriented research allows us to shift the focus from mechanistic paradigms towards new sense-making approaches that value both the sensual and the cognitive in human experience. To move in this direction, we investigate cultural and natural aspects of sensory experience in rural landscapes, arguing that: (1) rural (non-urban) regions offer diverse sensory experiences for optimising human health; and (2) spatial interconnectedness between rural and urban areas means that healthy rural regions are critical for urban development. Our key argument is …

Constructing Rock Cairns: Modifying And Signifying The Alpine Landscape Of Southeast Alaska, Ralph J. Hartley, Amanda Renner, William J. Hunt Jr.

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The existence and variability of human-made rock cairns in subalpine and alpine settings of Southeast Alaska is increasingly well documented. Whete these features were constructed prehistorically and prorohistorically is a fundamental component to assessing the socioecological role of these modifications to a landscape that is, for the most patt, devoid of other physical manifestations of past human activities. Based on information compiled from investigations in the northern portion of Baranof Island and vicinity, we explore the physical and social environmental conditions that may underlie decisions to create the cairns, some of which are estimated to have been built approximately 500 …

Where Should My Child Go To School? Parent And Child Considerations In Binational Families, Edmund T. Hamann, Víctor Zúñiga, Juan Sánchez García

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Using examples encountered from our multi-year study of students encountered in Mexican schools with prior experience in US schools, we look at transnationally-tied families’ decision-making regarding where to send their children to school and ask whether parents should ‘parent from afar’. We don’t pose that as a question about ideals— what would be best if parents had economic security and unambiguous legal residential status— but rather as a more pragmatic one. Given some parents’ and children’s limited agency in real- world circumstances, what is their best path forward?

Data Management In Anthropology: The Next Phase In Ethics Governance?, Igor Boog, J. Henrike Florusbosch, Zane Kripe, Tessa Minter, Peter Pels, Metje Postma, Margaret Sleeboom-Faulkner, Bob Simpson, Hansjörg Dilger, Michael Schönhuth, Anita Von Poser, Rena Lederman, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Recent demands for accountability in ‘data management’ by funding agencies, universities, international journals and other academic institutions have worried many anthropologists and ethnographers. While their demands for transparency and integrity in opening up data for scrutiny seem to enhance scientific integrity, such principles do not always consider the way the social relationships of research are properly maintained. As a springboard, the present Forum, triggered by such recent demands to account for the use of ‘data’, discusses the present state of anthropological research and academic ethics/integrity in a broader perspective. It specifically gives voice to our disciplinary concerns and leads to …

Using Virtual Reality And Photogrammetry To Enrich 3d Object Identity, Cole Juckette, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Hector Eluid Guerra Aldana, Norman Martinez

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The creation of digital 3D models for cultural heritage is commonplace. With the advent of efficient and cost effective technologies archaeologists are making a plethora of digital assets. This paper evaluates the identity of 3D digital assets and explores how to enhance or expand that identity by integrating photogrammetric models into VR. We propose that when a digital object acquires spatial context from its virtual surroundings, it gains an identity in relation to that virtual space, the same way that embedding the object with metadata gives it a specific identity through its relationship to other information. We explore this concept …

European Spaces And The Roma: Denaturalizing The Naturalized In Online Reader Comments, Theresa Catalano, Grace E. Fielder

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

With the entry of several Eastern European nations into the European Union (EU), a “third” space has developed in the discourse for nations perceived as not fully integrated “inside” the EU system. This article investigates the construction of this “third space” in the resultant “moral panic” about undesired immigration from other EU countries and its potential drain on the social services of the United Kingdom and links it to Euroskeptic discourse in British media. The article uses construal operations from cognitive linguistics combined with critical discourse studies as a way of denaturalizing the discourse in online comments that focus on …

Feminist Science And Chacoan Archaeology: Reply To Ware., Carrie Heitman

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Ware's comment misses the point of Heitman's (2016) article and further demonstrates the need for feminist science perspectives.

El comentario de Ware no comprende lo fundamental del artículo de Heitman (2016) y demuestra aún más la necesidad de perspectivas científicas feministas.

Innovation Through Large-Scale Integration Of Legacy Records: Assessing The “Value Added” In Cultural Heritage Resources, Carrie Heitman, Worthy Martin, Stephen Plog

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Using the Chaco Research Archive (CRA) as a case study, in this article, we discuss the spectrum of intellectual decisions: conceptualization, design, and development, required to make legacy records (accumulated over many years through numerous archaeological expeditions) publicly accessible. Intellectual and operational choices permeated the design and implementation of the digital architecture to provide internet access to the vast information structures inherent in legacy records for the cultural heritage of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. We explore how an expansive but focused repository can enable opportunities for research and foster communities of co-creation. We also use the CRA as a case …

Trump, Immigration, And Children: Disrupted Schooling, Disrupted Lives, Edmund T. Hamann

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Many of us work with immigrant communities and are witnessing firsthand the fear, frustration, and heartache caused by Trump’s immigration policies. Yet despite our years of work with, and study of, immigrant communities, there are times when our academic expertise is not enough. What follows is a reflection by CAE member Ted Hamann on just such a situation he faced this spring when asked for help in assisting two US-born students that were about to accompany their soon-to-be deported parents to Mexico.

Coffee Quality, Land Use, And Processing In The Cajamarca Region Of Peru, Jonathan E. Ferguson

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Procedures used for defining coffee quality include a variety of activities ranging from physical measurements, hedonic sensory evaluations, and valuation of recognized extrinsic attributes. The physical measurements of coffee quality evaluate intrinsic attributes through a set of formal coffee grading and analysis standards, in addition to human sensory activities which conduct formal cupping protocol standards and formal tasting competitions. Extrinsic qualities include attributes such as branding and aesthetics, in addition to sets of ethical qualities established to further differentiate value beyond intrinsic and hedonic qualities. The promotion and standardization of coffee quality expectations directly impact activities taken by coffee producers. …

From Icon Of Empire To National Emblem: New Evidence For The Fallow Deer Of Barbuda, Sophia Perdikaris, Allison Bain, Sandrine Grouard, Karis Baker, Edith Gonzalez, A. Rus Hoelzel, Holly Miller, Reaksha Persaud, Naomi Sykes

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Barbuda and Antigua’s national animal is the fallowdeer, Dama dama dama, a species native to the eastern Mediterranean that has been transported around the world by people during the last 8000 years. The timing and circumstances by which fallow deer came to be established on Barbuda are currently uncertain but, by examining documentary, osteological and genetic evidence, this paper will consider the validity of existing theories. It will review the dynamics of human–Dama relationships from the 1500s AD to the present day and consider how the meaning attached to this species has changed through time: from a symbol of colonial …

A Catch 22 Of 3d Data Sustainability: Lessons In 3d Archaeological Data Management & Accessibility, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Jennifer Von Schwerin

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Archaeologists can now collect an inordinate amount of 3D data. But are these 3D data sustainable? Are they being managed to make them accessible? The MayaArch3D Project researched and addressed these questions by applying best practices to build four prototype tools to store, manage, visualize, and analyze multi-resolution, geo-referenced 3D models in a web-based environment. While the technical aspects of these tools have been published, this position paper addresses a catch 22 that we, as archaeologists, encounter in the field of 3D archaeology – one that formed the initial impetus for the MayaArch3D Project: that is, while the quantity of …

Estimating Age Of Rock Cairns In Southeast Alaska By Combining Evidence From Successional Metrics, Lichenometry, And Carbon Dating, Bruce Mccune,, Nijmah Ali,, Ralph J. Hartley, William J. Hunt Jr.

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

We estimated ages of rock cairns in alpine tundra in southeast Alaska by combining information from three general classes of methods, each of them imperfect, but considered together providing better estimates than any of the three alone. We used lichenometry, radiocarbon dating, and five successional metrics: score on a nonmetric multidimensional scaling axis of vegetation composition, cover-weighted average successional class of organisms, overgrowth of contact points between rocks, sum of species cover, and species richness. Lichenometry estimated absolute ages, but with considerable error because we violated key assumptions. Successional metrics provided relative ages, probably with more precision than lichenometry, but …

Investigating Preferences For Patriarchal Values Among Muslim University Students In Southern Thailand, Mahsoom Sateemae, Tarik Abdel-Monem, Suhaimee Sateemae

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Recent research on Muslim populations has offered interesting but limited insights about values preferences. This mixed-methods study examines the prevalence of support for patriarchy among a sample of religious Muslim university students in Southern Thailand using items from the World Values Survey. It also investigates the durability of these preferences by examining correlations between support or opposition to patriarchal values with preferences towards courtship practices, and elements that influence respondents’ views on gender roles, particularly related to the contemporary socioeconomic and political situation facing the Muslim minority of Southern Thailand.

Cross-Cousin Marriage Among The Yanomamö Shows Evidence Of Parent–Offspring Conflict And Mate Competition Between Brothers, Napoleon A. Chagnon, Robert F. Lynch, Mary K. Shenk, Raymond Hames, Mark V. Flinn

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Marriage in many traditional societies often concerns the institutionalized exchange of reproductive partners among groups of kin. Such exchanges most often involve cross-cousins—marriage with the child of a parent’s opposite-sex sibling—but it is unclear who benefits from these exchanges. Here we analyze the fitness consequences of marrying relatives among the Yanomamo¨ from the Amazon. When individuals marry close kin, we find that (i) both husbands and wives have slightly lower fertility; (ii) offspring suffer from inbreeding depression; (iii) parents have more grandchildren; and (iv) siblings, especially brothers, benefit when their opposite-sex siblings marry relatives but not when their same-sex siblings …

Continuity And Change In Puebloan Ritual Practice: 3,800 Years Of Shrine Use In The North American Southwest, Phil R. Geib, Carrie Heitman, Ronald C.D. Fields

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Radiocarbon dates on artifacts from a Puebloan shrine in New Mexico reveal a persistence in ritual practice for some 3,800 years. The dates indicate that the shrine had become an important location for ceremonial observances related to warfare by almost 2000 cal. B.C., coinciding with the time when food production was first practiced in the Southwest. The shrine exhibits continuity of ritual behavior, something that Puebloans may find unsurprising, but also changes in the artifacts deposited that indicate new technology, transformations of belief, and perhaps shifting cultural boundaries. After briefly describing this shrine, we discuss some of the artifacts that …

An Iterative 3d Gis Analysis Of The Role Of Visibility In Ancient Maya Landscapes: A Case Study From Copan, Honduras, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

For several decades, Geographic Information Systems (GISs) have held center stage in archaeological studies of ancient landscapes. Recently, three-dimensional (3D) technologies such as airborne LiDAR and aerial photogrammetry are allowing us to acquire inordinate amounts of georeferenced 3D data to locate, map, and visualize archaeological sites within their surrounding landscapes. GIS offers locational precision, data overlay, and complex spatial analysis. Three-dimensionality adds a ground-based perspective lacking in two-dimensional GIS maps to provide archaeologists a sense of mass and space more closely attuned with human perception. This article uses comparative and iterative approaches ‘tacking back and forth’ between GIS and 3D …

Is Male Androphilia A Context-Dependent Cross-Cultural Universal?, Raymond B. Hames, Zachary H. Garfield, Melissa J. Garfield

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The cross-cultural ethnographic literature has traditionally used the label male “homosexuality” to describe sexual relationships between biological males without considering whether or not the concept encompasses primary sexual attraction to adult males. Although male androphilia seems to be found in all national populations, its universal existence in tribal populations has been questioned. Our goal is to review previous cross-cultural classifications and surveys of male same sex behavior to present a system that does justice to its varied expressions, especially as it is informed by contemporary sexuality research. Previous comparative research does not effectively distinguish male same sex behavior from male …

Major Fallacies Surrounding Stone Artifacts And Assemblages, Harold Dibble, Simon J. Holdaway, Sam C. Lin, David R. Braun, Matthew J. Douglass, Radu Iovita, Shannon P. Mcpherron, Deborah I. Olszewski, Dennis Sandgathe

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

While lithic objects can potentially inform us about past adaptations and behaviors, it is important to develop a comprehensive understanding of all of the various processes that influence what we recover from the archaeological record. We argue here that many assumptions used by archaeologists to derive behavioral inferences through the definition, conceptualization, and interpretation of both individual stone artifact forms and groups of artifacts identified as assemblages do not fit squarely with what we have learned from both ethnographic sources and analyses of archaeological materials. We discuss this in terms of two fallacies. The first is the fallacy of the …