Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons^™

Military Forensic Archaeology: The Process And Recovery Of U.S. Missing-In-Action (Mia) Service Personnel, William Belcher, Luann Wandsnider, Ella N. Axelrod, Finn Kennison, Alicia Lawson

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The United States (U.S.) Department of Defense's (DoD) Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is the largest skeletal identification laboratory in the world and receives several hundred cases per year for identification related to Missing-in- Action (MIA) U.S. service members. While there are various sources for these accessions, by far the largest source is through unilateral or bilateral (done in cooperation with another governmental entity or nongovernmental organization) as well as public-private partnership excavations. While the DPAA-style military forensic archaeology follows archaeological principles and recording standards, the work is goal-oriented, evidence/trace-driven, and time-constrained— a common occurrence with cultural resource management sites …

Subterranean Medicinal Bottles Are Treasures That Reveal The Growth Of Lincoln's Early Drug Stores, Mark Griep, June Weber, Erik Schulz, Effie Athanassopoulos

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Archeologists unearthed medicine bottles embossed with the names of nine early Lincoln (Nebraska) drug stores, giving insight into the rapid growth of pharmacies and health care from the 1880s up to the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.

Female Foragers Sometimes Hunt, Yet Gendered Divisions Of Labor Are Real: A Comment On Anderson Et Al. (2023), The Myth Of Man The Hunter, Vivek V. Venkataraman, Jordie Hoffman, Kyle Farquharson, Helen Elizabeth Davis, Edward H. Hagen, Raymond B. Hames, Barry S. Hewlett, Luke Glowacki, Haneul Jang, Robert Kelly, Karen Kramer, Sheina Lew-Levy, Katie Starkweather, Kristen Syme, Duncan N. E. Stibbard-Hawkes

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Gendered divisions of labor are a feature of every known contemporary hunter-gatherer (forager) society. While gender roles are certainly flexible, and prominent and well-studied cases of female hunting do exist, it is more often men who hunt. A new study (Anderson et al., 2023) surveyed ethnographically known foragers and found that women hunt in 79% of foraging societies, with big-game hunting occurring in 33%. Based on this single type of labor, which is one among dozens performed in foraging societies, the authors question the existence of gendered division of labor altogether. As a diverse group of hunter-gatherer experts, we find …

Human-Driven Fire And Vegetation Dynamics On The Caribbean Island Of Barbuda From Early Indigenous To Modern Times, Allison R. Leblanc, Lisa M. Kennedy, Michael J. Burn, Université Laval, Sophia Perdikaris

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

We present a multiproxy analysis of a sediment core from Freshwater Pond, Barbuda, one of just a few inland paleoenvironmental records from the Lesser Antilles. Our results shed light on the relative contributions of climate variability and Pre- and Post-Columbian human activities to vegetation and fire dynamics on Barbuda. The presence of macroscopic charcoal and pollen of ethnobotanically-useful and disturbance-indicator plant taxa in the sediment record suggests that Pre-Columbian subsistence activities occurred within a few kilometers of the pond between ~150 BCE and ~1250 CE. Our record extends anthropogenic fires back into the early Ceramic (500 BCE–1500 CE) and possibly …

Biographical Memoirs: Napoleon A. Chagnon, Raymond B. Hames

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Napoleon A. Chagnon (August 27, 1938–September 21, 2019), elected to the National Academy of Science in 2012. A Biographical Memoir by Raymond B. Hames, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Chagnon was a Renaissance anthropologist who made numerous fundamental contributions to anthropology. His films and ethnography have been viewed by millions around the world. He combined a humanistic eye in research with an unwavering scientific approach to human culture and behavior. He set multiple standards for long-term field research in terms of methodological rigor and refinement. He made some of the first tests of inclusive fitness theory in human behavior. And he was …

Impediments To Peace: In Response To ‘The Evolution Of Peace’ By Luke Glowacki (December 16, 2022), Raymond B. Hames

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

A response to ‘The evolution of peace’ by Luke Glowacki (December 16, 2022)

While effective institutional practices are critical for the evolution of peace certain factors deter their effectiveness. In-group and out-group dynamics may make peace difficult between culturally distinct groups. Critical ecological conditions often lead to intractable conflict over resources. And within group conflicts of interest most prominently between generations may inhibit effective peace making

Of Game Keepers, Opportunism, And Conservation, Raymond Hames

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

In this collection, gamekeepers are supernatural entities that regulate wildlife hunting in a wide variety of ways. They assist the hunters in pursuit of their prey, ritual respect for the game, and the reincarnation of slain animals. In addition, broader considerations are described, such as the mutual moral obligations between hunters and the supernatural. Gamekeepers seem to be nearly universal in those societies that depend on game animals as an important part of their diet, making the topic interesting from a ideological perspective. Some of the chapters argue that gamekeepers play a role in the conservation of prey types. The …

Ethnoarchaeological Studies Of Riverine Fisheries And Butchery In Pakistani Punjab, William Belcher

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

In order to have an understanding of ancient third millennium BCE fisheries, as part of the Indus Valley Tradition (ca. 3300 to 1700 BCE), appropriate ethnoarchaeological models should be developed. The research reported herein was conducted between the years 1991 and 1999, with most of the data collection completed in 13 months between the years 1993 and 1994. The primary fishing methods are related to seine and cast nets, with some specific traps as well as hookand- line. Fishing follows a particular seasonal focus on oxbow lakes that form after the recession of the monsoon floods. Additionally, the fish include …

Multisensory Experiences In Archaeological Landscapes—Sound, Vision, And Movement In Gis And Virtual Reality, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Kristy Primeau, David E. Witt, Graham Goodwin

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Archaeologists are employing a variety of digital tools to develop new methodological frameworks that combine computational and experiential approaches which is leading to new multisensory research. In this article, we explore vision, sound, and movement at the ancient Maya city of Copan from a multisensory and multiscalar perspective bridging concepts and approaches from different archaeological paradigms. Our methods and interpretations employ theory-inspired variables from proxemics and semiotics to develop a methodological framework that combines computation with sensory perception. Using GIS, 3D, and acoustic tools we create multisensory experiences in VR with spatial sound using an immersive headset (Oculus Rift) and …

Exploring Inequality At Copan, Honduras: A 2d And 3d Geospatial Comparison Of Household Wealth, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The archaeological site of Copan was a cultural and commercial crossroads at the southeastern Maya frontier. Research indicates that the demographics and sociopolitical circumstances of the city of Copan and its location within a circumscribed pocket (24 km²) of the larger Copan Valley varied through time. These circumstances not only influenced its social, political, and economic interactions, but likely the size, construction, and organization of households, specifically plazuelas. Copan’s plazuelas differ from those located in other Maya regions because they often have smaller house platforms, comprise more than a single patio, and exhibit a larger than normal …

Ancient Lowland Maya Neighborhoods: Average Nearest Neighbor Analysis And Kernel Density Models, Environments, And Urban Scale, Amy E. Thompson, John P. Walden, Adrian S.Z. Chase, Scott R. Hutson, Damien B. Marken, Bernadette Cap, Eric C. Fries, M. Rodrigo Guzman Piedrasanta, Timothy S. Hare, Sherman W. Horn, George J. Micheletti, Shane M. Montgomery, Jessica Munson, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Kyle Shaw-Müller, Traci Ardren, Jaime J. Awe, M. Kathryn Brown, Michael Callaghan, Claire E. Ebert, Anabel Ford, Rafael A. Guerra, Julie A. Hoggarth, Brigitte Kovacevich, John M. Morris, Holley Moyes, Terry G. Powis, Jason Yaeger, Brett A. Houk, Keith M. Prufer, Arlen F. Chase, Diane Z. Chase

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Many humans live in large, complex political centers, composed of multi-scalar communities including neighborhoods and districts. Both today and in the past, neighborhoods form a fundamental part of cities and are defined by their spatial, architectural, and material elements. Neighborhoods existed in ancient centers of various scales, and multiple methods have been employed to identify ancient neighborhoods in archaeological contexts. However, the use of different methods for neighborhood identification within the same spatiotemporal setting results in challenges for comparisons within and between ancient societies. Here, we focus on using a single method-combining Average Nearest Neighbor (ANN) and Kernel Density (KD) …

Experiences In Archaeology, Social Justice, And Democratic Principles: The 2016-2019 Archaeological Field School At The University Of Hawai'i West O'Ahu, William Belcher, Suzanne Falgout, Joyce Chinen, Robert Kalani Carriera, Johanna Fuller

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

From 2016 to 2019, the University of Hawai‘i West O‘ahu conducted archaeological field schools at Honouliuli National Historic Site to teach our students basic archaeological skills. Because the site was the largest Japanese and Japanese American concentration camp on O‘ahu, the field school initiated a program related to social justice and democratic principles for the imprisonment of US citizens and legal residents based on racial and national profiling. The demography of O‘ahu created a special bond to the incarcerees’ stories and the students of Asian and Hawaiian descent. Through field trips, student discussion, and curriculum development, we focused on the …

Teaching Digital Cultural Heritage And Digital Humanities The Current State And Prospects, S. Münster, K. Fritsche, F. Apollonio, B. Aehnlich, V. Schwartze, R. Smolarski

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Digital literacy and technology education has gained much relevance in humanities and heritage related disciplines during the recent decades. Against this background, the purpose of this article is to examine the current state of educational programs in digital cultural heritage and related disciplines primarily in Europe with supplemental information from the US. A further aim is to highlight core topics, challenges, and demands, and to show innovative formats and prospects

Modesty And Security: Attributes Associated With Comfort And Willingness To Engage In Telelactation, Adetola F. Louis-Jacques, Ellen J. Schafer, Taylor A. Livingston, Rachel G. Logan, Stephanie L. Marhefka

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The objectives were to identify conditions under which mothers may be willing to use telelactation and explore associations between participant characteristics, willingness, and beliefs regarding telelactation use. Mothers 2–8 weeks postpartum were recruited from two Florida maternal care sites and surveyed to assess demographics, breastfeeding initiation, and potential telelactation use. Analyses included descriptive statistics and logistic regression models. Of the 88 participants, most were white, married, earned less than USD 50,000 per year, had access to technology, and were willing to use telelactation if it was free (80.7%) or over a secure server (63.6%). Fifty-six percent were willing to use …

Understanding Technology Fit Among People With Hiv Based On Intersections Of Race, Sex, And Sexual Behavior: An Equitable Approach To Analyzing Differences Across Multiple Social Identities, Elizabeth Lockhart, Deanne Turner, Joseph Ficek, Taylor A. Livingston, Rachel G. Logan, Stephanie L. Marhefka

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

HIV disproportionately impacts individuals based on intersecting categories (e.g. gender, race/ethnicity, behavior), with groups most at-risk deemed priority populations. Using weighted effects coding to account for differential group sizes, this study used multilevel mixed logistic models to investigate differences in eHealth use and willingness to use eHealth for HIVrelated information among priority populations. Compared to the sample average, Black men who had sex with women were less likely to use all technologies except cellphones with text-messaging and less likely to be willing to use computers and tablets. White and Hispanic men who had sex with men were more likely to …

Case Report: Digital Restoration Of Fragmented Non-Human Skull, Gargi Jani, Abraham Johnson, William Belcher

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Reconstruction of fragmented material remains has been given a considerable attention in the fields of archaeology, forensic anthropology, and palaeoanthropology. Fragmented osseous remains are often found in cases of mass disasters, burning incidents, crash incidents, as well as bodily mutilation through criminal and suicidal activities. In cases where the remains are burnt or fragile, the handling of the remains becomes difficult and improper handling may lead to further destruction of the evidence. In such cases, digital restoration of the remains by means of threedimensional technology can be done as it is a non-invasive in nature and minimizes physical handling. It …

To Influence?: Exploring The Socio-Ecology Of Zoo-Morphic Imagery On The Northern Colorado Plateau, Ralph J. Hartley

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

TO INFLUENCE?: EXPLORING THE SOCIO-ECOLOGY OF ZOO-MORPHIC IMAGERY ON THE NORTHERN COLORADO PLATEAU

Figurative zoo-morphic imagery is but one of a broad variety of created morphologically distinct depictions that can be used, both in isolation and in complexly configured modes of communication, to exploit the sensory responses of viewers. While contemporary observations of zoo-morphic petroglyphs and pictographs (i.e. rock-art) elicit varied interpretations and assignments of meaning relative to broader re-constructions of past socio-cultural systems, it is often assumed that the imagery reflects the creator’s intimate knowledge of behavior and habitat of the subject. In contemporary and recent historic times communicating …

The Role Of Forensic Anthropological Techniques In Identifying America's War Dead From Past Conflicts, William Belcher, Calvin Y. Shiroma, Lesley A. Chesson, Gregory E. Berg, Miranda Jans

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The Scientific Analysis Directorate of the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is a unique entity within the U.S. Government. This agency currently houses the world's largest, accredited skeletal identification laboratory in the world, in terms of the size of the scientific staff, global mission, and number of annual identifications. Traditional forensic anthropology is used for the formation of a biological profile (biological sex, stature, population affinity/ancestry, and age) as well as trauma and pathologies that may be compared with historical records and personnel files. Since World War II, various scientists associated with DoD have conducted …

The Role Of Forensic Anthropological Techniques In Identifying America's War Dead From Past Conflicts, William Belcher, Calvin Y. Shiroma, Lesley A. Chesson, Gregory E. Berg, Miranda Jans

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The Scientific Analysis Directorate of the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is a unique entity within the U.S. Government. This agency currently houses the world's largest, accredited skeletal identification laboratory in the world, in terms of the size of the scientific staff, global mission, and number of annual identifications. Traditional forensic anthropology is used for the formation of a biological profile (biological sex, stature, population affinity/ancestry, and age) as well as trauma and pathologies that may be compared with historical records and personnel files. Since World War II, various scientists associated with DoD have conducted …

Cultural And Reproductive Success And The Causes Of War: A Yanomamö Perspective, Raymond B. Hames

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Inter-group competition including warfare is posited to be a key force in human evolution (Alexander, 1990; Choi & Bowles, 2007; Wrangham, 1999). Chagnon's research on the Yanomamö is seminal to understanding warfare in the types of societies characteristic of human evolutionary history. Chagnon's empirical analyses of the hypothesis that competition for status or cultural success is linked to reproduction (Irons, 1979) and warfare attracted considerable controversy. Potential causal factors include “blood revenge”, mate competition, resource shortages or inequality, and peace-making institutions (Boehm, 1984; Keeley's (1997); Meggitt, 1977; Wiessner and Pupu, 2012; Wrangham et al., 2006). Here we highlight Chagnon's contributions …

Aggregates, Formational Emergence, And The Focus On Practice In Stone Artifact Archaeology, Zeljko Rezek, Simon J. Holdaway, Deborah I. Olszewski, Sam C. Lin, Matthew J. Douglass, Shannon P. Mcpherron, Radu Iovita, David R. Braun, Dennis Sandgathe

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The stone artifact record has been one of the major grounds for investigating our evolution. With the predominant focus on their morphological attributes and technological aspects of manufacture, stone artifacts and their assemblages have been analyzed as explicit measures of past behaviors, adaptations, and population histories. This analytical focus on technological andmorphological appearance is one of the characteristics of the conventional approach for constructing inferences from this record. An equally persistent routine involves ascribing the emerged patterns and variability within the archaeological deposits directly to long-term central tendencies in human actions and cultural transmission. Here we re-evaluate this conventional approach. …

The Kaiparowits Puebloans: Kayentan Or Virgin Branch Migrants?, Phil R. Geib

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

More than 50 years ago archaeologists identified a high-density of small Puebloan habitations on the Kaiparowits Plateau in southern Utah. Analysis of pottery from these habitations by James Gunnerson and Florence Lister resulted in conflicting interpretations of cultural affiliation. Gunnerson argued for a Virgin affiliation whereas Lister argued for a Kayentan affiliation. Lister’s interpretation triumphed and the Puebloan occupation of the Kaiparowits was attributed to a migration of Kayenta people from the south during the late Pueblo II period. A review of architectural and artifactual evidence fails to support a Kayentan migration. An expansion of Puebloan groups from the west …

Adaptation To Variable Environments, Resilience To Climate Change: Investigating Land, Water And Settlement In Indus Northwest India, Cameron A. Petrie, Ravindra N. Singh, Jennifer Bates, Yama Dixit, Charly A.I. French, David A. Hodell, Penelope J. Jones, Carla Lancelotti, Frank Lynam, Sayantani Neogi, Arun K. Pandey, Danika Parikh, Vikas Pawar, David I. Redhouse, Dheerendra P. Singh

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

This paper explores the nature and dynamics of adaptation and resilience in the face of a diverse and varied environmental and ecological context using the case study of South Asia’s Indus Civilization (ca. 3000–1300 BC). Most early complex societies developed in regions where the climatic parameters faced by ancient subsistence farmers were varied but rain falls primarily in one season. In contrast, the Indus Civilization developed in a specific environmental context that spanned a very distinct environmental threshold, where winter and summer rainfall systems overlap. There is now evidence to show that this region was directly subject to climate change …

A Least Cost Analysis: Correlative Modeling Of The Chaco Regional Road System, Sean Field, Carrie Heitman, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

During the ninth through twelfth centuries A.D., Ancestral Pueblo people constructed long, straight roads that interconnected the Chaco regional system across the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico. The intent and use of these features has eluded archaeological consensus, although recent research has reiterated the occurrence of long distance timber importation to Chaco Canyon. To enhance our interpretation of these features we offer a large-scale least cost analysis wherein optimal pathways that are modeled to simulate timber importation are compared to the actual road locations. A series of least cost paths were produced through different energy allocation algorithms, at …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …