Geography Commons^™

Use Of The Global Positioning System In The Field Recovery Of Scattered Human Remains, Ginesse A. Listi, Mary H. Manhein, Michael Leitner

Faculty Publications

This study examines the Global Positioning System (GPS) as a tool for field mapping of scattered human remains or other materials in forensic investigations. Two aspects of the GPS are considered: (1) the level of accuracy that can be obtained using a mid-priced GPS unit, and (2) the effectiveness of using the GPS to map scattered materials. The positional accuracy of the GPS receiver was tested using a National Geodetic Survey (NGS) point located in Baton Rouge, LA. The utility of the GPS for mapping was investigated by setting up a mock field recovery and mapping the remains using both …

Spatial Confidentiality And Gis: Re-Engineering Mortality Locations From Published Maps About Hurricane Katrina, Andrew J. Curtis, Jacqueline W. Mills, Michael Leitner

Faculty Publications

Background: Geographic Information System (GIS) can provide valuable insight into patterns of human activity. Online spatial display applications, such as Google Earth, can democratise this information by disseminating it to the general public. Although this is a generally positive advance for society, there is a legitimate concern involving the disclosure of confidential information through spatial display. Although guidelines exist for aggregated data, little has been written concerning the display of point level information. The concern is that a map containing points representing cases of cancer or an infectious disease, could be re-engineered back to identify an actual residence. This is …

Grey Suit Or Brown Carhartt: Narrative Transition, Relocation, And Reorientation In The Lives Of Corporate Refugees, Brian Hoey

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Research

This article examines relocation stories of people who leave behind corporate work culture, relocate from metropolitan areas to small towns and rural places, and attempt to reorient themselves to work and family obligations. Decisions to start over take place within the context of moral questions about what makes a life worth living and what does not through a process in which geography has a bearing. For these migrants, a choice about where to live is also one about how to live. Choices of how to live one's life are made of more than simple economics, they are also moral. The …

The Bloomberg Way: Development Politics, Urban Ideology, And Class Transformation In Contemporary New York City, Julian Brash

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores the links between a development project, a particular urban ideology, and processes of class transformation in contemporary New York City. The city's postindustrial transformation, especially since the 1970s fiscal crisis, has created a newly dominant corporate elite consisting of executives and high-level professionals. This ruling class alliance has begun to supersede the city's older, real estate-centered traditional growth coalition, as emblematized by the political rise of billionaire ex-CEO Michael Bloomberg. Mayor Bloomberg, along with other ex-corporate executives in his administration, implemented a private-sector inspired corporate, technocratic, and antipolitical approach to governance in general and urban and economic …

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 …

Keeping An Eye On Privacy Issues With Geospatial Data [4], Andrew Curtis, Jacqueline W. Mills, Michael Leitner

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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 …

Humboldt In The Americas, Andrew Sluyter, Kent Mathewson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Traveling/Writing The Unworld With Alexander Von Humboldt., Andrew Sluyter

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Big-Bodied Males Help Us Recognize That Females Have Big Pelves, Robert G. Tague

Faculty Publications

Schultz ([1949] Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 7:401-424) presented a conundrum: among primates, sexual dimorphism of the pelvis is a developmental adjunct to dimorphism in other aspects of the body, albeit in the converse direction. Among species in which males are larger than females in body size, females are larger than males in some pelvic dimensions; species with little sexual dimorphism in nonpelvic size show little pelvic dimorphism. Obstetrical difficulty does not explain this relationship. The present study addresses this issue, evaluating the relationship between pelvic and femoral sexual dimorphism in 12 anthropoid species. The hypothesis is that species in which …

A Fishing Farm In The West Fjords Of Iceland: A Preliminary Report Of The Archaeofauna From Gjögur, Yekaterina Krivogorskaya, Sophia Perdikaris, Thomas H. Mcgovern

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

The date for the onset of full scale commercial fisheries in Iceland remains somewhat controversial, but thus far the earliest radiocarbon dated seasonal fishing station (11th- 13th century) is in NW Iceland’s Strandasýsla County at Akurvík. This paper presents a preliminary report of the ongoing analysis of the large archaeofauna from the farm mound at Gjögur, 3 km from Akurvík, places the site of Gjögur in the wider context of the NW region of Iceland by comparing the site with the Akurvík archaeofauna, and outlines new methodologies of reconstructing live fish size and age based on recovered fish bones. Although …

Adult Demographic Composition In The Poole-Rose Ossuary, Kirsten Marie Brown

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Regional Geographic Influence On Two Khmer Polities, Chad Raymond

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

This paper examines the effects of Cambodian geography in two Khmer polities: Funan, an empire that occupied the southeastern portions of modern-day Cambodia and Vietnam during the early centuries A.D., and Democratic Kampuchea, a Cambodian state that existed from April 17, 1975, until the Vietnamese invasion of December 25, 1978. In the construction of a national identity, a community must possess a tradition of a territory that the community regards as its ancestral home. The tradition of a territory provides a chronological anchor for the supposed authentic and pristine origins of the nation. As demonstrated by myth, propaganda, and policies, …

Fishing Booths And Fishing Strategies In Medieval Iceland: An Archaeofauna From The [Site] Of Akurvík, North-West Iceland, Colin Amundsen, Sophia Perdikaris, Thomas H. Mcgovern, Yekaterina Krivogorskaya, Matthew Brown, Konrad Smiarowski, Shaye Storm, Salena Modugno, Malgorzata Frik, Monica Koczela

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

Excavations in 1990 in North-West Iceland documented a stratified series of small turf structures and associated midden deposits at the eroding beach at Akurvík which date from the 11th–13th to the 15th–16th centuries AD. The site reflects a long series of small discontinuous occupations, probably associated with seasonal fishing. The shell sand matrix had allowed excellent organic preservation, and an archaeofauna of more than 100,000 identifiable fragments was recovered. The collections are dominated by fish, mainly Atlantic cod, but substantial amounts of whale bone suggest extensive exploitation of strandings or active whaling. This paper briefly summarizes the excavation results, presents …

The Moxee City (Washington) Mammoth: Morphostratigraphic, Taphonomic, And Taxonomic Considerations, Karl Lillquist, Steve Lundblad, Bax R. Barton

Geography Faculty Scholarship

A nearly complete, but highly fractured, proboscidean tusk was unearthed during parking lot construction near Moxee City in central Washington in May 2001. Schreger angle analysis revealed that the tusk was from a mammoth. AMS radiocarbon dating of the tusk established that the mammoth died 14,570 14C yr BP. The age, combined with the biogeography of proboscidean finds in the Pacific Northwest, suggests the tusk is from a Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi). The condition of the tusk and its association with basalt and crystalline erratics suggest that a locally derived tusk was swept up in the advancing flood and transported …

Puffins, Pigs, Cod, And Barley: Palaeoeconomy At Undir Junkarinsfløtti, Sandoy, Faroe Islands, Mike J. Church, Símun V. Arge, Seth Brewington, Thomas H. Mcgovern, Jim M. Woollett, Sophia Perdikaris, Ian T. Lawson, Gordon T. Cook, Colin Amundsen, Ramona Harrison, Yekaterina Krivogorskaya, Elaine Dunbar

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

This paper reports on the zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical remains from the initial season of excavations at the Norse period site at Undir Junkarinsfløtti in the Faroe islands. These remains represent the first zooarchaeological analysis undertaken for the Faroes and only the third archaeobotanical assemblage published from the islands. The excavated deposits are described and the key findings from the palaeoenvironmental remains highlighted within the context of the wider North Atlantic environmental archaeology of the Norse period.

Recentism In Environmental History On Latin America, Andrew Sluyter

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Is Geography Destiny?: Lessons From Latin America. And Troubled Harvest: Agronomy And Revolution In Mexico, 1880–2002, Andrew Sluyter

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Just Behind The Mountain: Refugee Children Imagine Tibet, Emma Tobin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since the Tibetan diaspora began in 1959, when His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama fled Tibet for India, many Tibetans have settled and started families in exile. Today, a large percentage of Tibetan refugees have been born in exile, and have therefore never seen their country. Within Tibetan exile communities, however, the importance of Tibetan identity is strongly emphasized and people are still very much invested in the plight of Tibet. As a result, there exist strong ideas about the reality of life in Tibet within the exile community. According Jamyang Norbu, “Though the Shangri-la stereotype is a Western creation, …

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 …

Roadside Memorial Practices: An Examination Of Landscapes Of Commemoration In Warren County, Kentucky, Michael Briggs

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Roadside memorials commemorating the death of automobile crash victims are scattered throughout the Kentucky landscape. This persistent cultural practice contains symbolic elements oftentimes indicative of religious connotations. Because there is a constitutional separation of church and government in the United States, these memorials can prelude controversy if located on state-maintained rights-of-way. This study examines Warren County, Kentucky, and analyzes the spatial distribution of these memorials on the landscape and the cultural implications to society because of their ties to death and dying. Scientific research in various fields of psychology, sociology, folk studies, geoscience, and religious studies was analyzed, including religious …

The Reach Of Rai: The Modernization And Globalization Of An Algerian Popular Music, Michelle Lynn Ashton

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

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 …

Coping With Hard Times In Nw Iceland: Zooarchaeology, History, And Landscape Archaeology At Finnbogastaðir In The 18th Century, Ragnar Edvarsson, Sophia Perdikaris, Thomas H. Mcgovern, Noah Zagor

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

During a cooperative archaeological project in NW Iceland (Strandasýsla) involving the Icelandic National Museum and Hunter College of the City University of New York.1990 season, a small rescue excavation at the site of Finnbogastaðir generated a quantifiable collection of animal bones dating to the early modern period, mainly to the 18th century. The 18th c was a period of hardship in much of Iceland, with widespread tenantry, adverse climate, and degradation of many terrestrial landscapes posing severe challenges to poor farmers- perhaps most intensely in the Vestfirðir. The animal bone collection from Finnbogastaðir reflects a multi-stranded subsistence economy involving seals, …

Special Issue: Native Food Production Knowledge Systems And Practices: Alternative Values And Outcomes-From The Guest Editors, Andrew Sluyter, Alfred H. Siemens

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Los Orígenes Ecológicos Y Las Consecuencias De La Ganadería En La Nueva España Durante El Siglo Xvi, Andrew Sluyter

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Of Geography Militant: Cultures Of Exploration And Empire, By Felix Driver, Andrew Sluyter

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Pelvic Sexual Dimorphism In A Metatherian, Didelphis Virginiana: Implications For Eutherians, Robert G. Tague

Faculty Publications

Eutherians give birth to relatively large infants. Females have larger pelves than males, though males typically have larger nonpelvic bones. Pelvic dimorphism is an adaptation for parturition. Metatherian females, who give birth to markedly small infants, should not show pelvic adaptations for parturition and should have smaller pelves than males. Adult females and males of the Virginia opossum, Didelphis virginiana, are compared. Males are significantly larger than females in absolute size for 14 of 16 pelvic and 8 nonpelvic measures. Sexes did not differ significantly for lower iliac length and posterior space of midplane. However, relative lengths for females are …

Report Of Animal Bones From Selhagi, Mývatn District, Northern Iceland, Thomas H. Mcgovern, Sophia Perdikaris

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

In 2001 the FSl / NABO project Landscapes of Settlement in Northern Iceland collected animal bones from a stratified midden deposit associated with the abandoned site Selhagi on the property of the modern farm Haganes. Selhagi is located in the lushly vegetated lakeshore zone and its environmental setting presents a strong contrast with the eroded uplands to the S of the lake where the early sites at Sveigakot and Hrísheimur are under excavation. Close to both major migratory waterfowl nesting areas and some of the best trout fishing in Iceland, the site would appear to be optimally located for exploitation …