Archaeological Anthropology Commons^™

Pottery As A Socio-Economic Marker In Prehistoric Burials Along The Southern Coast Of South Korea, P. Codi Shoemaker

Theses

This thesis investigates the role of pottery as a socio-economic marker in prehistoric burials along the southern coast of South Korea, with a focus on the Late Jeulmun to Early/Mid-Mumun Pottery Periods. Through an interdisciplinary analysis of burial sites at Janghang (Gadeok-do), Sangchonri, and Yulha-ri, the study examines how ceramic design, placement, and associated grave goods reflect evolving social structures within early Korean communities. While pottery has long been examined through functional and chronological lenses, this research considers its symbolic and cultural value in funerary contexts. Findings suggest that pottery served not only utilitarian or ritual purposes, but increasingly signaled …

Healthcare Access And Agency In Material Culture: A Specialized Analysis Of Pharmaceutical Artifacts From Louisville’S West End., Sara Marian (Deurell) Ignacio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The American Victorian Period of the 1870s to 1920s was a time of significant transitions in medicine. In Louisville, Kentucky, this period saw an influx of Black healthcare professionals and the founding of Louisville National Medical College, the state’s first medical school open to people of color. A number of these professionals lived and/or practiced in the Beecher Terrace study area, which was excavated between 2017 and 2020. Patent medicine brands and archival records were examined qualitatively in order to understand neighborhood and case study household health concerns and consumer choice. Statistical analyses of the medicine bottles recovered during the …

The Commodification Of Native American Remains: The Use Of Native American Remains Within Educational Institutions And The Implementation Of Nagpra, Molly Nowak

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Indigenous communities have been commodified within educational institutions such as museums, universities, and governmental agencies throughout American history. Unethical collection practices have allowed for a disproportionate representation of Indigenous remains and materials within educational institutions. Indigenous bodies, funerary objects, religious materials, and other important cultural materials have been stolen from their communities and used for scientific discovery and education. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), passed in 1990, created legal protections for Indigenous graves and remains and instigates the return of the stolen materials. This project reviews the historical contexts behind the collection of Indigenous remains, the …

Revealing Hidden Histories: A Multi-Sensor Aerial Survey For Detecting Unmarked Burials At Sinking Spring Cemetery, Abingdon, Va, Noah Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Sinking Spring Cemetery, established in 1773 in Abingdon, Virginia, spans 11 acres and is divided by a road. The 9-acre southern section was reserved for white church members. Enslaved individuals and free people of color were buried in the smaller northern section, where few headstones remain today. This study aimed to map the unmarked graves using thermal, multispectral, and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensors deployed on unmanned aerial systems. Graves were characterized by subtle topographic depressions mapped by LiDAR and cooler radiant temperature anomalies in thermal imagery. Thermal data collected at different times of the day and year …

Interobserver Agreement Of Human Osteological Analysis On The Szeged, Hungary Skeletal Collection, Alleyia Bailey

All Theses

Biological anthropologists develop human skeletal biological profiles to identify skeletal remains and build demographic knowledge of past and modern peoples. Biological anthropologists estimate age-at-death, sex, stature, ancestry, and the presence of injury or pathology to develop biological profiles. While biological profiles are at the basis of the work anthropologists perform, there is a lack of research concerning the reproducibility and interobserver agreement rates of the methods used to create biological profiles. Due to the risk of variability stemming from the education, training, and experience of observers, along with variation that can arise from population affinity, examining the interobserver agreement rates …

The Human Legacy: Agriculture, Civilizations, Strife, And Pandemics Changing Our Climate, Jacalyn M. Wittmer Malinowski

Climate Change and the Individual, 2025-26

For most of human history, climate has shaped our lives, while our influence on it remained minimal. However, the notion that early humans had no measurable impact on the climate before industrialization is inaccurate. Early in human history, activities – such as the rise of agriculture, the growth of civilizations, periods of conflict, and pandemics – altered greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere. These changes contributed to significant periods of climate change long before the burning of fossil fuels set us on the path to today’s global climate crisis.

Tracing Clovis Landscapes: Chert Sourcing At The Copelin Valley Site In Kentucky., Shaylee Scott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study conducts a raw material sourcing analysis of Clovis lithic artifacts from Copelin Valley, Hart County, Kentucky, a key Clovis occupation site. Over a decade of documenting private collections and recent archaeological investigations confirm the site's significance within the Paleoindian landscape. Using reflectance spectroscopy, a non-destructive technique, this research assesses chert source probabilities for over 100 Clovis points and tools. By integrating spectral data with geological sourcing frameworks, this study examines raw material procurement strategies and their implications for Clovis mobility and settlement. The findings reveal patterns in material selection, shedding light on occupation intensity, technological organization, and landscape …

Navigating Nagpra: Respecting The Indigenous Ancestors, Anjuli Latchmansingh, William Kennedy

Transformations: Presentation Slides

In this presentation we explain the importance of NAGPRA federal legislation and its critical importance regarding how institutions of research and learning interact with Indigenous peoples and their cultures in the United States. We then describe, in narrative format, the initial investigation process that is required, in accordance with NAGPRA law, if an institution possesses anything that may potentially be considered sacred to Indigenous ancestors. We will outline what we learned through this experience, and demonstrate how institutions of research and learning can use this legislation to acknowledge the past and ongoing offenses against local Indigenous populations, and strengthen relations …

Making Tabby, Making Place: Examining A Gullah Geechee Wattle And Tabby Daub Dwelling Through Thin Section Analysis, Jacob E. Hamill

Graduate Masters Theses

Tabby is a building material made from lime, sand, oyster shell, and water that is geographically associated with the Sea Islands of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. This material was used from the early 18^th century to end of the American Civil War to construct all-manner of buildings in the Sea Islands region. Enslaved African descendant communities constructed wattle and tabby daub dwellings within plantation landscapes, and these settlements are interpreted as spaces where enslaved people exercised greater spatial autonomy.

This thesis analyzes the remains of a wattle and tabby daub structure located on what was once Old Fort …

A Semiotic Comparison Of Mayan And Egyptian Hieroglyphs In Relation To Cosmological Beliefs, Annmarie Vazquez

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Hieroglyphs, as a formal writing system, encode information reflective of a culture’s beliefs and worldviews and comprise inscriptions that represent objects (logograms), ideas (ideograms), or sounds (alphabetic or syllabic).  In this thesis, I employ semiotics, the study of how meanings are created by signs and symbols, to investigate Late Classic Maya (~250-990 CE) and Middle Period Egyptian (2240- 990 BCE) hieroglyphs that are associated with cosmological beliefs. In particular, I focus on Egyptian and Mayan hieroglyphs of birds and snakes as well as many other hieroglyphs of nature and celestial bodies. A semiotic approach provides new insights into the understanding …

“Just Broken Rocks” The Lower Colorado River Through The Lens Of The Coastal Migration Theory, Ruth Musser-Lopez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

My thesis is that archaeological evidence from the Havasu Landing Site (CA-SBR-1456) in San Bernardino County, California, supports the Coastal Migration Theory (CMT) proposed by Davis and Madsen (2020). The CMT suggests that humans followed the Pacific coastline to America during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), approximately 24,000 years ago (Erlandson 2024). I examined the site’s minimally modified cobbles, described as “just broken rocks,” confirming them to meet the definition of “creative minimization tools,” a criterion of the CMT. I found clustering of the minimization and other atypical stone tools with siliceous blade cores representing a 30,000-year-old East Asian technology …

Dari Editor Vol. 15 No. 1 (April) 2025, Rahayu Surtiati

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Dalam edisi pertama tahun 2025 ini, kebudayaan berbagai bangsa ditinjau dari berbagai sudut pandang. Penelitian terbanyak menghasilkan berbagai kisah yang berkaitan dengan tradisi: gamelan jawa yang kembali ke jati dirinya (1), perompak di zaman Kerajaan Sriwijaya yang tidak selamanya merampok (4), Kebiasaan jahat pada masa perang selalu mengambil korban perempuan (6), ritual Monibi di Bolang Mongondow untuk minta rezeki (7), tradisi memancing yang berubah praktiknya (9), rajah dan pasaduan dalam carita pantun merupakan ciri khas pantun Baduy (10), Sinkretisme yang masih ada dalam ziarah makam keramat di Banten (11). Selain itu, dua artikel membahas perihal masyarakat Tionghoa di Manado (5) …

Arah Baru Politik Kewargaan Etnis Tionghoa Di Indonesia (Studi Kasus Jakarta & Manado), Wasisto Raharjo Jati, Almunauwar Rusli, Rukmana Gonibala, Hendri Gunawan

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

The new direction of ethnic Chinese citizenship politics in Indonesia is marked by a communal revival in non-governmental organizations, media and schools. The past of ethnic Chinese in Indonesia is indeed full of crises, but the future of Chinese citizens in Indonesia really depends on the policies of each ruling regime towards their group. The new direction of ethnic Chinese citizenship politics in Indonesia must be understood as a process of psychological rehabilitation for sentiment and antipathy towards China in the past. The interpretation of social reality and the social movements they carry out on a local scale should be …

Sinkretisme Dalam Tradisi Ziarah Keramat Di Banten, Gita Safitri

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This review will analyze a book entitled Sinkretisme dalam Tradisi Ziarah Keramat di Banten by Helmy Faizi Bahrul Ulumi which reflects the richness of local culture in the Banten region, especially on relic sites that become pilgrimage destinations for the community. The popularity of the sacredness of sacred places is an attraction that not only has spiritual value but also sacredness becomes an important point as an inherent local belief. This review will evaluate the depiction of syncretism in pilgrimage practices to the construction of its meaning.

Types Of Student Translation Errors In English-Indonesian Translation, Haru Deliana Dewi, Andika Wijaya

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This research focuses on translation and language errors discovered in English-Indonesian translation results. This study aims to investigate the types of errors mostly made by Indonesian novice translators. The data were obtained from translation practice assigned to undergraduate students, who were taking the compulsory basic translation course. The respondents, who were native Indonesian speakers, were asked to translate two paragraphs from a given text in class for one hour and send their translations to the raters via email. The raters then marked the errors in the students’ translations using the 2021 ATA’s Standardized Framework for Error Marking. The results of …

Kongsi Kematian Dan Perubahan Ritual Prosesi Kematian Tionghoa Di Padang, Eniwati Erniwati, Yelda Syafrina, Zulfa Saumia

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This article discusses the changes in the implementation of death rituals organized by ethnic Chinese in Padang city. Documents in the form of photos and bylaws of the death ritual procession, an interview, and observations at the funeral home, crematorium of the Chinese socio-cultural and funeral association Himpunan Tjinta Teman (HTT), Himpunan Bersatu Teguh (HBT), and the Chinese cemetery complex in Bukit Sin Tiong and TPU Bungus Teluk Kabung are the sources of this article. The article's findings show that the performance of death procession rituals is an important part that marks the identity of the deceased and the family …

Polemik Catra Pada Stupa Induk Candi Borobudur: Kajian Arkeologi Dan Filosofis, So Tju Shinta Lee, Salim Lee

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This paper explores the profound meaning of the main stupa at Candi Borobudur and analyzes the implications of the proposed catra installation on the monument’s spiritual and cultural values. The interpretation is based on a post-processual perspective that emphasizes the importance of considering context, internal evidence, and internal symbolic relationships rather than seeking externally sourced validation. Through a combination of literature study, observation, and comparative analysis of stupas at Borobudur itself, contemporary Buddhist candis in Central Java, and various types of stupas abroad, this research concludes that the proposal for catra installation on the main stupa of Borobudur lacks …

Plantation Museums, Public Memory, And Historical Narratives: A Comparative Analysis Of Slavery Interpretation At Oak Alley And Lakeport, Gabrielle M. Stockand

ATU Scholars Symposium

Plantation museum sites are important in the public's understanding of the complex sociopolitical labor systems that dominated antebellum lifeways. This study examines modern museums' dilemmas when exploring expansive site narratives at plantation museum sites, using Oak Alley and Lakeport Plantations as case studies. Plantation Museum sites construct historical narratives using comparative exhibit analysis, critical discourse analysis of labor narratives, and landscape archaeology. Specific analysis of interpretive language, narrative construction, and site structure demonstrates a stark contrast: while one site marginalizes slavery in its guided tour with non-inclusive language and a self-guided slavery exhibit, the other integrates extensive research on enslaved …

Colonial Waste And Liminal Space: A Look Behind The Muhlenberg General Store, Ciara S. Chagnon

Anthropology Honors Papers

The following project includes both a comprehensive site report on the archaeological field school hosted by Ursinus College and Historic Trappe in the summer of 2024, as well as spatial representations and analysis of colonial window glass distribution over the excavation units. Descriptions of the results of this archaeological investigation aim to expand on the body of knowledge concerning the Muhlenberg general store and the Speaker’s House property where the field school was conducted. An exploration of liminality and archaeological boundaries provides a lens into the structural nature of the general store zone as well as its colonial-era functions. In-depth …

Unearthing Silence: Deaf Archaeology As A Pathway To Social Justice And Accessibility, Abigail H. Steiner

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

Deaf archaeology is an emerging field exploring the material culture, spaces, and histories of Deaf communities to understand their social lives and identities. This paper examines Deaf archaeology as a framework for uncovering the historical presence of Deaf individuals and promoting social justice. It begins by defining deafness, contrasting medical and cultural perspectives, then traces the field’s roots in sign language evolution, marginalization, and Deaf education. Through a timeline of findings, the study reveals how Deaf individuals have been recognized or overlooked historically. Engaging with the Southern Tier Deaf community, I explore accessible archaeology and the role of Deaf archaeology …