Archaeological Anthropology Commons^™

The Black-Market Commodification Of Human Organs And Bones: A Marxist Perspective, Erik Schulz

Nebraska Anthropologist

The trade and treatment of human remains, while seemingly straightforward, have increasingly become subjects of ethical and moral debate. Over time and in light of recent events, questions have emerged regarding the appropriateness of how human remains are handled and exchanged. This paper examines these issues through the lens of Marxist framework and the perspective of forensic anthropology. The objective is to provide contextual understanding and encourage a reevaluation of current practices, particularly within academic settings, to ensure that human morals, dignity and ethical standards are upheld.

Should Human Remains Be On Display In Museums?, Erik Schulz

Nebraska Anthropologist

The debate of should human remains be displayed in museums, exhibits, classrooms, and other public areas has been a topic of discussion in recent years. This article aims to explore the positives and negatives of displaying remains through scientific racism, decolonization, ethics, and forensic anthropology. Although these characteristics may not always be present in a collection, they are common concerns, and they are also not the only concerns for displaying remains. The objective of examining this issue from multiple perspectives is to propose viable solutions for the ethical and appropriate display of human remains. This research will be geared more …

"An Ancient Vanished Race:" Industrial Mythistory And The Alternative Archaeology Of Lake Superior Copper, Donovan C. Murphy

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This thesis explores how the perspectives, biases, and values of Euro-Americans regarding the copper mining industry have shaped a mythology which centers Lake Superior copper in an imagined pre-Columbian global trade network. Notably, many iterations of this mythology are rooted in a rejection of Indigenous agency in the creation of these sites, ascribing them instead to a ‘vanished race’ which had surely once occupied the region. The core of this thesis is formed around a set of semi-structured interviews with representatives of regional heritage institutions and avocationalists which were conducted with the goal of identifying how and why these stories …

The Elemental Analysis Of Groundstone Celts From Noble-Wieting Using The Pxrf: A Provenance Study, Julian A. Marvel

Theses and Dissertations

Groundstone axes, or celts, were prehistoric stone tools used for chopping, cutting, or woodworking. Made from hard stone like basalt or granite, it was shaped by grinding and polishing rather than flaking, giving it a smooth, durable surface. Celts typically have a tapered edge and were often hafted onto wooden handles or used by hand. They were common in Neolithic cultures around the world and served both practical and sometimes ceremonial purposes. In this thesis, I analyze celts from Noble-Wieting (11ML24), a 14th-century Langford tradition village in McLean County, Illinois.

Specifically, my research addresses the following questions about these groundstone …

Workable Seams, Jackson Mills Smith

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In Jackson Mills Smith’s Workable Seams, readers encounter the stories, landscapes, and lives of rural Knox County, Indiana, from the oscillating vantage of a Hoosier boy raised with a Cajun sensibility. After relocating from Louisiana to the river bottoms of the crossroad state at a young age, the speaker gradually uncovers a local history only previously understood in fragmentary shards and fading glimpses.

Alternating between semi-lyrical embodied experiences and memories, documentary pieces in conversation with the state’s historical archive, and the retelling of exaggerated local yarns, poetry is a means of inquiry in Workable Seams. Topics range from …

Evaluating The Accuracy Of Stature Estimation From Tibial Radiographs Using Known And Newly Developed Regression Formulas, Atlantis Kae Baron

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study assesses the accuracy of stature estimation from tibial radiographs using digital measurements as an alternative to traditional osteometric tools. Stature estimation is crucial in forensic anthropology for identifying individuals, especially cases involving skeletal remains. Traditional methods rely on physical measurements and established regression formulas, such as those by Trotter & Gleser (1958).

This research analyzed tibial radiographs from the Forensic Anthropology Skeletal Trauma (FAST) database with ImageJ software to measure tibial lengths digitally. The sample included 59 tibiae, with measurements compared against three regression formulas; Trotter & Gleser (1958), Simon et al. (2023), and a new regression formula …

Migrations And Malthusian Demographics Amongst Two Pioneering Paleo-Inuit Traditions, Skyla Moyer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Understanding the ways in which resource variability, environmental conditions, and cultural behavior impact population movements has been a central concern both within the subfield of arctic archeology and within anthropology as an overarching discipline. To provide insights into these questions in Greenlandic contexts, Saqqaq and Independence I occupation movements have been examined through an analysis of broad trends in the radiocarbon record throughout the duration of these two cultural traditions. While the ultimate goal of this analysis is to recognize patterns in occupational progressions as indicated by the radiocarbon record, the demographic and environmental forces of change involved in the …

Organization Of Lithic Technology At 48ye240 Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming: Bifaces As Indicators Of Environmental Predictability, Hunter Alan Watry

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

48YE240 within the Hayden Valley of Yellowstone National Park is a pre-contact hunter-gatherer site recorded on two separate terraces along the Yellowstone River. This site and the two terraces are divided by the Grand Loop Road. The higher terrace is west of the road, while the lower terrace is east of the road, adjacent to the Yellowstone River. The lower terrace was excavated in 1999 and included a hearth feature dating to the Middle Archaic. The higher terrace was excavated in 2020 and contained intact cultural deposits. This thesis presents a lithic analysis of the assemblage recovered from the higher …

Pathways And Places: Mobility And Lithic Use At 48ye238 In The Late Archaic And Late Prehistoric Yellowstone, Jacob Q. Wilmoth

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Through the lens of Central Place Foraging Theory, an analysis of lithic remains from 48YE238, a medium to high-density archaeological site in the Hayden Valley of Yellowstone National Park, has provided insight into both material value and decision-making among Late Archaic and Late Prehistoric hunter-gatherers of the Hayden Valley. First, an examination of lithic materials and the stages of bifacial reduction, in relation to sourced lithic materials, offers insight into changing ideas of material value between these two periods. This is especially evident when considering the cultural and societal changes that influenced regional residence during the Late Prehistoric period, compared …

The Semiotic Construction Of Meaning And Value: Canthik Kiai Rajamala As A Symbol In The Contemporary Social Perspectives, Rosa Bila Putri Dewi, Hutomo Putra, Rochtri Agung Bawono, I Nyoman Wardi

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Canthik Kiai Rajamala is one of the heirlooms owned by the Keraton Kasunanan Surakarta. There are two Canthik Kiai Rajamala, each stored in the Keraton Surakarta Museum and the Radya Pustaka Museum. Surakarta is the only region traversed by the Bengawan Solo River that possesses a canthik, making it a distinctive and unique cultural heritage for the people of Surakarta. This research addresses the issue of how the meaning and value construction of Canthik Kiai Rajamala can be interpreted through Pierce's semiotic triangle theory. Additionally, this study examines how contemporary Surakarta society perceives the Canthik Kiai Rajamala. The objective …

The Voice Of The Voiceless: Countering The Festival And Elevating Reyog Obyokan As Cultural Capital, Albert Tallapessy, Ikwan Setiawan

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This article examines two performance models of Reyog Ponorogo: the festival model and the obyokan model. These two competing models represent differing perspectives on one side, the interests of the artists and the community, and on the other, the interests of the state. By applying cultural studies theories, particularly those of representation and hegemony, this study analyzes data collected through observations of Reyog performances at both festival and obyokan events, as well as interviews with artists and community members. The findings reveal that the obyokan model emphasizes an egalitarian spirit, allowing artists greater aesthetic freedom and providing the community with …

Preface Vol. 14 No. 3 (Desember), Rahayu Surtiati

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

In the December 2024 edition, Paradigma presents ten articles covering four regions: Surakarta, Southeast Sulawesi, Minangkabau, Ponorogo; and also areas: cinema, dance, language, fashion, and education. All research are about cultures in Indonesia and written by Indonesian researchers.

This open journal is read by the international public, so we hope that humanities researchers in various regions of the world will participate with their writing, not only reporting research in Indonesia, but also research in other regions of the world. Paradigma is preparing to become an international journal and in time its triannual publications will be in English so that more …

Symbolic Cultural Value: Creativity And Counterproductivity In Citayam Fashion Week 2022 In Indonesia, Fuad Noorzeha, Agus Sutono, John Abraham Ziswan Suryosumunar

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

The phenomenon of Citayam Fashion Week has symbolically influenced the way lower-class youth dress in central Jakarta. What was once an urban area in Sudirman has transformed into a fashion arena after videos of young people sporting distinctive clothing styles went viral. More than just a social gathering, this occurrence has attracted significant attention on social media, showcasing unique fashion expressions. However, this spontaneous and instantaneous trend has sparked a wide range of responses, with opinions varying from viewing it as a creative expression to considering it counterproductive. This study employs Jean Baudrillard’s theory as its formal framework in qualitative …

Impacto De La Pandemia De La Covid-19 En Las Familias De Los Jóvenes Universitarios De Las Poblaciones Rurales Mayas Del Estado De Yucatán, Jorge Atocha Pacheco Castro

Journal of Maya Heritage

Abstract. This study examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the families of university students from rural Maya communities in Yucatán, Mexico. Utilizing an anthropological framework, the research highlights the interplay of structural vulnerabilities and cultural resilience. It explores how families navigated economic challenges, social interactions, and cultural practices amid the crisis. Key findings include the reliance on traditional subsistence practices such as small-scale agriculture and backyard farming, which provided a safety net during economic downturns. Socially, rural families reported lower stress levels and stronger communal bonds compared to their urban counterparts, owing to expansive living spaces and outdoor …

Variability In Northeastern Early Paleoindian Period Basecamps: Implications For The Peopling Of New Landscapes, Anne Parfitt

Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

The Pleistocene peopling of the Americas remains a process we still do not fully understand. One primary reason for this is that in many regions of North America, it is not always possible to determine whether the earliest archaeological sites represent the activities of pioneering people, or of later populations. One area where the earliest sites are most likely to represent a founding population is Northeastern North America (e.g., the Great Lakes and New England-Maritimes regions), due to the relatively late deglaciation in this area. The earliest sites in this area include a dozen or so large, distinctive basecamps with …

Tiberias: Remains Of An Early Islamic Buff Ware Pottery Workshop, Yardenna Alexandre

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

A small four-square excavation carried out in an area outside the Ottoman city wall of Tiberias exposed the remains of an Early Islamic pottery workshop, built over earlier Byzantine-period walls. The building remains included parts of small rooms, pits and a tiled-floor installation. The overlying accumulations and thick ashy layers contained numerous sherds of Buff Ware vessels, including glazed bowls, partially fired plain vessels, decorated sherds, clay molds, kiln bars and basalt polishing tools. All these finds indicate that the site was an Abbasid–Fatimid period Buff Ware pottery workshop.

Ḥorbat Ṭurit (South): A Late Pottery Neolithic Ephemeral Site In The ‘Akko Plain, Dmitry Yegorov, Nuha Agha

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

An ephemeral prehistoric site was recovered south of the multi-period settlement of Ḥorbat Ṭurit, in the section between Yasif Junction and the ‘Akko East interchange. The site revealed an archaeological layer on top of sterile terra rosa soil. According to the analysis of the lithic assemblage, the site dates to the Late Pottery Neolithic period. Despite the limited excavated area and the absence of architectural or other constructed elements, the occupation level of the site yielded a significant number of flint artifacts, some pottery and stone tool fragments, as well as a small collection of faunal remains. The excavation results …

Kefar Veradim: An Intermediate Bronze Age Communal Burial Ground In Western Upper Galilee, Edwin C.M. Van Den Brink

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

Between 2016 and 2018, three brief salvage excavations conducted northwest of Kefar Veradim uncovered twenty rock-cut shafts leading into multiple burial chambers dating to the Intermediate Bronze Age, as well as five associated rock-cut basins of purportedly mortuary function. These tombs are part of a burial ground extending along a rocky spur overlooking Naḥal Yeḥiʻam. At least ten of the identified underground burial chambers, which were of two different types and originally sealed with flat stone slabs, had been robbed in antiquity. The remaining tombs could not be explored due to significant interference from the ultra-Orthodox burial society Atra Kadisha.

‘En Shaddud: Early Bronze Age Settlement, Middle Bronze And Iron Age Burial Remains And A Hellenistic Farmstead At The Foot Of Tel Shaddud, Karen Covello-Paran, Tali Kan-Cipor-Meron

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

This study presents findings from excavations at the foot of Tel Shaddud, focusing on settlement and burial patterns across various historical periods. Evidence from the Early Bronze I layer reveals the initial settlement characterized by stone-paved floors and extensive habitation extending towards the nearby spring of ‘En Shaddud. The Middle Bronze I tombs uncovered indicate a cemetery below the tell, containing artifacts that reflect burial practices consistent with warrior traditions in the region. Notably, the analysis of burial offerings indicates continued cemetery use into the Iron Age. Hellenistic remains suggest a transition to agricultural use, with well-constructed farmstead features emerging …

Ties That Bind: The Long Emancipation And Status Ambiguity In Early 20th-Century Southwestern Tanzania, Lydia (Wilson) Marshall, Thomas John Biginagwa

Sociology & Anthropology Faculty publications

In the 1890s, the slave and ivory trader Rashid bin Masoud established the settlement Kikole deep in what is now southwestern Tanzania. Kikole was strategically located near Lake Nyasa, a major slaving region. Masoud's followers residing at Kikole were typically referred to as his slaves by German colonists and missionaries. Local oral histories today, however, define these followers as askari (soldiers or guards) or mafundi (technicians or specialists; in this case, in using weaponry). This article considers how recent expanded excavations at Kikole can help us better understand Masoud's followers. Differences in housing investment and material access suggest status differences …