Archaeological Anthropology Commons^™

A Bioarchaeological Investigation Of The Courtney-Anderson Cemetery, Lauren Scott

Master's Theses

Located in Perry County, Mississippi, the Anderson Family Cemetery represents an abandoned turn-of-the-century Piney Woods cemetery. The cemetery is located on land once owned by the Courtney and Anderson families, who farmed the area until it was taken under eminent domain by the United States government in 1942. The purpose of this thesis is to present three osteobiographies created from human remains and material culture recovered from three graves excavated from within the cemetery in 2022 to explore the lifeways of rural Piney Woods families of Mississippi at the turn-of-the-century.

Among the graves explored, one did not contain evidence of …

Wak'as, Mallkis, And The Inca Afterlife: The Hydrological Connection Between The Incan Empirical And Nonempirical Worlds, Marius C. Vold

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

The ruling elite amongst the indigenous groups of the Andes region, often referred to as the Incas, were, before European contact, a non-literal society. Therefore, our understanding of their religious beliefs pertaining to the relationship between life and death, and the intricate relationship between this belief system and the environment surrounding the Inca is heavily influenced by post-European contact, often clouded by European propaganda and a lack of cultural relativism. This project aims at exploring the relationship between the hydrological cycle and the Incan empirical and nonempirical worlds by comparing and synthesizing post-European contact written records, ethnohistorical records, archeological evidence, …

Stoneware And Earthenware From The Beeswax Wreck: Classification Of The Dubé Collection And Discussion Of The Interpretation Of The Materials In Protohistoric Sites, Vanessa Renee Litzenberg

Dissertations and Theses

Over the past three centuries, items from the Beeswax Wreck have been discovered on Oregon's northern coastline near Manzanita, including stoneware and earthenware fragments. While the stoneware and earthenware were not noticed by beachcombers washing ashore until more recently, similar artifacts have been noted within Indigenous sites for decades. While most of the analysis of the artifacts found in protohistoric settings are used to provide proof of a wreck or potentially a marker of the start of the contact period, this study aims to provide some context to the stoneware and earthenware sherds related to the wreck. The goal was …

The Cognitive Evolution Of Homo Erectus, Emily Dzhinenko

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

Evolutionary cognitive archaeology evaluates the evolution of cognitive advancements through past hominins and artefacts to understand their intellectual capabilities of planning, reasoning, memory, and problem-solving skills up until present day. I will explore cognitive evolution through a literature review of the effects on Homo erectus from their controlled exploitation of fire. Utilization of fire by H. erectus directly impacted their nutritional intake resulting in physiological changes which included increased brain sizes. Larger brains created room for expansion of the dopaminergic system allowing new cognitive abilities to adapt. Results from these adaptations included a more efficient thermoregulatory system and extraversive behaviours …

The Effects Of Burial Practices On The Preservation Of Bioarchaeological Remains From Caddo Sites In Northwestern Louisiana, Riley Kloostra

LSU Master's Theses

There are many variables which can impact the preservation of skeletal remains. This study attempts to understand how six specific variables present at two Native American sites may have impacted the skeletal preservation of burials at those sites. Four of the six variables are extrinsic factors, which vary on the level of the burial pit; these are presence of shell artifacts in the burial, presence of ash in the pit fill, presence of a clay cap over the burial, and depth of the burial pit. The other two variables discussed are intrinsic factors, varying on the level of the individual; …

Dataset Of Antemortem Tooth Loss And Carious Lesions At Deir El-Medina, Anne Austin

UMSL Datasets

These data are from observations on antemortem tooth loss and the presence of carious lesions from the site of Deir el-Medina, Egypt. The data were collected by Anne Austin and Mélie Louys as part of the mission of the Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale at the site during the 2012-14 and 2019-20 field seasons. These data were derived from human remains found in Theban Tombs 6, 217, 290, and 298. They are estimated to date from 1550-945 BCE. These data include macroscopic observations from 32 mandibles and 44 maxillae consisting of 485 observable teeth and 1,052 observable tooth sockets. Any mandibles …

Dataset Of Antemortem Tooth Loss And Carious Lesions At Deir El-Medina, Anne Austin

History Faculty Works

These data are from observations on antemortem tooth loss and the presence of carious lesions from the site of Deir el-Medina, Egypt. The data were collected by Anne Austin and Mélie Louys as part of the mission of the Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale at the site during the 2012-14 and 2019-20 field seasons. These data were derived from human remains found in Theban Tombs 6, 217, 290, and 298. They are estimated to date from 1550-945 BCE. These data include macroscopic observations from 32 mandibles and 44 maxillae consisting of 485 observable teeth and 1,052 observable tooth sockets. Any mandibles …

The Role Of Native Hawaiian Spiritual Practices In Social Systems And Environmental Stewardship, Christina A. Hornbaker

Social Sciences

The purpose of this paper is to examine how Native Hawaiian spiritual practices played a role in social systems and stewardship practices. Lightfoot and colleagues (2013) suggest that more archaeological research is needed on traditional resources and environmental management practices. The authors point out that “landscape management practices… are subtle and not prone to leaving smoking guns in the archaeological record” (Lightfoot et al. 2013), which makes such sites difficult to document without ethnographic accounts. Due to this subtlety, I will mainly be pulling information from interviews or oral histories from Hawaiian descendants, early explorers and missionary accounts, ethnographers, and …

North Of The Grid: The Black Experience Of 17th -19th Century Rural New York City, Stephanie E. Barnes

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the United States, transatlantic slavery was a racial project and template for race-making which created a country that relied on institutions that were organized and performed through social stratification. Today, the nation still operates on systemically racist institutions that have benefited whites while disadvantaging ‘others.’ The narratives presented in American history are rooted in whiteness and benefit the white community while marginalizing nonwhites. Over two hundred years of slavery history in this country has been purposely manipulated and left out. My research focuses on using an historical archaeological framework to research and share the lives of free and enslaved …

Landscape, Settlement, And Community: The Natural, Human, And Sacred Geography Of Classic Maya Civilization In West-Central Guatemala, Marc A. Wolf

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores the fluid and commonly multi-compositional aspects of Maya settlement patterns, which reflect concepts of space within Maya worldviews. Research will be focused on the predominantly Classic (ca. AD 650-810) era archaeological site of Cancuen and its neighbors in the Verapaz department of Guatemala. These settlements provide a complex arena where questions of identity, spirituality, and ethnic affiliations can be addressed within a spatial context. The continuing detailed settlement and environmental survey mapping within the Cancuen region is the primary source of evidence from which a more thorough appreciation of emic Maya spatial considerations will be investigated.

The …

Investigación Arqueológica: Sitio Buen Suceso, Comuna Dos Mangas, Provincia De Santa Elena. Informe Preliminar. Temporada 2019, Sarah M. Rowe, Guy S. Duke, Daniela Balanzátegui

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Preliminary report on the 2019 excavation season at Bun Suceso, a Valdivia site located on the coast of Ecuador. Report submitted to the Region 5 Office of the Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural, Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Beakers, Berkemeiers, And Roemers: Glass Drinking Vessels From The 17th-Century Dutch Settlement Of Fort Orange, New Netherland, Kristina Staats Traudt

Graduate Masters Theses

This thesis examines 17th-century glass drinking vessel remains uncovered during the 1970-1971 Fort Orange excavations in Albany, New York. Fort Orange was a colonial outpost established by the Dutch West India Trading Company on behalf of the United Provinces of the Dutch Republic in 1624. The fort served as an important trading post within the colony of New Netherland. Drinking vessels are studied in order to determine any traceable patterns of preference in form, decorative elements, or use. Vessels of note include roemers, berkemeiers, goblets, and varying forms using Venetian and Façon de Venise decorative techniques. The analysis is separated …

Activity Area Analysis For The Sanders Site (45kt315), Emily Elizabeth Laplante, Rylee A. Chadwick

Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)

The Sanders Site (45KT315) was excavated in the 1970s by Central Washington University. The site is located on the Yakima Army Training Center some 12 kilometers up Johnson Canyon from the Columbia River. The site was occupied from as early as 9,000 years ago; however, the heaviest occupations with features and activity areas date closer to 3000 years ago which are associated with Frenchman Springs Phase. We are interested in how food processing and animal use at this seasonal upland site compares to sites on the river that may have been occupied year-round during the Frenchman Springs Phase.

https://source2022.sched.com/event/111rv/activity-area-analysis-for-the-sanders-site-45kt315

Health-Related Caretaking In An Institutionalized Setting: Applying The Index Of Care To Burial 1 From The Mid-19th To Early-20th Century Mississippi State Asylum, Jackson, Ms., Darcie Badon

Theses and Dissertations

This project employs a modified version of the Bioarchaeology of Care (BoC) in an analysis of Burial 1 from the Mississippi State Asylum, Jackson, MS. Burial 1 is a skeletal individual recovered from the historic MSA cemetery. Notably, Burial 1 exhibits recidivistic cranial trauma in the form of cranial depression fractures (CDFs) and significant entheseal changes in the upper extremities. However, because there is no identifying information associated with Burial 1, interpretations of the caretaking they may have received, both prior to and after institutionalization, include short- and long-term outcomes from their community and the MSA. Additionally, Burial 1’s CDFs …

Bon Appѐtit: Faunal Subsistence At Fort Tombecbe (1su7)​, Sarah Coffey

Master's Theses

The frontier fort known as Tombecbe is situated on the Tombigbee River in present day Epes, Alabama. Tombecbe was constructed in 1736 as a staging point for Bienville’s campaign against the Chickasaw and to block encroachments by the British military. Following the Treaty of Paris, the fort was occupied successively by the British and then Spanish in the eighteenth century. Fortunately, historic documents and physical modifications to the fort suggest that it is possible to isolate and examine the French, British, and Spanish separately, however the breadth of the faunal analysis leaves this for future research. The soldiers at Tombecbe …

A Comparative Analysis Of Montpelier's, Monticello's, And Mount Vernon's Collaborative Effort With Their Descendant Communities, Rachel Gregor

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Historical homes and plantation sites focus interpretation on the life and legacy of the white owners of the property and the architectural and decorative elements of the home. In order to tell the whole-truth history of these sites, there must be an active discussion regarding the lives of the enslaved population, especially since the enslaved individuals were the reason the white owner was able to be successful. While very little written historical records exist for enslaved communities in comparison to those that survive for the white plantation owner, the surviving documentation, when coupled with archaeological evidence and especially the oral …

Stature Estimates Of The Classic Period Maya From Chac Balam And San Juan, Ambergris Caye, Belize, Natalie Clark

Honors Theses

This thesis presents updated sex and stature estimates for ancient Maya females and males who lived in San Juan and Chac Balam in northern Ambergris Caye from approximately AD 700-900.

The regression formulae used in this study reflect a closer population affinity to the Maya compared to the equations used in the original analysis by Glassman (1995). Del Angel and Cisneros’ (2004) formulae were used when estimating stature based on a complete long bone. In Steele and Bramblett (1988), Steele and McKern (1969) and Steele (1970) regression formulae were used when estimating stature based on an incomplete humerus, femur, or …

By Her Hands: An Analysis Of The Hidden Labor Of Black Women At The Hugh Craft House Site In Holly Springs, Mykayla Williamson

Honors Theses

This project unearths the hidden labor of Black women by analyzing architectural remains, artifacts, and primary and secondary documentary evidence surrounding the urban antebellum Hugh Craft House site in Holly Springs, Mississippi. This project considers the gap in theorizing the hidden labor of Black women in the seldom-researched setting of urban slavery. It also draws on household and Black feminist archaeology theories to uncover the hidden labor in the domestic spheres that the enslaved women were actively shaping. Research methods included watching clips of Behind the Big House tour interpretations; taking a Craft House tour in Holly Springs; looking at …

A Cross-Cultural Survey Of The Funerary Practice Of Body Element Removal And Deposition In Mortuary Pottery, Sara Grevy

Honors Theses

Proteomic residue analysis conducted on several ceramic sherds from funerary vessels dating to the early Iron Age (700-400 BCE) led to the discovery of peptides of human blood, tissue, and organs. The pottery was recovered in 1999 from Grave 5 in Tumulus 17, an early Iron Age burial mound, at the Heuneburg, a paramount settlement and mortuary complex in southwestern Germany. Prior to this discovery, there had been no evidence of the removal of body elements and their deposition in funerary pottery during the early Iron Age. This thesis presents a cross-cultural literature survey of archaeological, ethnographic, and historical evidence …

Investigating The Mechanics And Chemistry Of Sickle Polish Development, Justin Jared Dubois

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This series of experiments is designed to understand the development and chemistry of sickle gloss. Sickles are common in the archaeological record and have long been studied for their eponymous “sickle gloss”. There is debate as to how this gloss is formed. Five experimental sickles containing flint and novaculite blades were used to harvest high and low moisture content rye and common fescue and associated field weeds. The differences in the development of sickle gloss were examined. High moisture content plants create thick, smooth fields of polish with undulating, billowing margins at a higher developmental speed. Low moisture content plants …