Archaeological Anthropology Commons^™

Re-Analysing Astronomical Alignments Of Potential E Group Structures To Demonstrate The Utility Of Archeoastronomy Research About The Ancient Maya, Elizabeth Karen Shikrallah

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

There has been much study of Maya astronomy and the relationship and/or manifestation of astronomy within architecture and other aspects of Maya material culture. Despite this, there is little agreement about the commonalities and variation in potential astronomical representation across sites and regions as it is difficult to compare sites to determine whether spatial patterning exists between similar building classifications. Also, it can be difficult to understand and pursue archeoastronomy research due to the jargon and methodology employed. This thesis provides an updated dataset that shows the utility of pursuing archeoastronomy research about the ancient Maya. Combining archaeological and archeoastronomical …

Lidar Predictive Modeling Of Pacific Northwest Mound Sites: A Study Of Willamette Valley Kalapuya Mounds, Oregon (Usa), Tia Rachelle Cody, Shelby Anderson

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Archaeologists need new methods to survey large areas and overcome environmental and archaeological barriers to site discovery in heavily forested regions. LiDAR (light detection and ranging) technology is one possible solution to these challenges as LiDAR digitally clears away vegetation, facilitating large-scale remote sensing survey. The Calapooia Watershed, located in the southern Willamette Valley of Oregon, is an ideal area to utilize LiDAR. While valley lowlands are cleared for agriculture, riverine areas remain heavily wooded and are known to contain hundreds of low-lying earthwork features created by pre-colonial Kalapuyan people. To assess the potential application of LiDAR in this region, …

Quantifying Surplus And Sustainability In The Archaeological Record At The Carthaginian-Roman Urban Mound Of Zita, Tripolitania, Brett Kaufman, Hans Barnard, Ali Drine, Rayed Khedher, Alan Farahani, Sami Ben Tahar, Elyssa Jerray, Brian N. Damiata, Megan Daniels, Jessica Cerezo-Román, Thomas Fenn, Victoria Moses

Anthropology Faculty Research

Cultural ecological theory is applied to a spatially and temporally bounded archaeological data set to document long-term paleoeco-logical processes and associated sociopolitical behaviors. Volumetric excavations, treating the material culture of an archaeological matrix similar to an ecological core, can yield quantifiable frequencies of surplus goods that provide a multiproxy empirical lens into incremental changes in land use practices, natural resource consumption, and, in this case, likely overexploitation. Archaeological methods are employed to quantify cultural ecological processes of natural resource exploitation, industrial intensification, sustainability and scarcity, and settlement collapse during the colonial transition between Carthaginian and Roman North Africa. The data …

Deep Learning Reveals Extent Of Archaic Native American Shell-Ring Building Practices, Dylan Davis, Gino Capsari, Carl P. Lipo, Matthew Sanger

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

In the mid-Holocene (5000 - 3000 cal B.P.), Native American groups constructed shell rings, a type of circular midden, in coastal areas of the American Southeast. These deposits provide important insights into Native American socioeconomic organization but are also quite rare: only about 50 such rings have been documented to date. Recent work using automated LiDAR analysis demonstrates that many more shell rings likely exist than are currently recorded in state archaeological databases. Here, we use deep learning, a form of machine intelligence, to detect shell ring deposits and identify their geographic range in LiDAR data from South Carolina. We …

Hand Of The Potter, Hand Of The State: Pottery Production And Control In Tawantinsuyu, James A. Davenport

Anthropology ETDs

In empires, material culture plays an important role in creating and maintaining state power and legitimizing imperial rule. Through their form and decoration in imperial styles, these objects convey messages about state power, yet their production is often decentralized and carried out by subjects. This dissertation asks the question, how do imperial authorities organize the production of material culture? This question is addressed through a study of one category of material culture—Inka imperial pottery—from the site of Pachacamac, in Peru.

The Inka empire, called Tawantinsuyu, was a territorial empire spanning over 2 million km² in Andean South America …

Early Humans And Changing Landscapes In The Knysna Region Of The Southern Cape, Naomi Cleghorn, Sara Wurz

Sociology & Anthropology Faculty Publications - Archive

Although little has been published on the deep-time archaeological record of Knysna area, recent research, early surveys, and local resident knowledge of sites and finds leave little doubt that people have made Knysna home for a very long time. From the hand-axe using human ancestors of more than 300 000 years ago (or more) Knysna has attracted people to the shores of its estuary, river, and coastline. A rich diversity of edible plants, animals, fresh water, and marine resources made it an ideal place for humans reliant on wild resources. Stone tools, the most enduring ‘visiting cards’ of the ancients, …

3d Data Acquisition, Visualization, And Archiving Of Selected Lithics From The Caldwell Collection Of North African Stone Points, Michael J. Bennett

UConn Library Presentations

Presentation made on June 30, 2021 to UConn Library staff as part of a library strategic framework implementation working group final report. The overall aim of the project was to lead an interdisciplinary, cross-campus working group made up of faculty from the Anthropology Department, and staff from the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History, Office of the State Archaeologist, and the UConn Library. More specifically, the project's goal was to run 10 - 20 stone artifacts from the State Museum's Caldwell Collection through a newly developed, highly refined 3D digitization workflow that would produce 3D assets for eventual online classroom …

Mapping Complex Land Use Histories And Urban Renewal Using Ground Penetrating Radar: A Case Study From Fort Stanwix, Tyler Stumpf, Daniel P. Bigman, Dominic J. Day

Anthropology Graduate Research

Fort Stanwix National Monument, located in Rome, NY, is a historic park with a complex use history dating back to the early Colonial period and through the urban expansion and recent economic revitalization of the City of Rome. The goal of this study was to conduct a GPR investigation over an area approximately 1 acre in size to identify buried historic features (particularly buildings) so park management can preserve these resources and develop appropriate educational programming and management plans. The GPR recorded reflection events consistent with our expectations of historic structures. Differences in size, shape, orientation, and depth suggest that …

Approximate Bayesian Computation Of Radiocarbon And Paleoenvironmental Record Shows Population Resilience On Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Robert J. Dinapoli, Enrico Crema, Timothy Reith, Carl P. Lipo, Terry L. Hunt

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

Examining how past human populations responded to environmental and climatic changes is a central focus of the historical sciences. The use of summed probability distributions (SPD) of radiocarbon dates as a proxy for estimating relative population sizes provides a widely applicable method in this research area. Paleodemographic reconstructions and modeling with SPDs, however, are stymied by a lack of accepted methods for model fitting, tools for assessing the demographic impact of environmental or climatic variables, and a means for formal multi-model comparison. These deficiencies severely limit our ability to reliably resolve crucial questions of past human-environment interactions. We propose a …

Ancient Pottery Making At Cerro San Isidro, Nepeña Valley, Peru, Kaitlyn M. Lowrance

LSU Master's Theses

Located in the Nepeña Valley of north-central Peru, Cerro San Isidro was first documented in the 1930s when the valley was initially surveyed. While numerous sites along the valley, particularly those located in the lower valley, have been extensively researched since this initial survey, members of the Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica Cerro San Isidro (PIACSI) conducted the first formal excavations in 2019. My thesis project analyzes the ceramic artifacts – in particular pottery fragments – from that field season in order to evaluate continuity and change in morphological and technical styles from the Early Horizon through the Late Intermediate Periods …

Dataset For Faunal Analyses Of Biry House Food Remains, Castroville, Tx, Kathryn Maupin

Anthropology Datasets

In 2013, Van Dyke excavated a historic residence located at 309^th Paris Street in Castroville, Texas. Beginning in 1844, the house was occupied by the families that had immigrated from the Alsace region of France. Preliminary analyses of the faunal recovered from a lime slaking pit suggested that over the course of the home’s residence, family members incorporate wild taxa into their diet in addition to their traditional Alsatian foodstuffs. Expanded analyses of the faunal remains from additional features provide additional evidence that the diet of the residents slowly transitioned away from a strict Alsatian diet and eventually included …

A Collection Of Early Holocene Flaked-Stone Crescents From The Northern Great Basin, Matthew T. Boulanger, G. Logan Miller, Philip Fisher

Anthropology Research

Several flaked-stone crescents from the northern Great Basin were recently identified within the James M. Collins artifact collection held in the Archaeological Research Collections, Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University. These artifacts are morphologically and technologically consistent with other pre- Columbian crescents reported from the region. The two obsidian crescents in the collection exhibit compositions that are consistent with obsidian from the Whitehorse/Double H source, located immediately south of where the artifacts were reportedly obtained. Analysis of the crescents for use wear suggests that they were used in a manner consistent with transversely hafted projectiles. Data reported here add to …

Monumentality, Fortification, And Movement: Preclassic Maya Developments As Seen At Muralla De León, Petén, Guatemala, Justin D. Bracken

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Analysis of settlement patterning in relation to natural and constructed defensive elements expands understanding of the impact of warfare well beyond the relatively brief period of active battle. Advance preparation in advance of conflict, including reshaping the landscape for defensibility and conscription of labor toward that end, alters patterns of movement, social interaction, and physical settlement, effects that can extend for generations beyond the cessation of hostilities. This project investigates the role played by warfare in shaping the physical and social landscape of the Maya of the central Petén during the Late Preclassic period (400 B.C. – A.D. 150), as …

Urbanization Of The Salt Plains: Early Industry And Material Culture Of The Kauffman Neighborhood, June Weber

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

The material history of Lincoln, Nebraska has previously been addressed through several theses and papers, however, the Kauffman collection up to this point has not been thoroughly analyzed and summarized as a whole. Through this thesis, the results of data from the features excavated will be compared with the analysis of artifact collections revealing the social dynamics of both the individual household and the neighborhood itself. Census data and Sanborn maps will be integrated in order to better visualize changes in household composition and size throughout time. Primarily by analyzing glass bottles and ceramic assemblages found within individual privies, cisterns, …

Revisiting Prehistoric Archeological Sites: Envisioning First Built Environments To Repossess Geographically Specific Approaches In Architecture, Alisa Mohammad Kheir Abdulghany, Marwan Halabi, Maged Youssef, Bahaa El Dine Abou El Khoudoud

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Since Prehistoric times, architecture had been a human response to an occurring natural setting. Starting from places of dwelling to buildings that no longer only serve physical requirements for survival. Architectural languages were approached initially as an expression of culture, evolution, and growth of a community within a natural setting. This response resulted in the creation of built environments, humanity’s decision to become sedentary. This decision took place in the Late Stone age, a key phase in our timeline. First built environments were born in a time known as the Neolithic revolution, which shown itself as humans transitioned from hunter-gatherer …

The Stamp Of The Swift Creek Culture: An Analysis Of Middle Woodland Pottery At The Traversent Site In Georgia, Juliana Damico

Symposium of Student Scholars

The Woodland period (1000 BC – AD 1000) in the Southeastern US is characterized by sedentary horticulturalists living in villages located along major rivers. The Middle Woodland subperiod (300 BC – AD 600) is further defined by the appearance of distinctively decorated pottery. Specifically, Swift Creek pottery (ca. AD 100- 600/850) is known for its elaborate curvilinear designs that were stamped onto pre-fired vessels using carved wooden paddles. The pottery is said to be unique in that no two designs were exactly the same. It has been argued that this pottery was traded exclusively among elites at larger Swift Creek …

Understanding Early 20th Century Tenant Farming In Bartow County, Georgia, Joshua Reed

Symposium of Student Scholars

Tenant farming is an agricultural system in which farmers cultivate crops or raise livestock on rented land. Tenant farming became prominent directly following the American Civil war due to the bad economy former slaves and poor whites faced. Tenant farmers oftentimes owned equipment and supplies and were provided with food and other necessities from the landowners. The Adams family house is a historic building situated in Cartersville, Georgia located only a few miles northwest of the Etowah Indian Mounds. The house was constructed on the Walnut Grove Plantation, owned by the Young family since the early 1830s. Abandoned for a …

Home Sweet Home: An Architectural Analysis Of Houses During The Middle Mississippian Period In The Etowah River Valley, Jordan Farkas

Symposium of Student Scholars

The Mississippian period lasted from AD 1000 to AD 1550. It is divided into three different subperiods, Early (AD 1100-1200), Middle (AD 1200-1375), and Late (AD 1375-1550). Mississippian life, in general, is characterized by a ranked society, large villages located on floodplains near major rivers, a subsistence base centered on maize agriculture, as well as the use of triangular-shaped projectile points in hunting and new forms and decorative motifs on pottery for cooking and storage. One of the biggest developments in the Mississippian period revolves around house architecture and construction practices. After AD 1200, house design shifts away from rectangular …

Ironing Out The Data: A Review Of Chronometric Hygiene For Iron Age Sites In Southern India, Kady Yeomans

Symposium of Student Scholars

In southern India the Iron Age is usually dated to about 1500-200 BC using carbon-14 dating. However, since the early advent of C14 dating in the late 1940s, our knowledge of how carbon decays over time has changed thanks to advancements in science. Some of the earlier archaeological dates have the potential to be less useful than others due to older collection practices and processing methods. This paper presents results from a chronometric hygiene process that was applied to the current data. Chronometric hygiene is vital to continually assess the viability and accuracy of C14 dates. Dates that cannot be …

Food Security In Ancestral Tewa Coalescent Communities: The Zooarchaeology Of Sapa'owingeh In The Northern Rio Grande, New Mexico, Rachel Burger

Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

Food security, the measure of access to safe and sufficient food, is a critical global issue, not just because of its effects on health, but also because of the potentially negative consequences that food insecurity can have on mental and social well-being. Archaeology is uniquely situated to inform and articulate with global food security studies by focusing on past lived experiences of social and environmental conditions and events. The experiences of and responses to those conditions, in turn, inform present day policy and humanitarian efforts.

This study examines how residents of Sapa’owingeh, a Classic Period (A.D. 1350-1600) Tewa pueblo in …