Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

Cleome Serrulata, Rocky Mountain Beeweed, Uses By Native Americans, Marielle Gomez, John Ubelaker

Research

This paper examines the use of beeweed (Cleome serrulata), a native annual commonly called Rocky Mountain beeplant, as a traditional dye and paint source for pottery in Northern New Mexico.

Using Gis To Better Understand The Cracker Community Of Pat's Island In The Ocala National Forest, Florida, Nicholas Kopp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This research uses GIS methods to contextualize a Florida Cracker community in the Ocala National Forest. My case study is drawn from two seasons of fieldwork and supporting desktop surveys associated with Pat's Island, the home of multiple Cracker families. Cracker culture is historically categorized by its efforts to avoid modernization and prevent the commercialization of traditional lifeways in the quickly shifting society of late-19th and early 20th-century Florida. The geospatial expressions of these Cracker values are an emphasis on semi-remote living, adaptations to a unique environmental context, and the development of a semi-self-sufficient community. This research evaluates how GIS …

Reconstructing Oral Health In Pre-Hispanic Peru: Antemortem Tooth Loss And Caries As Possible Evidence Of Dental Care In Túcume, Peru, Amy Rodriguez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Evidence of dental manipulation dates back several centuries and is identifiable through modification of human skeletal remains and the remnants of ancient tools. The act of caring for dental patients, on the other hand, is much more abstract and not as explicitly documented throughout history. Through the analysis of skeletal dentition of individuals from Pre-Hispanic Peru, this research aims to understand possible early forms of dental care practices. Specifically, by calculating the frequency of common dental pathology, I evaluated the possible presence of dental care in Túcume, Peru, during the Late Intermediate Period (1000 to 1500 AD) and what this …

Plants And Environment: A Paleoethnobotanical Analysis Of The Vosburg Site (21fa002), Jaelyn Elizabeth Stebbins

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Recognized archaeologically by their distinct material culture, Oneota sites exist in many ecological zones across the Upper Midwest during the late Precontact period, c. 1000-1700 CE. Consequently, the sites are hardly homogenous. Across localities, Oneota groups are recognized as food producers who grew Zea mays (maize), Cucurbita pepo (squash), and later Phaseolus vulgaris (bean). The utilization of other wild and domesticated botanical resources across localities is not as well documented.. While extensive paleoethnobotanical analyses have been completed for the late Precontact period in southeastern Minnesota (Schirmer) and southwestern Wisconsin (Arzigian), little is known about plant utilization by Oneota groups on …

An Archeozoological Analysis Of The Vosburg Site In Southern Minnesota, Madison M. Rutter

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The Blue Earth Oneota is a poorly defined taxon located in southern Minnesota. Few large-scale excavations have been conducted in the Blue Earth region, leading to gaps in the overall understating of western Oneota lifeway systems. This research utilizes archeozoological analysis on the zoological assemblage from the Vosburg site (21FA02), a Blue Earth Oneota site located in Faribault County. The Vosburg site is a large habitation site that has been excavated by Wilford in 1938 and 1947, Dobbs in 1979, and Schirmer in 2012. Legacy data from the 1938, 1947, and 1979 excavations was analyzed and compared to the zoological …

Meta-Analysis Of Scent Detection Canines And Potential Factors Influencing Their Success Rates, Molly Marie Jaskinia

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Objective: This is a meta-analysis focused on the success rates of scent detection canines and potential factors that could influence their accuracy. A series of statistical analyses were conducted to determine if certain demographic factors, such as the dog’s gender, age, and breed, have an effect on a scent dog’s accuracy during a search. Or if more circumstantial factors, like the dog’s level of experience in scent work, the type of target scent, and their handler’s awareness of the target’s location, affect the outcome of the search.

Materials and Methods: A dataset was created from 37 different articles consisting of …

Umfc #12: A Comprehensive Forensic Analysis Case Report, Kaylee M. Hinds

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The University of Montana Forensic Case 12 (UMFC) is a human skeleton with an MNI of one that was recovered in August 1983 from an old schoolyard in Helena, Montana, by construction workers who were building a highway. The individual was given to the University of Montana Anthropology Department following the authority’s investigation. At the time, the University of Montana aided in the analysis of the skeletal remains and both departments had deemed the case as forensically insignificant and historic. The initial recoverers believed that the individual was a descendant of the Last Chance Gulch era and reflected Chinese ancestry, …

Automated Morphological Phenotyping Using Learned Shape Descriptors And Functional Maps: A Novel Approach To Geometric Morphometrics, Oshane O. Thomas, Hongyu Shen, Ryan L. Raaum, William E. H. Harcourt-Smith, John D. Polk, Mark Hasegawa-Johnson

Publications and Research

The methods of geometric morphometrics are commonly used to quantify morphology in a broad range of biological sciences. The application of these methods to large datasets is constrained by manual landmark placement limiting the number of landmarks and introducing observer bias. To move the field forward, we need to automate morphological phenotyping in ways that capture comprehensive representations of morphological variation with minimal observer bias. Here, we present Morphological Variation Quantifier (morphVQ), a shape analysis pipeline for quantifying, analyzing, and exploring shape variation in the functional domain. morphVQ uses descriptor learning to estimate the functional correspondence between whole triangular meshes …

The Use Of Field Philosophy In Conserving The World's Rarest Ape, The Hainan Gibbon (Nomascus Hainanus): A Philosophical Engagement With Researchers And Conservationists, Jocelyn Callahan

All Master's Theses

The Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) is the world’s rarest ape. Their position on the brink of extinction raises many questions about conservation, existence, and agency. To explore these issues and draw attention to this Critically Endangered primate, I considered the Hainan gibbon from the perspective of field philosophy (i.e., philosophy carried out in the field with non-philosophers). I conducted semi-structured interviews with eight researchers/conservationists and analyzed their creative works. I collected additional information through a systematic literature review. I asked four research questions: (1) Based on their lived experiences, how do researchers and conservationists understand the Hainan gibbon? …

Activity Pattern Analysis From A Commingled And Fragmentary Necropolis: Entheseal Changes At Kourion Amathus Gate Cemetery (Kagc), Hannah Burgess Carson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Entheseal changes (EC) have been used to reconstruct past human activity patterns, but little research has been done in Cyprus or outside of complete, well-preserved remains. The Kourion Amathus Gate Cemetery (KAGC) is a necropolis located on the southern coast of Cyprus. The Late-Roman (1-7 c. CE) cist graves contained commingled and fragmentary remains. Due to the commingled and fragmentary nature of KAGC, the primary purpose of this study was to see if EC analyses could be conducted on this population. Following that, this study sought to observe possible patterns of preservation as well as trends in EC data between …

Ancient Migrations In West Mexico: Mtdna Analyses, Patricio Gutiérrez Ruano

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Despite the mounting evidence that suggests The Aztatlán tradition in West Mexico was a major cosmopolitan region during the Postclassic period (AD 900-1521) with connections to the rest of what is now Mexico, archaeologists have characterized items in West Mexico as culturally distinct from the rest of Mesoamerica. Recently, endogenous, and exogenous material culture has been interpreted as movement and exchange of goods and ideas between subregions and surrounding areas, all of which mention physical contact and trade were involved between Aztatlán and elsewhere. This has included interacting with areas as far as the U.S. Southwest, as well as in …

Natural Selection Of Immune And Metabolic Genes Associated With Health In Two Lowland Bolivian Populations, Amanda J. Lea, Angela Garcia, Jesusa Arevalo, Julien F. Ayroles, Kenneth Buetow, Steve W. Cole, Daniel Eid Rodriguez, Maguin Gutierrez, Heather M. Highland, Paul L. Hooper, Anne Justice, Thomas Kraft, Kari E. North, Jonathan Stieglitz, Hillard Kaplan, Benjamin C. Trumble, Michael Gurven

ESI Publications

A growing body of work has addressed human adaptations to diverse environments using genomic data, but few studies have connected putatively selected alleles to phenotypes, much less among underrepresented populations such as Amerindians. Studies of natural selection and genotype–phenotype relationships in underrepresented populations hold potential to uncover previously undescribed loci underlying evolutionarily and biomedically relevant traits. Here, we worked with the Tsimane and the Moseten, two Amerindian populations inhabiting the Bolivian lowlands. We focused most intensively on the Tsimane, because long-term anthropological work with this group has shown that they have a high burden of both macro and microparasites, as …

Menstrual Knowledge And Biosocial Aspects Among The Poumai Adolescents Of Manipur, Northeast India, P.S. Vaveine Pao, S. Yaiphaba Meitei

International Journal of Health and Allied Sciences

BACKGROUND Menstrual knowledge, hygiene, and perception are often neglected worldwide, especially in smaller and less developed societies, exposing adolescents to menstrual health hazards. Against the poor communication of menstrual health and hygiene, the present paper attempts to assess the attitude, knowledge, and perceptions towards menstruation among Poumai adolescents of Manipur, Northeast India. METHODS It is a cross-sectional study with data collected from 491 Poumai adolescents through a cross-sectional study using a self-structured schedule on menstrual knowledge. RESULTS The mean age of the respondents was 17.11±1.33 years. 73.12% of adolescents did not know about menstruation before attaining menarche. Most of the …

An Inventory And Analysis Of Human Remains From The Aklis Site (12vam1-42) Curated At Mississippi State University, Kaelyn Olson

Theses and Dissertations

This project was an inventory and analysis of human remains from the Aklis archaeological site (12VAm1-42), located in the Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. The human remains inventoried during this project were collected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and MSU during surface collection and emergency salvage excavations at Aklis. The statistical analysis of the data focused on the minimum number of individuals (MNI) per square meter, the degree of long bone completion, skeletal element counts across excavated features, and the degree of weathering. Results indicate that the assemblage curated at MSU includes a …

Detecting Bacterial Species From Ancient Human Skeletal Samples, Ariel Owens, Daisy Mcgrath, Tsai-Tien Tseng

Symposium of Student Scholars

Diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) via morphological analysis is difficult and often inconsistent. With next-generation sequencing (NGS), ancient host microbiomes can be subjected to metagenomic analyses for the detection of TB in silico. Suitable bioinformatic workflows are needed for reliable ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis of causative agents. This study aims to enhance available bioinformatic screening methods to create more suitable bioinformatic processes and generate insights in relation to TB.

This research utilizes publicly available NGS data accessed through the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Initial quality control steps included adapter trimming with Trim …

Utilization Of Gis In Tracking Disinterment And Movement Of Unknown Us Wwii War Dead: Foundations For A Geospatial Approach To Addressing Commingled Remains, Ella Axelrod

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

In the aftermath of World War II, the US was faced with the monumental task of finding and identifying over 405,000 service members who did not survive the conflict (McDermott, 2005, p. 1). Of these 405,000, 81,000 remain missing and 2,498 remain unidentified in cemeteries across Europe alone (American Battle Monuments Commission, 2022). Often, these individuals were interred and disinterred multiple times, crossing the continent in the journey from loss incident or battlefield to their final resting place. Commingling, the accidental mixing of remains, is an ever-present concern in the forensic identification of individuals from mass casualty incidents (Belcher et …

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 24. Wallace At 200: Potential Subjects For Student Theses, Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

The bicentennial of Alfred Russel Wallace’s birth in 2023 will likely produce a wide array of reviews of his life and work; here, we pause for a short look at some Wallace-related questions that might be adapted for student theses and dissertations. Some of the subjects treated fall in with established lines of research, while others are suggested by other Wallace interests or activities that have not been much explored.

Primate Olfaction: A Phylogenetic Analysis Of Cribriform Plate Morphology, Amber Cooper

Anthropology Undergraduate Honors Theses

Decreased olfaction, or smell, is a diagnostic characteristic of primates. Despite this, olfaction remains important for diet and social behaviors in primates. To assess how morphological changes impact olfactory-based behaviors between the two major clades of primates, Strepsirrhini and Haplorrhini, this study examined the surface area of the cribriform plate, the bony interface between the brain and nasal cavity. Previous work has found several functional associations between cribriform plate morphology and species diet/ ecology, making this structure possibly more reflective of a species reliance on olfaction in its environment. Primate social structure, such as average group size, mating system, and …

The Conquest Of Milk: The Rise Of Lactase Persistence And The Fall Of Scandinavian Hunter-Gatherers, Nicholas Mays

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Over half of the global human population suffers from lactase nonpersistence, a condition marked by losing the ability to digest lactose after infancy. However, a minority of the global population, primarily located in Central and Northern Europe, has a genetic mutation that results in lactase persistence, which is the continued ability to process lactose after infancy. This interdisciplinary analysis blends archaeology, cultural anthropology, evolutionary biology, and archaeogenetics to explore the origin and rise of lactase persistence in Europe and its contribution to the end of hunter-gatherer societies in Scandinavia. Furthermore, the paper uses gene-culture coevolutionary theory to argue that lactase …

Assessing The Functional Impacts Of Acquired Syphilis In Industrial England, Cassandra Marie Seda Degaglia

Theses and Dissertations

This work identifies and describes pathological skeletal changes associated with and attributable to acquired syphilis and which potentially caused functional impairment within eleven skeletal individuals recovered from five industrial-era London cemeteries. In eight (72.73%), functional impairment was likely or very likely, based on type and distribution of lesions across their skeleton. These impairments likely impacted the individuals’ ability to engage in various forms of physical activity, potentially limiting their economic potential. These results expand our still highly limited understanding of syphilis’s functional impacts within past populations, especially within industrial-era societies, querying longstanding characterizations of tertiary gummatous involvement as benign, while …