Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

280— Exploring The Geographic Distribution Of Childbed Fever Deaths In Mid-19th Century Rochester, Ny, Meaghan Parks

GREAT Day Posters

Childbed fever, formally called puerperal fever or puerperal septicemia, is an infection typically contracted by women after childbirth. Historically, childbed fever was a serious threat to maternal health. Childbed fever is caused by exposure of open wounds or abrasions, which are common after giving birth, to group A and B Streptococcal bacteria. Ignaz Semmelweis discovered that hand washing using a chlorinated solution reduced cases of childbed fever in 1847. This project reviews the instances of death from childbed fever in Rochester, New York from 1837-1860 and later from 1907-1919 and attempts to determine which areas of the city had the …

137— Skulls Tell Tales: A Comparative Study Of Un-Provenienced Crania, Alice Lee

GREAT Day Posters

In this study I have conducted a detailed analysis of several crania that have yet to be provenienced in the skeletal collection of the Physical Anthropology Lab. While some of these skulls have previously been matched to the correct post-cranial skeleton most of them have not and as such all were studied alone separate from any other skeletal material. The skulls were then compared analytically with a focus on any commonalities of sex, ethnicity, and age which may be present along with what determinations could actually be made with the parts of each skull that were available as some were …

Evolutionary Bioethics Advanced By Ernest Everett Just: Implications For Biology, Ethics, And Theology, Theodore Walker

Perkins Faculty Research and Special Events

Ernest Everett Just (1883-1941) is an acknowledged “pioneer” in biology, being honored with a Black Heritage postage stamp in 1996. Here we discover that Just also made pioneering contributions to general evolutionary bioethics (distinct from special medical bioethics) by advancing a cell-biology-rooted theory of the origin and continuing evolution of ethical behavior influenced by the “law of environmental dependence.”

See especially “The Origin of Man’s Ethical Behavior (1941, unpublished book manuscript) by Ernest Everett Just and Hedwig Schnetzler Just, discovered in 2018 among the collected papers of E.E. Just at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University.

Accordingly, evolution is …

Estimation Of Age From The Auricular Surface Of The Ilium Through The Utilization Of 3d Scanning And Gis, Krista Bennett

LSU Master's Theses

The ability to produce age estimations for adult skeletons has been a focus of forensic anthropologists for decades. Most age estimation methods for adult remains provide age ranges that are too narrow, too broad, or too vague. This project sought to combine 3D scans with GIS to produce morphological maps of the auricular surface of the os coxa in order to identify quantifiable characteristics for age assessment that could be used for generating narrower age range estimates for older adult remains.

A NextEngine ™ HD Desktop 3D scanner was used to scan the auricular surfaces of 384 os coxae from …

Comparing The Accuracy Of Close-Range Photogrammetry To Microct Scanning Via Surface Deviation Analysis Of 3d Digital Models Of Hominin Molars, Margaret J. Furtner

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to assess whether close-range photogrammetry is a viable alternative to microCT scanning for the construction of 3D models of isolated teeth. Photogrammetric scanning is more cost-effective and less time-consuming than CT scanning, and in paleoanthropological contexts eliminates the possibility of exposing fossils to doses of radiation that affect ESR dating. Samples of fossil (Homo naledi), archaeological, and contemporary human molars were scanned via microCT scanning and close-range photogrammetric scanning. The photogrammetric scans included 96 digital images per tooth which were used to construct a 3D triangular mesh. The resulting models of the tooth crowns …

Colonialism In Perspective: A Comparative Bioarchaeological Study Of Quality Of Life Before And During Roman Conquest, Meredith M. Amato

Student Publications

This paper analyzes the current bioarchaeological data that has been gathered from populations that lived before and in the midst of the Roman Empire. Case studies are taken from multiple areas within the boundaries of the empire, including Italy itself, Britain, Gaul (what is today known as France), Spain, North Africa, and the Near East. Geography and other factors make each individual’s experience of colonialism different, and the data that can be taken from human remains shows that colonialism was an unequal system that cannot be given a single, strict definition.

Paleopathological Research In Continental China: Introduction To The Special Section, Elizabeth Berger, Kate Pechenkina

Publications and Research

We set out to assemble this special issue of IJPP with three goals in mind: (1) to familiarize Anglophone readers with research on paleopathology conducted by Chinese scholars; (2) to enhance interest in paleopathological research among Chinese scholars, and to foster the use of differential diagnosis as the key mode of paleopathological analysis; and (3) to initiate integration of pathological analysis of human skeletal collections with historical records documenting early medical practices, epidemics, development and age-related diseases, and demographic records.

The collection of papers that follows present new data, from a range of time periods and geographic and social contexts, …

Myositis Ossificans Traumatica With Associated Pseudarthroses In An Adult From Late Bronze Age Athens, Greece, Susan K. Smith, Maria A. Liston

Faculty Articles

This case study documents an unusual heterotopic ossification with associated pseudarthroses of the lumbar spine. We examined the partial skeletal remains of an adult from a Late Bronze Age (Mycenaean Late Helladic IIB-IIIA1 period, approximately1400–1375 BCE) chamber tomb from the Athenian Agora excavations in Greece. This individual had a large bony mass in the region of the intertransversarius muscle that spanned L3–L5 vertebrae and formed pseudarthroses at the superior and inferior ends. The differential diagnosis of the bony mass included dystrophic and neoplastic calcifications and myositis ossificans traumatica (MOT). MOT is a benign heterotopic bone growth typically found in skeletal …

The Internal, External And Extended Microbiomes Of Hominins, Robert R. Dunn, Katherine R. Amato, Elizabeth A. Archie, Mimi Arandjelovic, Alyssa N. Crittenden, Lauren M. Nichols

Anthropology Faculty Research

The social structure of primates has recently been shown to influence the composition of their microbiomes. What is less clear is how primate microbiomes might in turn influence their social behavior, either in general or with particular reference to hominins. Here we use a comparative approach to understand how microbiomes of hominins have, or might have, changed since the last common ancestor (LCA) of chimpanzees and humans, roughly six million years ago. We focus on microbiomes associated with social evolution, namely those hosted or influenced by stomachs, intestines, armpits, and food fermentation. In doing so, we highlight the potential influence …

Exploring Sexual Dimorphism Of The Modern Human Talus Through Geometric Morphometric Methods, Rita Sorrentino, Maria Giovanna Belcastro, Carla Figus, Nicholas B. Stephens, Kevin Turley, William Harcourt-Smith, Timothy M. Ryan, Stefano Benazzi

Publications and Research

Sex determination is a pivotal step in forensic and bioarchaeological fields.Generally,scholars focus on metric or qualitative morphological features,but in the last few years several contributions have applied geometric-morphometric (GM) techniques to overcome limitations of traditional approaches. In this study,we explore sexual dimorphism in modern human tali from three early 20th century populations (Sassari and Bologna, Italy; NewYork, USA) at intra- and interspecific population levels using geometric morphometric (GM) methods.Statistical analyses were performed using shape,form,and size variables.Our results do not show significant differences in shape between males and females, either considering the pooled sample or the individual populations. Differences in talar …

Nutritional Strategy And Social Environment In Redtail Monkeys (Cercopithecus Ascanius), Margaret Bryer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

An animal’s nutritional strategy involves the complex interplay between its dynamic physiology and its environment, an environment that includes a landscape of foods that vary in nutritional composition as well as a social environment of other feeding individuals. Social behavior—cooperative or competitive, with conspecifics or with other sympatric species—influences individual feeding behavior. Investigation of social feeding by estimating individual intake of multiple nutritional components, sometimes referred to as “social nutrition,” can give insight into how social variables may lead to shifts in nutritional niche.

In this study, I examined the effects of temporal shifts in diet, reproductive status and conspecific …

The Phylogenetic Relationships Of Middle-Late Miocene Apes: Implications For Early Human Evolution, Kelsey D. Pugh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The living great apes, humans, and their fossil relatives (family Hominidae) are among the most intensively studied mammalian groups, yet many aspects of their shared evolutionary history are not well understood. Phylogenetic relationships of fossil great apes are poorly resolved and the positions of many fossil taxa relative to crown ape clades are debated. Moreover, the relationships of Sahelanthropus, Orrorin, and Ardipithecus to hominins are disputed, with some authors suggesting that alternative positions within Hominidae are more likely. Analyzing the position of these taxa within the broader context of the Miocene ape fossil record is thus necessary to …

Testing The Iron Deficiency Anemia Hypothesis Using P-Xrf, Eduardo Maya

McNair Scholars

One controversy within the field of bioarchaeology revolves around theories that describe what environmental factors and illnesses could be causing cribra orbitalia (CO) and porotic hyperostosis (PH). These two pathological conditions, which are identified by porosities on the human cranium, are used by bioarchaeologists to estimate the health of archaeological remains. In the past, iron deficiency anemia (IDA) was widely believed to be causing these conditions. A range of factors, such as parasitic infections and lack of iron through dietary consumption, cause IDA. Because of the hypothesis connecting CO and PH to IDA, archaeological remains with visible porosities have had …

The Coping Behaviors Of Adult Children After Treatment For Parental Alienation, Anissa J. Michaud

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High conflict divorce and the alienation of a parent after a divorce causes minimal mental health issues and unhealthy coping skills in children. Without treatment programs that focus on PA, psychologists will continue to only treat the symptoms or rebuild the family system rather than treating the individual’s with healthy coping skills. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to compare personal experiences from adult male and females suffering with parental alienation after a parent’s high conflict divorce. Bowen’s theory of family systems was used as a theoretical approach to understand the comparisons of adult children on the basis of …

Applications Of Close-Range Photogrammetry For Documenting Human Skeletal Remains In Obstructed Wooded Environments, Morgan Ferrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Crime scenes involving human skeletal remains in obstructed wooded environments are challenging to document. One potential option to include with the crime scene processing protocol is 3D documentation utilizing close-range photogrammetry (CRP). This method results in the generation of realistic 3D models and accurate plan-view maps of the crime scene. The purpose of this research was to explore the use of CRP to preserve contextual information of simulated scenes involving scattered human remains in obstructed wooded environments. The main goal was to improve CRP methodology as well as demonstrate how to incorporate this method into the forensic archaeology documentation protocol. …

The Integration Of Lidar And Legacy Datasets Provides Improved Explanations For The Spatial Patterning Of Shell Rings In The American Southeast, Dylan S. Davis, Robert Dinapoli, Matthew Sanger, Carl Lipo

Anthropology Datasets

Archaeologists have struggled to combine remotely sensed datasets with preexisting information for landscape-level analyses. In the American Southeast, for example, analyses of lidar data using automated feature extraction algorithms have led to the identification of over 40 potential new pre-European-contact Native American shell ring deposits in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Such datasets are vital for understanding settlement distributions, yet a comprehensive assessment requires remotely sensed and previously surveyed archaeological data. Here, we use legacy data and airborne lidar-derived information to conduct a series of point pattern analyses using spatial models that we designed to assess the factors that best explain …

Good Governance Of The Commons Of Rapa Nui: Present And Past, Pamela A. Mischen, Carl P. Lipo, Terry L. Hunt

Anthropology Datasets

Sustainable communities on Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile) — whether in the past or present— require good governance of shared and common pool resources. Whether managing communal land needed for cultivation, ground water, stones for tools, fishing grounds, cultural heritage, or tourism, governance structures must balance individual interests with the common needs of the community. Much of the recent history of the island has been dominated by government structures that were imposed by Chilean authorities. Recently, however, much of the island’s cultural heritage has been turned over to local native governance. This shift has challenges due to the complex contemporary …

Contextos Mortuorios En La Consentida, Oaxaca, Durante El Formativo Temprano, Guy David Hepp, José Aguilar, Paul A. Sandberg

Anthropology Faculty Publications

En este trabajo reunimos las evidencias bioarqueológicas y de espacios funerarios para los orígenes de cementerios formales, y los cambios en la salud observada en los restos óseos durante el período Formativo temprano (2000–1000 a.C.) en la costa de Oaxaca. Las excavaciones en el sitio de La Consentida (1950–1525 cal a.C.) recuperaron 14 o posiblemente 15 individuos en 12 entierros. El fechamiento de estos entierros está basado en una muestra de radiocarbono de un fémur procesado con purificación XAD, en la asociación del mismo con otros entierros y en los elementos que los rodean, además de otras fechas adicionales de …

Introducción: Bioarqueología De Oaxaca: Identidades Y Cambios Sociales Entre La Sociedad Antigua Del Suroeste De México, Ricardo Higelin Ponce De León, Guy David Hepp

Anthropology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Development Of Social Behavior In The Tibetan Macaque (Macaca Thibetana), Rose Amrhein

All Master's Theses

Social cognition is vital for the proper integration into adulthood for any highly social animal species. The development of social intelligence during the childhood and adolescence of a social organism affects the individual throughout its life. This social intelligence allows for the establishment and maintenance of bonds through the formation of empathy, the understanding of intention and emotion, and theory of mind in some species. Changes to the rate and effectiveness of social development could lead to an individual incapable of integrating into the social environment of adulthood. Yet, much still needs to be learned about the process and influences …