Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

Re-Interpreting A Complex Maya Burial At Tutu Uitz Na, Justine Marie Bye

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

In 2017, John Walden led an excavation of the Tutu Uitz Na intermediate elite center, found in the Maya site of Lower Dover, Belize. He and his team uncovered two burials, designated SG1-BU2 and SG1-BU3. Their initial report claims that there were three individuals, all sacrificially bound and killed within an eastern triadic shrine. In 2019, Dr. Kirsten Green-Mink and Justine Bye, both of the University of Montana, re-analyzed the Tutu Uitz Na burials and performed a comprehensive bioarchaeological analysis. SG1-BU2 was found to contain three individuals – 2 adults and 1 subadult. SG1-BU3 contained one adult, likely of high …

A Comparative Analysis Of Homicide Rates Utilizing The University Of Tennessee Forensic Data Bank, Anna F. Hampton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Homicide has piqued the interest of society through media not only in the 21^st century, but also dating back to the 1800s with crime fiction novels. Homicide holds the attention of our society with crime drama television series and has become part of American culture. With the attention that homicide receives, studies focusing on homicide are therefore important. This research utilizes the University of Tennessee Forensic Data Bank (FDB) to examine and compare homicide rates to the Global Study on Homicide conducted by the United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Variables examined include sex, ancestry, cause of …

Diet-Breadth Analysis In The American Southwest: Metabarcoding Method With Coprolites, Paige Nicole Plattner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Molecular analysis of coprolites is proposed as new means of studying bio-archaeological remains that aids in the ability to capture diet breadth from past populations. This research utilizes the targeted PCR method, known as metabarcoding, to study dietary elements preserved in the coprolites from three greater Southwest sites. The Illumina MiSeq technology was used to sequence the samples after multiple rounds of targeted PCR using two primers (16s and 12s) proven successful for taxonomic identification with animal DNA and one primer specific to plant DNA (Rias et al 2011).

The sequencing data was then run through two different bioinformatics pipelines …

Analyzing Lower Extremity Injury Profiles Of Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities According To Vehicle Type, Jacqulyn M. Scheer

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Skeletal trauma analysis of motor vehicle collisions has the potential to support or contradict reported collision circumstances. This project analyzed the skeletal injuries that pedestrians sustain in fatal collisions according to vehicle types (car, truck, SUV, van, bus, semi, etc.). Data were collected from reports and databases related to cases that occurred in King County, Washington. The pelvis and lower extremities of the body were analyzed for the frequency of skeletal fractures, grouped by pelvis, femora, patellae, tibiae, and fibulae skeletal groups. A Kruskal-Wallis test showed an overall no significant difference (P<0.05) in fracture quantity in skeletal regions between different vehicle groups. A multiple pairwise comparison using Dunn’s procedure also found no significant differences between vehicle type groups. A Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis showed an overall success rate of 37.29% when classifying injury profiles to vehicle type. The findings of this project can be applied to further research into the skeletal analysis of automobile versus pedestrian collisions. Low classification rates suggest that fracture frequency alone should not be used to assist in associating injuries with potential vehicle types in medicolegal investigations. Rather, the findings of this project lead the researcher to recommend that investigators and forensic practitioners move towards standardization in the quality and type of collected data—specific recommendations being the collection of actual speed and inclusion of full-body imaging in postmortem examinations to enable more detailed analyses.

Assessing Methods For Estimating Biological Sex From Subadult Skeletal Elements, Dorota Zabnicka

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

While methods for estimating the sex of adult skeletons are relatively accurate, these methods are often inconclusive when applied to subadults (non-adults), especially when many secondary sexual characteristics have not fully developed. Furthermore, existing methods for subadults are often tested on samples with relatively homogenous ancestries, calling into question their reliability in more diverse populations. This thesis reviewed techniques for estimating sex in subadult skeletal remains, and the most promising methods were retested on individuals of known sex between ages 3 and 17 years (n=39, 14 males, 25 females) from the Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection. Data collection included measurements of the …

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 …

Alas, Poor Yorick: A Dna Analysis Of Ancestry Using Crania, Claire Hanson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Current methods for estimating ancestry in biological profiles provided to law enforcement and forensic collections rely heavily on the use of metric and non metric methods such as FORDISC 3.1 and “trait lists.” The reliance on these methods has led to inaccurate and ambiguous ancestry estimations, as many metric and non metric methods are subjective and cannot be statistically tested for error rates. As a result, forensic collections, such as the University of Montana Forensic Collection, could potentially house remains that have been inaccurately curated. In order to test the accuracy of curation in the UMFC, DNA samples were extracted …

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 …

Group Differences In Mother-Infant Macaca Fascicularis Behavior, Parasite Load, And Body Condition Within An Anthropogenically Altered Forest, Elizabeth M.C. Coggeshall

All Master's Theses

This study aimed to establish preliminary health and behavioral data, as well as understand group variation for a large population of Macaca fascicularis individuals within an anthropogenically altered monkey forest. A parasitic analysis of 40 mother and infant individuals showed that M. fascicularis carried 13 different parasitic taxa, and that there was parasitic variation between groups. Body condition scores were determined using a newly created and adapted body condition scale from 146 sampled mother macaques. Body condition scores were significantly different between groups, specifically the pond group when compared to the three other groups. Mother-infant behavioral differences were seen between …

Examining Environmental Use By Captive Lemur Catta And Varecia Rubra, Rhiannon Belcher

All Master's Theses

There are over 100 named species of lemurs, of which 94% are considered threatened with extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). They live in increasingly fragmented forests. To understand how best to protect them in their natural habitats, we can observe how they manipulate the environment and how they use objects, both natural and humanmade, around them. Understanding their behavior is a critical component of conservation, and observing behavior in a captive setting allows us to study lemur-environment relationships without disrupting what little habitat is left in Madagascar. In this study I investigated whether the …

The Seasonality And Parasite Richness And Prevalence Of The Weddelli’S Saddleback Tamarin (Leontocebus Weddelli), Krista Banda

All Master's Theses

This study surveyed the intestinal helminths (parasitic worms) of Weddelli’s saddleback tamarins (Leontocebus weddelli), focusing on seasonality in parasite prevalence and richness. The collaborative study with Field Projects International took place at the Estación Biológica Rio Los Amigos (EBLA) in southeastern Peru. Fecal samples were collected by following semi-habituated groups of tamarins, yielding 16 samples in the dry season of 2015 and 11 samples in the wet season of 2015-2016. Findings were interpreted to understand trends for parasite prevalence and richness between the two seasons; however, novel helminths for the study species were observed. Trends were interpreted with …

Hand Preference For Holding, Tapping, Probing And Digit-Feeding In Captive Adult Aye-Ayes (Daubentonia Madagascariensis), Robert Shaun Mayo

All Master's Theses

Aye-ayes are a species of lemur with several unique characteristics. They have the largest brain to body size ratio of any lemur and are the largest nocturnal primate. Insect larvae are a dietary staple. They use their elongated third digit to tap on structures such as tree bark and their large ears to listen for auditory changes caused by the larvae burrowing through the wood, which creates cavities in the wood. They use their rodent-like incisors to chew a hole in the wood and insert their third digit to probe the cavities, feeling for the larvae. After locating their prey, …

A Community Of Care: Patterns Of Pathology And Trauma With A Focus On The Bioarchaeology Of Care At Carrier Mills, Il (10,000 – 1000 Bp), Alecia Schrenk

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Illness and injury are universal human experiences which are endowed with cultural meaning. Bioarchaeology has only recently begun to engage with the socioeconomic impacts of illness, injury, impairment, and healthcare provisioning in the past. This study examines how the Middle Archaic (6000 – 300 BC) and Early Woodland (1000 – 200 BC) hunter-gatherer community of Carrier Mills, Illinois was affected by and managed the socioeconomic burdens of poor health. The data presented in this study used bioarchaeological analyses to reveal patterns of poor health and healthcare provisioning within the Carrier Mills community. Bioarchaeology is ideally situated for such investigations since …

Small Group Learning Is Associated With Reduced Salivary Cortisol And Testosterone In Undergraduate Students, Kristin Snopkowski, Kathryn Demps, Ross Griffiths, Karen S. Fulk, Scott May, Kimberly Neagle, Kayla Downs, Michaela Eugster, Tessa Amend

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Small group learning activities have been shown to improve student academic performance and educational outcomes. Yet, we have an imperfect understanding of the mechanisms by which this occurs. Group learning may mediate student stress by placing learning in a context where students have both social support and greater control over their learning. We hypothesize that one of the methods by which small group activities improve learning is by mitigating student stress. To test this, we collected physiological measures of stress and self-reported perceived stress from 26 students in two undergraduate classes. Salivary cortisol and testosterone were measured within students across …

Estimating Body Mass Through Bone Mineral Density Studies Using Dexa (Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry), Kaitlin Harstine

Master's Theses

Identification of a decedent is one of the primary goals of forensic anthropologists. In order to do this, one must build a biological profile based on the remains that are provided. Sex, age, ancestry, and stature are four of the most common, however a fifth addition piece of information that could be beneficial is body mass. The goal of this research is to explore the relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and body mass, using data collected from dual x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans of 107 collegiate football athletes. Athletes are a good fit for this study because they have achieved …

Convergence Of Human And Old World Monkey Gut Microbiomes Demonstrates The Importance Of Human Ecology Over Phylogeny, Katherine R. Amato, Elizabeth K. Mallott, Daniel Mcdonald, Nathaniel J. Dominy, Tony Goldberg, Joanna E. Lambert, Larissa Swedell, Jessica L. Metcalf, Andres Gomez, Gillian A. O. Britton, Rebecca M. Stumpf, Steven R. Leigh, Rob Knight

Publications and Research

Background

Comparative data from non-human primates provide insight into the processes that shaped the evolution of the human gut microbiome and highlight microbiome traits that differentiate humans from other primates. Here, in an effort to improve our understanding of the human microbiome, we compare gut microbiome composition and functional potential in 14 populations of humans from ten nations and 18 species of wild, non-human primates.

Results

Contrary to expectations from host phylogenetics, we find that human gut microbiome composition and functional potential are more similar to those of cercopithecines, a subfamily of Old World monkey, particularly baboons, than to those …

Death On The Horizon: Osteoethnography Of The People Of Akhetaten, Alissa Michelle Bandy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to define and implement osteoethnography. Osteoethnography is the analysis and description of an ancient culture through the bioarchaeological and archaeological evidence, utilizing cultural anthropological theories and techniques. An osteoethnographic narrative is presented in this dissertation, which describes the embodied lives of the people of the 18th Dynasty Egyptian city of Akhetaten, now known as Amarna, founded in 1355 B.C.E. by the Pharaoh Akhenaten. Osteoethnography looks at how people are shaped by and shape their environment, how culture impacts health, and how culture informs the lives of its practioners. Osteoethnography employs life course theory, and …

Hippocampal Extracellular Potassium Levels And Formation Of Spatial Memory In Response To Retrodialysis Insulin Administration, Gabrielle Shames

Anthropology

Insulin is the most common treatment for hyperglycemia, such as that caused by type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus. Insulin causes cellular uptake and storage of glucose to maintain homeostasis and also plays important roles in other systems; an important example is regulation of potassium. In the periphery, insulin administration has been shown to increase the cellular uptake of potassium via Na+/K+ ATPase, leading to hypokalemia. Research in our lab and others has shown that insulin is a key regulator of cognitive function and local metabolism within the hippocampus. To date, however, no studies have examined whether insulin acts …

Hematogenous Osteomyelitis In Juveniles: An Examination Of Pathophysiology And Variation In Occurrence In The Archaeological Record And Contemporarily

Symposium of Student Scholars

Osteomyelitis is a general term for a group of diseases that cause inflammation of the bone. In most cases, the cause is infectious agents entering the bloodstream from other infected areas, especially traumatic or surgical wounds (hematogenous osteomyelitis). The main causative agents are Staphylococcus aureus (staph) and Streptococcus (strep). Other causes of osteomyelitis include indirect infection from soft tissue infections or sepsis (Ortner 2003, 181). Although osteomyelitis can occur at any age, hematogenous osteomyelitis is especially prevalent among juveniles. The location of occurrence is related to the timing of development of the growth plates, as well as the vascular supply …

From The Human To The Planetary: Speculative Futures Of Care, Miriam Ticktin

Publications and Research

This is largely a theoretical, speculative essay that takes on the question of what ‘care’ looks like at a moment when climate change is increasingly taking center stage in public and political discussions. Starting with two new practices, namely, humanitarian care for nonhumans and One Health collaborations, I seek to determine what forms of political care can incorporate the well-being of future generations and future iterations of the earth. After an exploration of One Health as an approach to planetary care, I ask what its parts enable us to think, despite its limitations; I focus on the new human-nonhuman assemblages …