Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

Evolution Of Lemur Pelage Color Variation, Amanda Nicole Spriggs

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation investigates the selective pressures that may be driving variation in pelage color patterns in Eulemur, Varecia, and Propithecus. This is addressed by exploring the relationship between the lemur pelage colors and ecological variables, such as habitat type, predation pressures, visibility variables, and level of sympatry. The following model is presented here to describe the evolutionary mechanisms that are thought to be maintaining pelage coloration in lemurs: Pelage color and pattern are potentially used to (1) signal to conspecifics information such as mate quality, (2) signal to congenerics species identity, and (3) avoid signaling the individual’s presence to predators. …

Managing Sociality Of A Captive Female Bornean Orangutan From Breeding To Post-Partum At The Smithsonian's National Zoo, Marie Vergamini

Theses and Dissertations

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Orangutan Species Survival Plan® aims to maintain 100 Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) in captivity. Because investment in breeding these lineages is high, properly managing sociality of potential mothers is essential. This study assessed how behaviors of a captive breeding female at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo changed from pre-gestation through the offspring’s sixth month of age to improve breeding recommendations.

The infant Bornean orangutan was born September 2016. Results indicate that during breeding, the mother socialized most with two adult females. During pregnancy, the pregnant female socialized in less energy-consuming ways, i.e. grooming. …

Chimpanzee (Pan Troglodytes) Space Use In A Sanctuary Setting, Holly Soubiea

All Master's Theses

Studies of chimpanzee space use can provide information about chimpanzees’ preferences and welfare. This study examined the space use of 12 chimpanzees at Fauna Foundation, a chimpanzee sanctuary located in Carignan, Québec, Canada. Observers recorded the chimpanzees’ location, elevation, perimeter, and substrate using a scan sampling procedure. In total, there were 93 hours of data and 3,190 scans. The author used Geographical Information System (GIS) to plot the chimpanzees’ location for each scan. The chimpanzees used the largest rooms most often, were inside 61% (n = 1,942) of the time, an arm’s reach away from the perimeter 90% (n = …

The Social Behavior Of Rehabilitated Spider Monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi), Anthony Denice

All Master's Theses

The welfare of captive primates in laboratories, sanctuaries, and zoos is affected by various aspects of their environments. Although space restrictions increase aggression and stress-related behaviors in most captive animals, primates show diverse mechanisms for displacing stress and mitigating conflict. Many primates, including wild spider monkeys (genus Ateles), use these mechanisms flexibly to cope with social and environmental stressors. I investigated whether or not captive black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) use behavioral strategies to cope with potential stressors in captivity. In particular, I tested whether an affiliative or avoidant strategy was used in response to changes in …

Collective Decision Making In Tibetan Macaques: How Followers Affect The Rules And Efficiency Of Group Movement, Amanda Rowe

All Master's Theses

Primate societies must undergo successful collective decision making during group movement to stay cohesive and provide the ecological and evolutionary benefits of sociality. This study investigates how a fan structure facilitates successful group movement in the YA1 group of Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) at Mt. Huangshan National Reserve in Anhui, China. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to determine the relative influences of sex, age, maternal kinship, dominance, and social network centrality on the number of fans (consistent followers) an individual had, and the number of group members an individual was a fan of (fandom). SEM revealed that …

Fertility And Reproduction's Niche: Human Sexual Diversity, Samuel W. Austin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abstract: Biologically exploring the origins and forms of human sexuality is of paramount importance. Scientific research has indicated that homosexuality was linked to reproduction, fertility, and adaptive child caring strategies, traits that seem to display cross-cultural similarities. This suggests that sexual diversity may be one of human’s earliest adaptations. While most of the previous research has been on individuals of European descent, little research on Native American populations has been completed to test whether these patterns continue in their population.

The research presented here tests the Sexually Antagonistic Hypothesis for Male Homosexuality, Fraternal Birth Order Effect, and childhood atypical gender …

Mitochondrial-Dna Phylogenetic Information And The Reconstruction Of Human Population History: The South American Case, María Bárbara Postillone, S. Ivan Perez

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Objectives: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences are becoming increasingly important in the study of human population history. Here, we explore the differences in the amount of information of different mtDNA regions and their utility for the reconstruction of South American population history.

Material and methods: We analyzed six datasets comprising 259 mtDNA sequences from South America: Complete mtDNA, Coding, Control, hypervariable region I (HVRI), cytochrome b (cytb) plus Control, and cytb plus 12S plus 16S. The amount of information in each dataset was estimated employing several site-by-site and haplotype based statistics, distances among sequences, Neighbor-joining trees, distances among the estimated trees, …

Changes In Male Hunting Returns, Raymond B. Hames

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Research on changes in male hunting among hunter-gatherers addresses two important issues in early human evolution: the nature of the family and trade-offs in mating and parenting effort as well as the development of embodied capital. In the hunter-gatherer literature, there is a debate about the function of male hunting that has implications for understanding the role males play in the evolution of the pair bond. The traditional model argues that male hunting and other economic activities are forms of male provisioning or parenting effort designed to enhance a man’s fitness through his wife’s reproduction and the survivorship of their …

Belén’S Plaza Vieja And Colonial Church Site: Memory, Continuity And Recovery, Samuel E. Sisneros

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

This is my capstone project for completion of a Post MA certificate in Historic Preservation and Regionalism. I received the degree in Spring, 2019. The project involves recovering the legacy of a historic colonial church site in Belén, New Mexico. The work involves the descendant community’s sense of place and the continuity of memory and sacredness of Belen’s first church and original plaza.

A Characterization Of Human Burial Signatures Using Spectroscopy And Lidar, Katie Ann Corcoran

Doctoral Dissertations

This study is an analysis of terrestrial remote sensing data sets collected at the University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Research Facility (ARF). The objective is to characterize human burial signatures using spectroscopy and laser scanning technologies. The development of remote human burial detection methodologies depends on basic research to establish signatures that inform forensic investigations. This dissertation provides recommendations for future research on remote sensing of human burials, and for investigators who wish to apply these technologies to case work.

Data used in this study include terrestrial spectra, aerial hyperspectral imagery, satellite multispectral imagery, terrestrial light detection and ranging (LIDAR), and …

Understanding Population-Specific Age Estimation Using Multivariate Cumulative Probit Regression For Asian Skeletal Samples, Ji Eun Kim

Doctoral Dissertations

For many years, the field of anthropology has encouraged anthropologists to assume that population variation exists in skeletal aging although interpretations of population specificity in skeletal aging have been inconsistent. This project investigates age progressive changes in modern East and Southeast Asian populations, and attempts to quantify the magnitude of differences or similarities in skeletal aging between different Asian groups as a first step to develop a more inclusive age estimation method for Asian populations. Specifically, this study explores the utility of currently available age estimation methods for Asian populations, asks whether a population-specific aging method should be region-specific (Thai …

Detecting Evidence Of Systemic Inflammation From Osteological Markers In The Indian Knoll Population Of Ohio County, Kentucky., Krysta Wilham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Indian Knoll is an Archaic shell midden site located in the Green River region of west-central Kentucky, and was excavated twice in the first half of the 20^th century. While Indian Knoll has been the subject of frequent bioarchaeological studies, the present study presents an osteological analysis of the relationships between skeletal markers commonly associated with local inflammatory processes, and that have the potential to be used as proxies for systemic inflammation. The analysis revealed a significant positive association in the presence of periodontal disease (PD) and periosteal lesions (PL), suggesting a potential underlying hyper-inflammatory status or phenotype. These …

Three-Dimensional Analysis Of The Development Of Upper Arm Musculoskeletal Stress Markers In Late Adolescents And Young Adults Of Archaic And Mississippian Populations Of Tennessee, Heather Marie Guzik

Master's Theses

This study compares three methods for the evaluation of morphology of musculoskeletal attachment sites. Two methods were macroscopic and the third was microscopic, utilizing three-dimensional laser scanning and fractal analysis The morphology of 19 upper limb attachment sites was observed in 33 males aged 15 and 30+ years, dating to the Archaic and Mississippian periods from the southeastern U.S. It was hypothesized that 1) the microscopic method would identify subtler differences than the macroscopic methods; 2) enthesis development would be greater in the Mississippian population due to the increased subsistence workload, even among younger individuals; and 3) late adolescents would …

A Morphometric Examination Of Cranial Vault Modification In The Middle Cumberland Region Of Central Tennessee, Gregory James Wehrman

Masters Theses

Cranial vault modification (CVM) is a physical manifestation of intersections between culture and biology. Cultural practices that apply pressure to the head during infancy result in significant reshaping of the skull and can be either intentional or unintentional. Occipital flattening is present among many Mississippian skeletal samples from the Middle Cumberland Region (MCR) of central Tennessee and is thought to be an unintentional result of childcare practices. Traditional methods for CVM classification have concentrated on visual assessment of location and means of flattening; however, this method is subjective. This thesis seeks to evaluate visual assessment of CVM through a morphometric …

Sexual Determination From Frontal Sinus Analysis In A Subadult Population Using Archival Radiographic Records, Erica Crosta

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The goal of this study is to use the improved imaging capability of cone-beam computerized tomography (CBCT) to investigate the development and sexual dimorphism of the frontal sinus and surrounding supraorbital region in the subadult population of urban Southern Nevada. CBCT radiographs were obtained from the UNLV School of Dental Medicine archival dental records. Five hundred and fifty six of these radiographs were reviewed for the study. Two hundred and sixteen patients (92 males, 124 females) between the ages of 7 and 20 years were included based on inclusion/exclusion criteria. Samples were categorized into 3 subadult age groups for analysis: …

Growth References For Tsimane Forager-Horticulturalists Of The Bolivian Amazon, Aaron D. Blackwell, Samuel S. Urlacher, Bret Beheim, Christopher Von Rueden, Adrian V. Jaeggi, Jonathan Stieglitz, Benjamin C. Trumble, Michael Gurven, Hillard Kaplan

ESI Publications

Objectives—Growth standards and references currently used to assess population and individual health are derived primarily from urban populations, including few individuals from indigenous or subsistence groups. Given environmental and genetic differences, growth may vary in these populations. Thus, there is a need to assess whether international standards are appropriate for all populations, and to produce population specific references if growth differs. Here we present and assess growth references for the Tsimane, an indigenous population of Bolivian forager-horticulturalists.

Methods—Mixed cross-sectional/longitudinal anthropometrics (9,614 individuals; 30,118 observations; ages 0–29 years) were used to generate centile curves and Lambda-Mu-Sigma (LMS) tables for …

Salivary Microbiomes Of Indigenous Tsimane Mothers And Infants Are Distinct Despite Frequent Premastication, Cliff S. Han, Melanie Ann Martin, Armand E.K. Dichosa, Ashlynn R. Daughton, Seth Frietze, Hillard Kaplan, Michael D. Gurven, Joe Alcock

ESI Publications

Background. Premastication, the transfer of pre-chewed food, is a common infant and young child feeding practice among the Tsimane, forager-horticulturalists living in the Bolivian Amazon. Research conducted primarily with Western populations has shown that infants harbor distinct oral microbiota from their mothers. Premastication, which is less common in these populations, may influence the colonization and maturation of infant oral microbiota, including via transmission of oral pathogens. We collected premasticated food and saliva samples from Tsimane mothers and infants (9-24 months of age) to test for evidence of bacterial transmission in premasticated foods and overlap in maternal and infant salivary …

Egyptian Mummy Ct Scan Analysis And A Comparison Of Midwest Museum Practices For The Grand Rapids Public Museum, M. Kate Peterson

Anthropology Master's Theses

To meet the partial requirements for a Master of Arts degree in Anthropology from Western Michigan University, the following internship was completed between June 2015 and September 2016. A Computed Tomography (CT) scan analysis was conducted on the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s mummy, Nakhte-Bastet-Iru. This analysis was a collaborative effort by myself and medical and museum professionals. Insight into the mummy’s life and culture was uncovered through examination and analysis of paleoradiological views of her remains. Additional research into the practices of other Midwest museums provided valuable knowledge of current trends in the dissemination and exhibition of mummy CT scan …

Conflict Or Congruence? Maternal And Infant-Centric Factors Associated With Shorter Exclusive Breastfeeding Durations Among The Tsimane, Melanie A. Martin, Geni Garcia, Hillard Kaplan, Michael Gurven

ESI Publications

No abstract provided.

Working With The Remains In Cambodia: Skeletal Analysis And Human Rights After Atrocity, Julie M. Fleischman

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This essay will discuss the research being conducted on Khmer Rouge-era human skeletal remains in Cambodia, and the implications of this work. First, the Cambodian project to conserve and analyze the remains at the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center (Choeung Ek) will be briefly discussed. This exceptional undertaking was the first complete scientific analysis of human remains from a Cambodian mass gravesite. Second, the author’s independent research at Choeung Ek and a collaborative project at another mass gravesite will be reviewed. The author’s research focuses on the traumatic injuries and demographics of the remains at Choeung Ek, while also incorporating cultural …