Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

Comparisons Of Captive Gibbons’ (Hylobatidae) Intrapair Behaviors Indicative Of The Pair Bond, Samantha Jones

All Master's Theses

I aimed to better understand captive gibbons’ pair bonds by studying behaviors that may indicate the relationship’s quality. I completed this research at The Gibbon Conservation Center (GCC) in Santa Clarita, California and observed four species: eastern hoolock (Hoolock leuconedys), Javan (Hylobates moloch), and pileated (Hylobates pileatus) gibbons; and a siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus). I conducted research from 19 April- 29 May 2017 using scan and focal animal sampling. I focused on nine pairs, and recorded gibbons’ grooming bouts, affiliative/agonistic/play behaviors, mating, behavioral synchrony, locomotion, and proximity. Previous researchers focused on duetting in …

Sex Differences In Glycosylated Hemoglobin In Mauritian Origin Long-Tailed Macaques (Macaca Fascicularis), Ricardo A. Fernandes

All Master's Theses

Diabetes is a common metabolic condition that affects the body’s ability to maintain normal glycemic control. This disease process can occur in primates. Long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) range throughout Southeast Asia and were introduced to Mauritius approximately 400 years ago. This genetically unique population has been the source of a large proportion of captive individuals used in research and macaques are the preferred animal model for diabetic research. Additionally, long-tailed macaques are successful in exploiting habitat overlapping with humans. This urbanization results in changes in the normal diet of these animals which can contribute to poor health outcomes …

Sign Modulation By Chimpanzees To Produce Interrogatives, Kailie Dombrausky

All Master's Theses

Native signers of American Sign Language produce interrogatives by holding signs for an extended duration while employing the questioning look. The questioning look is defined as raised eyebrows, a tilted head, and direct eye contact maintained for the duration of the utterance. Chimpanzees who communicate using signs have demonstrated modulation of signs including held sign, raised brow, and eye gaze. The present study used archived video data to compare the duration of signs when the chimpanzees did or did not employ the questioning look. In both single and multi-sign utterances, the chimpanzees held their signs for a mean of 0.6 …

This Is Just A Phase : The Impact Of Population Structure On Haplotype Phasing And Linkage Disequilibrium Measures At Functional Genetic Sites., Roxanne Kaaren Leiter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The block-like structure of the human genome has been the subject of many scientific papers and is of practical significance in large-scale genome-wide association studies. How stringent haplotype block boundaries are within and between populations has been the subject of ongoing debate within human population genetics. This thesis will contribute to the description of universal and population-specific haplotype blocks at functional sites, namely across the IL-10 gene family (including IL-10, IL-19, IL-20 and IL-24), which is involved in a number of immune system processes, and MAPKAP-K2, an adjacent and functionally significant kinase gene. Beyond the description of blocks across these …

Our Land Is Not Just Soil: Knowing, Feeling, And Doing Environmental Activism In The Arkansas Ozarks, Ramey Arlen Moore

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Ozarks is a holey place, an ancient plateau formed from ancient rocks and the sediment of millions of years of living things. The Ozarks is also, from another perspective a place made from a mesh of overlapping lines, lines of migration, lines of living things, lines of water movement over and through the land. This dissertation engages with the practice of conservation and environmentalism as it is performed and lived by Ozarkers and Arkansawyers, natives and transplants. Based on more than a year of ethnographic fieldwork conducted with the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance, Save the Ozarks, Arkansas Master Naturalists, …

Violence In The Canyons: The Human Cost Of Raiding And Warfare In Northeastern Arizona (Ad 300-~1300), Caryn Elizabeth Tegtmeyer

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Canyon de Chelly sits on the Northeastern border of the Kayenta region in Arizona. Because of the position in which they sit, those who lived there likely lived a unique experience when compared to the rest of the Kayenta cultural tradition, of which they are considered a part. By examining the skeletal remains of the canyon occupants, this study is able to reconstruct the demographic profile (age and sex), aspects of health (pathology, stature), analysis of trauma, and aspects of labor (robusticity and entheses) to create the first, modern, complete skeletal analysis of remains recovered from Canyon de Chelly. This …

Leveraging Multiple Populations Across Time Helps Define Accurate Models Of Human Evolution: A Reanalysis Of The Lactase Persistence Adaptation, Chenling Xu Antelope, Davide Marnetto, Fergal Casey, Emilia Huerta-Sanchez

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Access to a geographically diverse set of modern human samples from the present time and from ancient remains, combined with archaic hominin samples, provides an unprecedented level of resolution to study both human history and adaptation. The amount and quality of ancient human data continues to improve, and enables tracking the trajectory of genetic variation over time. These data have the potential to help us redefine or generate new hypotheses of how human evolution occurred, and revise previous conjectures. In this review, we argue that leveraging all these data will help us better detail adaptive histories in humans. As a …

Evolution, Function And Deconstructing Histories: A New Generation Of Anthropological Genetics, Omer Gokcumen

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Introduction to the Special Issue, mainly based on contributions by the speakers in the 2016 AAAG symposium, “Ancient alleles in modern populations: Ancient structure, introgression, and variation-maintaining adaptive forces.”

Chaco Canyon Dig Unearths Ethical Concerns, Katrina G. Claw, Dorothy Lippert, Jessica Bardill, Anna Cordova, Keolu Fox, Joseph M. Yracheta, Alyssa C. Bader, Deborah A. Bolnick, Ripan S. Malhi, Kimberly Tallbear, Nanibaa' A. Garrison

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

The field of paleogenomics (the study of ancient genomes) is rapidly advancing with more robust methods of isolating ancient DNA and increasing access to next-generation DNA sequencing technology. As these studies progress, many important ethical issues have emerged that should be considered when ancient Native American remains, whom we refer to as ancestors, are used in research. We highlight a recent article by Kennett et al. (2017), “Archaeogenomic evidence reveals prehistoric matrilineal dynasty,” that brings several ethical issues to light that should be addressed in paleogenomics research (Kennett et al. 2017). The study helps elucidate the matrilineal relationships in ancient …

Genetic Differentiation In A Sample From Northern Mexico City Detected By Hla System Analysis: Impact In The Study Of Population Immunogenetics, Eva D. JuáRez CortéS, Miguel A. Contreras Sieck, AgustíN J. Arriaga Perea, Rosa M. MacíAs Medrano, Anaí Balbuena Jaime, Paola Everardo MartíNez, JoaquíN ZúÑIga, VíCtor AcuñA Alonzo, Julio Granados, Rodrigo Barquera

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

The major histocompatibility complex is directly involved in the immune response and thus the genes coding for its proteins are useful markers for the study of genetic diversity, susceptibility to disease (autoimmunity and infections), transplant medicine, and pharmacogenetics, among others. The polymorphism of the system also allows researchers to use it as a proxy for population genetics analysis, such as genetic admixture and genetic structure. In order to determine the immunogenetic characteristics of a sample from the northern part of Mexico City and to use them to analyze the genetic differentiation from other admixed populations, including those from previous studies …

Scaling Relationships Between Cranial Morphological Features And Cranial Capacity In Modern Humans, Jacob Jesch

LSU Master's Theses

Certain cranial morphologies referred to here as “cranial predictor features” are known to allometrically scale with body mass at statistically significant levels. Brain size likewise is known to scale with body mass, with brain-to-body-mass ratio being expressed numerically via the encephalization quotient. The study at hand aims to demonstrate whether brain size via its skeletal proxy of cranial capacity also scales with cranial predictor features. Correlation analysis was employed on two samples of contemporary male and female modern humans, respectively, in order to determine the statistical significance and degree of association between cranial predictor features and cranial capacity, as well …

Evaluating Causes Of Error In Landmark-Based Data Collection Using Scanners, Brian M. Shearer, Siobhan B. Cooke, Lauren B. Halenar, Samantha L. Reber, Jeannette E. Plummer, Eric Delson, Melissa Tallman

Publications and Research

In this study, we assess the precision, accuracy, and repeatability of craniodental landmarks (Types I, II, and III, plus curves of semilandmarks) on a single macaque cranium digitally reconstructed with three different surface scanners and a microCT scanner. Nine researchers with varying degrees of osteological and geometric morphometric knowledge landmarked ten iterations of each scan (40 total) to test the effects of scan quality, researcher experience, and landmark type on levels of intra- and interobserver error. Two researchers additionally landmarked ten specimens from seven different macaque species using the same landmark protocol to test the effects of the previously listed …

Reduced Immune Investment With Energy Stress: Evidence From A Mouse Model And Human Studies, Alaina L. Schneider

Theses and Dissertations

During periods of energy stress, animals will prioritize and allocate energy from non-essential to essential tasks. Using a mouse model and published human data, we found that during periods of energy stress, energy is allocated away from immune function, and is prioritized for physical activity usage.

Sexual Dimorphism In The Femur And Pelvis Of Cebus Apella With A Randomization Experiment Examining Sample Size In The Fossil Record, Ryan P. Schaars

Theses and Dissertations

Measures of sexual dimorphism for six skeletal traits of the femur and pelvis of Cebus apella were calculated for 18 individuals to better understand primate skeletal dimorphism. A randomization experiment was also conducted on the measures of sexual dimorphism to examine sample size in the primate fossil record.

Phylogenetic Affinities Of Homo Floresiensis Incorporating Postcranial Characters, Kristina M. Feeney

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this analysis is to generate hypotheses regarding the evolution and ancestry of Homo floresiensis. Building on the previous study by Argue et al. (2009) by including a much larger sample of postcranial data for a more integrated picture of primitive and derived features across the skeleton.

Ecological Niche Modeling Of The Genus Papio, Amanda J. Fuchs

Theses and Dissertations

Ecological niche modeling investigates how climatic variables have influenced taxonomic diversity in Papio. Models performed well suggesting climatic variables influence the distribution of baboon species. Niche overlap among all possible pairs of taxa determined that species exhibited significantly different niches. The results of these models support a parapatric speciation scenario.

Dental Microwear Textures Of Paranthropus Robustus From Kromdraai, Drimolen, And An Enlarged Sample From Swartkrans: Ecological And Intraspecific Variation, Alexandria Sachiko Peterson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The original microwear texture baseline for South African hominins was done by Scott et al. (2005) and concluded that Paranthropus robustus exhibited higher complexity values (Asfc) that are seen in occasional hard object feeders. Australopithecus africanus has higher anisotropy values (epLsar) consistent with consuming tough objects. This study expands upon this baseline by increasing the sample size from n = 9 for P. robustus and n = 10 for Au. africanus to n = 66 and n = 44, respectively. Additionally, this study incorporates multiple different sites and deposits. The P. robustus sample includes Drimolen, Kromdraai, and an expanded sample …

Who Are The Apistoi? Symbolic Boundaries And Anthropological Language In 2 Cor 6:14-7:1, Nii Addo Kobina Abrahams

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Joseph A. Fitzmyer’s “Qumran and the Interpolated Paragraph in 2 Cor 6:14-7:1,” originally published in 1961, argued that 2 Cor 6:14-7:1 was an interpolation from an undiscovered Qumran text. Fitzmyer’s thesis was the prevailing scholarly opinion for over a decade, and while several counter-arguments have convincingly challenged Fitzmyer’s theory, scholars are still hard-pressed to explain how the passage fits into its context. Not only does 6:14-7:1 seem to lack any organic connection to the verses immediately prior or following, but it also contains unique vocabulary and what seems to be uncharacteristic use of standard Pauline terms. However, all of these …

Diet Of The Prehistoric Population Of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile) Shows Environmental Adaptation And Resilience, Catrine L. Jarmine, Thomas Larsen, Terry L. Hunt, Carl P. Lipo, Reidar Solsvik, Natalie Wallsgrove, Cassie Ka'apu-Lyons, Hilary G. Close, Brian N. Popp

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

Objectives: The Rapa Nui “ecocide” narrative questions whether the prehistoric population caused an avoidable ecological disaster through rapid deforestation and over-exploitation of natural resources. The objective of this study was to characterize prehistoric human diets to shed light on human adaptability and land use in an island environment with limited resources.

Materials and methods: Materials for this study included human, faunal, and botanical remains from the archaeological sites Anakena and Ahu Tepeu on Rapa Nui, dating from c. 1400 AD to the historic period, and modern reference material. We used bulk carbon and nitrogen isotope analy- ses and amino acid …

Costs Of Group Locomotion: How Infant-Carrying And Group Members Mediate Walking Speed Decisions In North American And East African Populations, Leah M. Bouterse

Honors Projects

A major portion of humans’ activity-based energy expenditure is taken up by locomotion, particularly walking. Humans can offset the energetic expenditure of walking in numerous ways, both evolutionary (such as changes in body shape) and culturally. Behaviorally, people can choose to walk in a variety of ways, including alone or with a group, carrying loads, and walking quickly or more slowly. All of these behaviors have energetic outcomes and as such can be important windows into how populations and groups adjust to different constraints. While sex differences in speed of paired walkers have been established by others, the dynamics of …