Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

A Manual For The Recovery Of Cbrne (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, And Explosive) Contaminated Human Remains, Patrick Barchett

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Despite many international agreements and treaties prohibiting the use of CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive) weaponry, the proliferation of contaminated human remains displays the historic and continued use of inhumane war efforts. Due to the complications of recovery, contaminated human remains are often left unrecovered and unidentified. This thesis works to create a framework for the recovery of contaminated human remains for organizations with a focus on creating safe and sustainable working environments for those conducting the recovery. Much of this thesis assumes the remains are being recovered from interred mass graves. This thesis provides an introduction to …

Functional Morphology Of The Platyrrhine Humerus And Talus: Implications For Inferring Locomotor Behavior In Extinct Primates, Liam Michael Zachary

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Platyrrhines are a diverse radiation of primates that exhibit a range of locomotor adaptations. The relationships between extant primate locomotor behavior and variation in postcranial morphology are often used to make functional interpretations of skeletal anatomy in extinct primates. However, a comparative baseline of form-function relationships in the extant platyrrhine postcranium is lacking compared to other primates, which limits understanding of platyrrhine locomotor evolution. The humerus and talus are two of the best represented skeletal elements in the platyrrhine fossil record and are informative of locomotor behavior. Therefore, quantification of morphological variation in extant platyrrhine tali and humeri can provide …

Understanding The Environmental And Genetic Influence On Fluctuating Asymmetry And Developmental Instability In Primates, Ashly N. Romero

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explored the impact of environmental factors on the development and perpetuation of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and sought to understand the role evolution may play in the FA exhibited in two primate populations: the free-ranging Cayo Santiago rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and the Southwest National Primate Research Center olive baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis). Demographic, ontogenetic, secular, external, and genetic factors were examined. Specifically, this dissertation investigated FA over all ontogenetic stages, across decades, between sexes, in association with ecological catastrophes, and with tooth pathology to try and tease apart factors that may influence FA and developmental instability. This dissertation …

Cultural Behaviors And Their Influence On The Proximal Femur: Comparisons Of Postural Behavior, Occupation, And Subsistence-Settlement Between A Pre-Contact And Historic Sample, Joanna Klein

Master's Theses

Little is known archaeologically about the Late Woodland Schroeder Mounds mortuary group from west-central Illinois. As such, bioarchaeological data is at the forefront of archaeological problem-solving for not only the site, but the geographical area as well. Skeletal data such as proximal femur angles and activity markers contribute to the understanding of subsistence-settlement trends and postural behavior of the mortuary complex. Femoral neck version is associated with postural behaviors such as squatting and kneeling. The neck-shaft angle is linked to mobility and settlement patterns. Bicondylar angle was explored to see if behaviors had any affect. Allen’s fossa and Poirier’s facet …

Energetic Costs Of Testosterone In Two Subsistence Populations, Benjamin C. Trumble, Herman Pontzer, Jonathan Stieglitz, Daniel K. Cummings, Brian Wood, Melissa Emery Thompson, David Raichlen, Bret Beheim, Gandhi Yetish, Hillard Kaplan, Michael Gurven

ESI Publications

Objective

Testosterone plays a role in mediating energetic trade-offs between growth, maintenance, and reproduction. Investments in a high testosterone phenotype trade-off against other functions, particularly survival-enhancing immune function and cellular repair; thus only individuals in good condition can maintain both a high testosterone phenotype and somatic maintenance. While these effects are observed in experimental manipulations, they are difficult to demonstrate in free-living animals, particularly in humans. We hypothesize that individuals with higher testosterone will have higher energetic expenditures than those with lower testosterone.

Methods

Total energetic expenditure (TEE) was quantified using doubly labeled water in n = 40 Tsimane forager-horticulturalists …

Social Tolerance, Cooperation, And Constraint Shape Differentiated Social Relationships In Female Chimpanzees, Stephanie A. Fox

Anthropology ETDs

In this dissertation, I investigate variables that promote and constrain female-female social relationships in chimpanzees, a species where females disperse at sexual maturity, reside primarily among non-kin as adults, and where fission fusion social structure can reveal how female social behavior responds to different social contexts. I conducted my research using a combination of detailed behavioural data that I collected during a one-year field season (2019-2020) and long-term data (2010-2019) collected by the Kibale Chimpanzee Project. I show that female chimpanzees form stable, differentiated social relationships, which reflect active preferences and variation in social tolerance (Chapter 2); females leverage these …

A Review Of Theropithecus Oswaldi With The Proposal Of A New Subspecies, Dagmawit Abebe Getahun, Eric Delson, Chalachew Mesfin Seyoum

Publications and Research

Theropithecus oswaldi darti, as currently understood, is the oldest Theropithecus taxon in the fossil record and the earliest subspecies in the Theropithecus oswaldi lineage. Theropithecus oswaldi darti is typified at the site of Makapansgat in South Africa, and a similar form (T. o. cf. darti) is usually recognized at Hadar, Dikika, some Middle Awash localities, and Woranso-Mille in Ethiopia. This taxon is also tentatively believed to occur in Kenya at Kanam and Koobi Fora and in Member C of the Shungura Formation in Ethiopia. While there is a general consensus that the East African ‘darti’ specimens are …

Reimagining The Inner Ear: A Morphometric Modeling Approach For Establishing Shape Change In The Evolution Of The Human Otolith System, Christopher M. Smith

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Our sense of balance is among the most central of our sensory systems, particularly in the evolution of human positional behavior. The peripheral vestibular system of the inner ear comprises the organs responsible for this sense; the semicircular canals (detecting angular acceleration) and otolith organs (utricle and saccule; detecting linear acceleration, vibration, and head tilt relative to gravity). The vestibular organs are often considered a single system, with most research focusing on the semicircular canals. The otolith organs, by comparison, remain largely unexplored despite their central role in balance. Consequently, this lack of knowledge limits understanding of vestibular functional morphology …

Reproductive Inequality In Humans And Other Mammals, Cody T. Ross, Paul L. Hooper, Jennifer E. Smith, Adrian V. Jaeggi, Eric Alden Smith, Sergey Gavrilets, Fatema Tuz Zohora, John Ziker, Dimitris Xygalatas, Emily E. Wroblewski, Brian Wood, Bruce Winterhalder, Kai P. Willführ, Aiyana K. Willard, Kara Walker, Christopher Von Rueden, Eckart Voland, Claudia Valeggia, Bapu Vaitla, Samuel Urlacher, Mary Towner, Chun-Yi Sum, Lawrence S. Sugiyama, Karen B. Strier, Kathrine Starkweather, Daniel Major-Smith, Mary Shenk, Rebecca Sear, Edmond Seabright, Ryan Schacht, Brooke Scelza, Shane Scaggs, Jonathan Salerno, Caissa Revilla-Minaya, Daniel Redhead, Anne Pusey, Benjamin Grant Purzycki, Eleanor A. Power, Anne Pisor, Jenni Pettay, Susan Perry, Abigail E. Page, Luis Pacheco-Cobos, Kathryn Oths, Seung-Yun Oh, David Nolin, Daniel Nettle, Cristina Moya, Andrea Bamberg Migliano, Karl J. Mertens, Rita A. Mcnamara, Richard Mcelreath, Siobhan Mattison, Eric Massengill, Frank Marlowe, Felicia Madimenos, Shane Macfarlan, Virpi Lummaa, Roberto Lizarralde, Ruizhe Liu, Melissa A. Liebert, Sheina Lew-Levy, Paul Leslie, Joseph Lanning, Karen Kramer, Jeremy Koster, Hillard S. Kaplan, Bayarsaikhan Jamsranjav, A. Magdalena Hurttado, Kim Hill, Barry Hewlett, Samili Helle, Thomas Headland, Janet Headland, Michael Gurven, Gianluca Grimalda, Russell Greaves, Christopher D. Golden, Irene Godoy, Mhairi Gibson, Claire El Mouden, Mark Dyble, Patricia Draper, Sean Downey, Angelina L. Demarco, Helen Elizabeth Davis, Stefani Crabtree, Carmen Cortez, Heidi Colleran, Emma Cohen, Gregory Clark, Julia Clark, Mark A. Caudell, Chelsea E. Carminito, John Bunce, Adam Boyette, Samuel Bowles, Tami Blumenfield, Bret Beheim, Stephen Beckerman, Quentin Atkinson, Coren Apicella, Nurul Alam, Monique Borgerhoff Mulder

ESI Publications

To address claims of human exceptionalism, we determine where humans fit within the greater mammalian distribution of reproductive inequality. We show that humans exhibit lower reproductive skew (i.e., inequality in the number of surviving offspring) among males and smaller sex differences in reproductive skew than most other mammals, while nevertheless falling within the mammalian range. Additionally, female reproductive skew is higher in polygynous human populations than in polygynous nonhumans mammals on average. This patterning of skew can be attributed in part to the prevalence of monogamy in humans compared to the predominance of polygyny in nonhuman mammals, to the limited …

Estimating The Minimum Number Of Individuals (Mni) For Skeletal Collections With Consideration To The Introduction Of Procurement Bias, M. Elizabeth Dyess, T. Heil

2023 Symposium

Of the competing methods for the estimation of the number of individuals represented within a skeletal assemblage, variations of the calculation of MNI (Minimum Number of Individuals) are most often employed. This presentation provides the preliminary results of an exhaustive study designed to determine the minimum number of individuals represented within a collection of 1,065 skeletal elements and fragments, belonging to the Eastern Washington University Anthropology Program. Results produced by established methods of computation were reinterpreted to account for the introduction of Procurement Bias in the calculation of MNI.

Compromised Health: Examining Growth And Health In A Late Antique Roman Infant And Child Cemetery, Sierra Malis

Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the relationship between growth, growth disruption, and skeletal indicators stress amongst juveniles (n=60) interred at the Late Antique infant and child cemetery at Poggio Gramignano (PG) (ca. 5th century CE), associated with a rural agricultural community. Growth disruption – evidenced by decreased long bone length compared to dental age – and stress experience – evidenced by skeletal stress indicators – were compared to those within juveniles from two urban Roman-era cemeteries (n=66), Villa Rustica (VR) (0-400 CE) and Tragurium City Necropolis (TCN) (400-700 CE). Results indicate that the PG juveniles had significantly smaller femoral lengths-for-age than VR …

Nebraska’S Medico-Legal System: A Death Investigation Analysis, Ashley Novak

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

A large part of the founding of the United States of America focused on the idea of state control over their internal affairs. For this reason, the United States is home to a largely decentralized medico-legal system. The State of Nebraska hosts a coroner-based death investigation system as is written into their legislation regarding the establishment of their medico-legal system. By studying legislation, federal and state reports, as well as publications by academics within the field, merits and weaknesses of the Nebraskan coroner system can be uncovered. Additional considerations and understandings that are needed to be understood include: understanding what …

The Woodcliff Experiment: Zooarchaeological Applications Using A Legacy And Cultural Resource Management (Crm) Faunal Collection, Matthew Zmijewski

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Legacy archaeological collections are often underutilized despite their valuable research utility. Archeologists might pass over these collections for research due to the age of recovery, along with the manner in which they were sampled and excavated. This thesis argues that significant archaeological research questions can be answered using these collections. To demonstrate their research potential, the author analyzes past subsistence behaviors and seasonality of occupations using the faunal remains from the Woodcliff site (25SD31). Woodcliff is a A.D. 1650-1750 Protohistoric Pawnee village located in eastern Nebraska. The faunal collection derived from excavations at the site constitute both a legacy and …

Sociosexual Behaviors Of Chimpanzees Vs. Bonobos: Are They The Key To Explaining Human Sociosexual Behaviors?, Libby Ware

Senior Honors Projects

We share 99% of our DNA with bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), which are also very closely related to each other, sharing a last common ancestor about one million years ago. Both of them are more closely related to humans than either of them is to gorillas or orangutans. Because of our close evolutionary connections, chimpanzees and bonobos serve as models for our ancestors, and as windows into our ancient past and “human nature.” Other than being similar in appearance, chimps and bonobos are very social, living and cooperating in groups. But their differences have long been emphasized. …

An Exploration Of The Correlation Between Body Mass And Skeletal Measurements Of The Long Bone Joints And Diaphyses, Caroline Genius

Honors Theses

Body mass is a characteristic of the human body that can aid in narrowing down potential identifications of unidentified individuals. However, when faced with skeletal remains, body mass is not easily ascertained, especially when the remains are incomplete. This research explores the potential correlation between body mass and long bone dimensions in order to aid in identification efforts. The limited research done prior has been conducted almost exclusively on the lower limbs—therefore, one of the primary foci of this study is to assess the efficacy of using the joint surfaces and shaft measurements of the upper limbs. Five long bones …

Dental Microwear Of Miocene Primates From The Turkana Basin Of Northern Kenya, Leah K. Myerholtz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Comprehending the dietary patterns of Turkana Basin primates from the late Paleogene and early Neogene can contextualize the role of food choice in the evolution of higher primates in Africa. Dental Microwear Texture Analysis (DMTA) quantifies wear on the enamel of a tooth and can be used as a proxy to infer aspects of a taxon’s diet in the past. DMTA can provide insight into what specific animals in the past ate, rather than what they were capable of eating, and by extension, reflect food availability related to habitat preferences or environmental fluctuation. Here, primates from six Oligocene through Pliocene …

Gendered Bodies, Engendered Lives: Bioarchaeological Exploration Of The Intersectionality Of Gender, Health, And Trauma At Turkey Creek Pueblo, Arizona (Ad 1225-1286), Claira Elizabeth Ralston

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation examines the relationships between sex, gender, and health at Turkey Creek Pueblo (AD 1225-1286), the earliest aggregated Pueblo community in the Point of Pines region of east central Arizona, to better understand their roles in producing differential health outcomes. To gain a view of these interactions, I use osteological, mortuary, and ethnohistoric data to explore how gender, as a social institution, informed divisions of labor and experiences with traumatic injury at Turkey Creek Pueblo, because this site was occupied during a socially dynamic and important period in the pre-contact American Southwest. Using these data, I explore how sex, …

An Investigation Into Peak Limb Compliance In College Sprinters, Lilian Sahibdeen

Anthropology

During running, the limb acts as a mechanical spring where it compresses and recoils to release elastic potential energy with each ground contact. Maintaining maximal running speed is particularly important during sprinting. Individuals with stiffer limb springs are more efficient because of this. Limb stiffness can be calculated using Hooke’s law (k=F/ ΔL), where k is the spring constant, F is the peak ground reaction force, and ΔL is the change in hip height between the initiation of limb contact and the middle stance phase. Many factors contribute to limb stiffness and this study examines how stiffness variers with contact …

The Scaling Method: Body Mass Reconstruction Of East African Hominins, Julianna Rose

Anthropology Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis details a series of novel methods developed to estimate body masses of hominin fossils using 3-D point cloud registration software. All analyses were conducted through 3-D modeling software that supported the remote study of five fossil femora from East Africa. The fossil computer models were repeatedly aligned with anatomically modern human femora to determine their scaling relationship with the objective of using the scaling factor of the human references to estimate the body mass of the fossils, on the basis of the femoral head breadth. Body mass estimates obtained through this technique were compared to estimates using more …

Fatty Females And Muscular Males: Investigating Human Sexual Dimorphism Across The Upper And Lower Skeleton, Brooklin Edwards

Anthropology Undergraduate Honors Theses

The sexual dimorphism profile of human body composition produces a unique pattern. Compared to other primates, humans have a mild size dimorphism; however, human males have a particularly muscular upper body and human females have a permanent fatty composition. These findings have resulted in varying interpretations related to sexual selection, mating systems, and male competition. Using humerus and femur measurements collected from 9 primate species, we investigated how the pronounced sexually dimorphic tissue composition of humans influences skeletal elements compared to the other primates. We hypothesized that over the course of human evolution, human females developed a body composition that …