Anthropology Commons^™

Remembering The Future: Wild Time And The Cosmic Imagination, Arabella Thaïs

Journal of Conscious Evolution

Entropy – the Second Law of Thermodynamics – is generally held to prove “time’s arrow”: that time is linear and unidirectional, and that the universe is following this trajectory. This paper presents a preliminary exposition into a new, integral ontology of time in which time is hyper-dimensional, non-linear and flows in both directions. This is supported through trans-disciplinary praxis at the intersection of aesthetics, cosmology, quantum mechanics, and chaos theory. The metaphysical implications of reverse causality are investigated, and confer a teleological universe that is coherent with the paradigm of an intelligent, self-realising cosmos in which beauty is a fundamental …

Home, Amy J. Hirshman, Madison Mccormick, Riley Bowers, Bonnie M. Brown

Hidden No More: The Enduring Impact of Native American and Enslaved People on the Evansdale Neighborhood and WVU Campus

No abstract provided.

Property, Amy J. Hirshman, Madison Mccormick, Riley Bowers, Bonnie M. Brown

Hidden No More: The Enduring Impact of Native American and Enslaved People on the Evansdale Neighborhood and WVU Campus

No abstract provided.

Folsom Activity, Mobility, And Flaked Stone Technological Organization At The Rio Rancho Folsom Site, New Mexico Locus 4147 And As-2, William A. Skidmore-Farren

Anthropology Graduate Student Publications

What are the similarities and differences within locus 4147/AS-2 technological organization? Determining the function of the site may reveal new adaptive strategies used by Paleoindian groups and perhaps tell us more about their social and technological organization. By measuring, identifying, analyzing, and comparing the lithic components of the locus 4147/AS-2, I hope to further our understanding of the Rio Rancho site’s function and technological organization. A study of the spatial distribution of various artifact types within the locus will also help determine the function. Chemical (XRF) and physical analysis of the variety of lithic materials from the sites will also …

Landless, Amy J. Hirshman, Madison Mccormick, Riley Bowers, Bonnie M. Brown

Hidden No More: The Enduring Impact of Native American and Enslaved People on the Evansdale Neighborhood and WVU Campus

No abstract provided.

Legacy, Amy J. Hirshman, Madison Mccormick, Riley Bowers, Bonnie M. Brown

Hidden No More: The Enduring Impact of Native American and Enslaved People on the Evansdale Neighborhood and WVU Campus

No abstract provided.

The Hillman Site (16ebr60): A Glimpse Into Pre-Contact South Louisiana, Brandy Kerr

LSU Master's Theses

Situated along the north bank of Bayou Manchac lies the pre- and post-contact Hillman site, 16EBR60. First discovered in 1960 by the landowner, George Menefee, the site was subsequently investigated by Louisiana State University archaeologist Dr. William Haag, who pronounced the site a Marksville village, due to the large number of lithic tools recovered from the site. Subsequent investigations at the site by Surveys Unlimited Research Associates, Inc. (SURA) in 2021 confirmed the Marksville component of the site and found occupation continued into the succeeding Troyville and Coles Creek cultures. The principal research questions asked include: (1) How does the …

We Would Be Friends: Fans, Musicians And Social Media, Cassidy Byrnes

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

With social media being one of the most prominent forms of communication today, it has become a pillar in the way our society functions. Social media has completely transformed the way we interact with people we know and with people we don’t. Celebrities have taken social media in stride and are using it as part of their brand to communicate with fans, which creates a very interesting dynamic. Musicians and their fans appear to communicate regularly through social media, so fans are doing more than consuming music, they are interacting with other fans and their favorite musicians. Fans, through social …

Campus, Amy J. Hirshman, Madison Mccormick, Riley Bowers, Bonnie M. Brown

Hidden No More: The Enduring Impact of Native American and Enslaved People on the Evansdale Neighborhood and WVU Campus

No abstract provided.

Blending Reproductive Justice Into General Education Courses, Ophra Leyser-Whalen, Adelle D. Monteblanco

Feminist Pedagogy

Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, there is still work to be done by reproductive justice advocates. As educators, we can integrate reproductive justice topics into our existing courses or we can create new courses. In this paper we briefly define reproductive justice and provide some learning resources for educators. The bulk of our paper describes our special topics Introduction to Sociology: Sociology of Reproduction course as an example and potential model for educators as we urge them to think about how they might integrate reproductive justice into their existing courses and texts, such that students …

Place, Amy J. Hirshman, Madison Mccormick, Riley Bowers, Bonnie M. Brown

Hidden No More: The Enduring Impact of Native American and Enslaved People on the Evansdale Neighborhood and WVU Campus

No abstract provided.

Acknowledgements, Amy J. Hirshman, Madison Mccormick, Riley Bowers, Bonnie M. Brown

Hidden No More: The Enduring Impact of Native American and Enslaved People on the Evansdale Neighborhood and WVU Campus

No abstract provided.

An Ethnographic Study Of Student Eating Habits At Parkland, Jordan Goodhart, Aaron Triplett, Tyler Thomas, Logan Haake, Prechethan Kesireddy

Ethnographies of Parkland Student Life

Our research question was broad as we chose to examine the eating habits of Parkland students and how it may affect their performance in the classroom. We also chose to focus on how Parkland students’ eating/snacking habits have changed since being at Parkland compared to high school or wherever they snacked before becoming college students. From our cultural anthropology course, we understand that food and eating habits are part of the “everyday actions that reflect cultural ideas” and can be studied to define the identity of a group (Miller Griffith and Marion 2020). Our research will reflect part of the …

Does The Genome Of A Putatively Specialist Moth (Schinia Gracilenta) Contain A Signal Of The Indigenous Cultivation Of Its Host Plant (Iva Annua), Wren Renquist

2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference

When one species depends on one another for survival, they may have shared demographic histories. Further, when symbionts have shorter life spans, their rate of evolution may be quicker than that of their hosts. For this reason, detecting a recent demographic signal in a symbiont’s genome may often be easier than directly studying the host.

Here I study the slender flower moth (Schinia gracilenta) and its host plant, sumpweed (Iva annua). Sumpweed is thought to have been cultivated in North American ca. 5000 BC - AD 1700 and its range may have been expanded during this time. I collected S. …

Anthropogenic Influences Of Play In The Green Monkeys Of Barbados, Rose Amrhein

2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference

There are multiple theories behind the evolutionary origins and functions of play behavior in the animal kingdom, all with varying levels of support. Some argue play originated as a byproduct of individuals having excess energy in a resource-rich environment while others argue it arose as a way for young individuals to enhance the physical and mental skills needed to survive into adulthood. Many believe that both these theories are coexisting and applicable to some degree. However, previous play studies usually focused on one group of organisms, failing to consider how animals’ environment directly impacts the structure of their play and …

Leadership Prototypes And Cultural Variations Amongst Hmong Men And Women Working Professionals In Minnesota, Ying K. Yang

PhD in Organizational Leadership

Since arriving in the United States in 1975 as immigrants, the Hmong have faced many cultural challenges and were forced to adapt quickly. In 2011, the Hmong lost their last officially recognized leader, General Vang Pao. With the Hmong assimilating to the American culture, it is unclear whether their leadership prototype has changed due to cultural variation. This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to examine leadership prototypes and cultural variation amongst working professional Hmong men and women in Minnesota. Minnesota was chosen because it is home to the largest Hmong population in the United States. This study targeted understanding the lived …

The Geography Of Altithermal Subsistence Adaptations On The North American Great Plains, Ryan Breslawski

Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

On the Great Plains, the Middle Holocene (8200–5000 yr BP) was a warm period where foraging peoples expanded into new food resources and developed new food processing technologies. It is unclear precisely what drove these cultural changes, and environmental explanations tend to assume that climatically mediated causes occurred along latitudinal gradients, with the southern Plains experiencing severe water shortages and declining abundances of important resources relative to the northern Plains. A decline in one such resource, bison, has been repeatedly proposed as the mechanism that drove the adoption of new resources and technologies, with the most pronounced consequences at southern …

Humanity's Fate: An Analysis Of Speculative Human Evolution In Literary Fiction, Celeste T. Johnson

Senior Theses

Speculative human evolution is a literature subgenre of science fiction that explores the potential future of humanity and descendant species. Little academic research has been done to evaluate the scientific accuracy of works of this genre or assess the relationship between the themes presented in the works and our current world. Future human species and their evolutionary journeys were assessed for scientific possibility through comparison with current research in fields such as anthropology, evolutionary biology, and sociology. It was found that the species depicted in works of speculative human evolution were largely based in scientific accuracy and could possibly exist …

"Yes Mom, I'M Eating": Foodways Among An International Cohort, Tessa Sergile

Senior Theses

This research demonstrates different ways an individual’s habits around food change when exposed to new environments. It uses a combination of first-person sources and existing literature to draw conclusions surrounding the patterns of change in food preparation and consumption. A series of interviews were conducted and recorded to collect the information used in the thesis. The interview participants were college-aged students who had spent 6 < months in a foreign country. Most were participants of the IBEA cohort of South Carolina, a program where students around the world came together as a group to study at multiple universities over two years. Interviews were based on an interview guide that was refined throughout the process. There were a total of 33 interviews, with participants hailing from six different countries. The results of the interviews demonstrated that individuals exhibited varying types of behavior based on their own viewpoints towards cooking and meals, as well as the environment they were exposed to during meal preparation. This information was used to create a matrix to classify individuals based on their inspirations in cooking, and their use of home habits. The results lead to an additional category of “Unconscious Preparation” being proposed to the existing subcategories of food preparation. Further analysis of the data collected is also encouraged. This research adds depth to the present literature since it deals with individuals who are in foreign environments for the short-term, before moving away. Current literature mainly focuses on immigrants who move away from their homeland permanently (Brown and Mussell, 1984; Goode, Theophano and Curtis, 1984; Kalčik, 1984; Singer, 1984). It adds a new consideration to how we approach mealtimes when we are in a foreign environment and helps define different approaches that people may take when preparing food away from where they grew up. These findings could be used for other students studying abroad to better determine how their mealtime habits may change. There is also literature in Gottlieb and Rossi (1961), which describes similar effects in the military, whose style of travel and living is similar to that of an international student, meaning the results could also be interesting to the government when trying to plan for meals served to active-duty personnel abroad.

Centring Individual Animals To Improve Research And Citation Practices, Shelly Volsche, Holly Root-Gutteridge, Anna T. Korzeniowska, Alexandra Horowitz

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Modern behavioural scientists have come to acknowledge that individual animals may respond differently to the same stimuli and that the quality of welfare and lived experience can affect behavioural responses. However, much of the foundational research in behavioural science lacked awareness of the effect of both welfare and individuality on data, bringing their results into question. This oversight is rarely addressed when citing seminal works as their findings are considered crucial to our understanding of animal behaviour. Furthermore, more recent research may reflect this lack of awareness by replication of earlier methods – exacerbating the problem. The purpose of this …