Anthropology Commons^™

Analyzing Perspectives On Archaeological Curation: A Case Study From The Civil War Site Of Pickett’S Mill, Isabella Rosinko

Symposium of Student Scholars

Foundationally archaeology is defined as the scientific study of material remains, uncovered through survey and excavation. Meaning the field is dependent upon the accumulation of things: ceramics, stone tools, natural material, historic artifacts, etc. One way in which site assemblages are dealt with is through the process of curation, the storage and care of assemblages for extended periods. This is a varying process, across nations, states, and institutions. In the context of the United States, the National Preservation Act (1966), Reservoir Salvage Act (1960), and Archaeological Resource Protection Act (1979) provide standards for the long-term storage and management of archaeological …

The Role Of Coastal Resource Stability In The Transition To Agriculture, Soconusco, Mexico, Asia Alsgaard

Anthropology ETDs

Around the world, the transition to agriculture happens at different times and under different conditions, sometimes failing to occur at all. I address how risk management strategies, such as Niche Construction tactics, influence human subsistence decision making, both within the context of climate or habitat changes and its converse, stability. I focus on how coastal resource reliance in the Soconusco region, Mexico, may have allowed the Archaic period Chantuto society to continue to rely on aquatic resources even as other groups in the region began relying on maize agriculture. To address this question within the context of stability, I focus …

“From The Beginning Of Time”: The Colonial Reconfiguration Of Native Habitats And Indigenous Resource Practices On The British Columbia Coast, Chief Adam Dick (Kwaxsistalla Wathl’Thla), Daisy Sewid-Smith (Mayanilth), Kim Recalma-Clutesi, Douglas Deur, N.J. Turner (Galitsimġa)

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Indigenous Peoples’ lives, cultures, and values are defined largely by their long-term relationships with the lands, waters, and lifeforms of their territories. Their stories, names, ceremonies, and connections with the plants and animals on which they have depended over countless generations are cornerstones of their knowledge systems, systems of governance and decision-making, traditions of intergenerational knowledge transmission, and values and responsibilities associated with natural and human domains alike. For First Nations of North America’s Northwest Coast, as for many other Indigenous Peoples, the arrival of European newcomers disrupted both the natural world and associated cultural practices in interconnected ways. The …

Buying Goodwill: Local And Regional Consumer Relationships In Nineteenth Century New Mexico, Erin Nicole Hegberg

Anthropology ETDs

This dissertation uses comparative analysis of four nineteenth century Hispanic sites to examine the daily practices by Hispanic residents of acquiring and consuming material goods (1821–1912). Through the practice of consumption, Hispanics created and reinforced social relationships with the groups who bartered or sold them goods. In frontier New Mexico consumer relationships reflected important networks that may have played a role in the creation and maintenance of modern Hispanic identity after U.S. annexation. The nineteenth century was a key moment in the developing racialization of Hispanic identity in New Mexico, which makes it a vital period of study for archaeologists …

Postorbital Discard And Chain Of Custody: The Processing Of Artifacts Returning To Earth From The International Space Station, Justin St. P. Walsh, Alice C. Gorman, Paola Castaño

Art Faculty Articles and Research

Few items that comprise the material culture of the International Space Station ever return to Earth. Most are left on the station or placed on cargo resupply ships that burn up on atmospheric re-entry. This fact presents a challenge for archaeologists who use material culture as their primary evidence. Together with a sociologist, we observed the processes that have been developed by NASA contractors to handle and return items that come back to Earth on the Cargo Dragon vehicle. We observed two missions, CRS-13 and CRS-14, in January and May 2018, respectively, traveling to the locations of work and interviewing …

When Your Data Is My Grandparents Singing: Digitisation And Access For Cultural Records, The Pacific And Regional Archive For Digital Sources In Endangered Cultures (Paradisec), Nick Thieberger, Amanda Harris

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

In this paper we discuss the Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures (PARADISEC), a research repository that explicitly aims to act as a conduit for research outputs to a range of audiences, both within and outside of academia. PARADISEC has been operating for 19 years, and has grown to hold over 390,000 files currently totaling 150 terabytes and representing 1,312 languages, many of them from Papua New Guinea and the Pacific. Our focus is on recordings and transcripts in the many small languages of the world, the songs and stories that are unique cultural expressions. While …

Making Forests, Making Communities: An Ethnography Of Reforestation In Monteverde, Costa Rica, Megan Brown

Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

Reforestation is not just planting trees in the ground. More than net increase in forest cover, reforestation is a complex political endeavor undertaken by both humans and non-humans and a popular climate change mitigation tactic. However, little research has examined the dynamics between selection of specific reforestation strategies, health, and community resilience, particularly with attention to entanglements between the lives of both human and non-human forest dwellers. This ethnographic work, based on six months of in-person fieldwork and six months of digital ethnography, examines reforestation and forest relations in Costa Rica’s Monte Verde zone, a region which experienced widespread deforestation, …

Direct Evidence For Geophyte Exploitation In The Wyoming Basin, Kaley Joyce, Lisbeth A. Louderback, Erick Robinson

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the Wyoming Basin, archaeological sites dating from the Early Archaic to Late Prehistoric are often found associated with or adjacent to dense populations of Cymopterus bulbosus (springparsley), a nutritious geophyte that would have been an important food source for prehistoric humans living in the region. Experimental data have shown that the caloric return rates of C. bulbosus were enough to support seasonal exploitation by foragers, yet there has been no direct evidence for the use of this geophyte from the archaeological record. In this study, we examine starch granules from 10 ground stone tools excavated from two stratified, multicomponent …

Economic Agency And Risk Mitigation Among The Classic Period Maya At Holtun, Guatemala, Dawn Crawford

Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

Research into social inequality among the Maya often focuses on how elites gained power, while my research sought to identify how both elites and non-elites used economic decision-making to maintain and/or augment their status. My research tested for economic agency and risk mitigation strategies among elite and non-elite households at a single Maya site, Holtun, in the Central Lowlands. Its purpose was also to test for conservation behavior during a period of abundance.

The data for this dissertation was collected through the excavation of civic ceremonial and domestic plazas, and through lithic analyses of obsidian and chert artifacts from the …

Storytelling And Its Role In Cultural Heritage, Jacob Barker, Katrina Powers

Ethnographies of Parkland Student Life

In our research, we wanted to explore how storytelling connects people to cultural heritage. Specifically, we were interested in how mythology, folklore, and religion are displayed. In one case, we explored how mythology and folklore in popular fictional novels connected readers to cultural heritage. Our second focus examined how storytelling amongst immigrant communities connected them to their cultural heritage.

Understanding Campus Environmental Sustainability: A Thematic Analysis Of Interviews With Facilities Management Staff And Administrators At The University Of Denver, Alejandro Cerón, Dinko Hanaan Dinko, Izzy Beltran, Madeline Bonner, Mia Glover, Linh Nguyen, Madeline Ohaus, Maren Parchen, Quisi Rodriguez-Oregel, Delanee Taylor, Dani Thompson, Kansas Wood

Anthropology: Undergraduate Student Scholarship

This project sought to understand what influences sustainability choices on the University of Denver campus. Universities and colleges play a pivotal and influential role in shaping sustainable future discourse in society. As centers for innovation and research, universities continue to generate new knowledge and skills necessary to create awareness of the negative impact of human activities on the environment and pathways to mitigate these impacts. Over the past decades, there has been a growing transformation of universities from places of knowledge creation to places where created knowledge is implemented. Thus, in the field of environmental change, there is a growing …

It Won’T Be Easy, Allison Arkush

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

Interdisciplinary artist Allison Arkush engages a wide range of materials, modalities, and research in her practice. In It Won’t Be Easy, Arkush places and piles her multimedia sculptures throughout the gallery to create installations that overlap ­with her writing and poetry, sometimes layering in (or extending out to) audio and video components. This approach facilitates the probing exploration of prevailing value systems through a flattening of hierarchies among and between humans, the other-than-human, and the inanimate—though no less lively. Her work meditates on and ‘vendiagrams’ things forsaken and sacred, the traumatic and nostalgic. The exhibition title acknowledges that the …

Gen-Z, Gender, & Governmental Grievances: A Post-Transition Political Philosophy For The Newest Generation Of Women In A ‘Failed’ State., Olivia Harvey

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Over a decade since the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia, a new generation has come into adulthood, grappling with anxieties about their future in the midst of continuous national instability. This paper aims to bridge their sentiments of disillusionment and disengagement towards politics together with general conceptions of life by ‘Generation-Z’ women (between the ages of 18 and 30). The findings follow conceptions of history, freedoms, rights and personal life, particularly as they are affected by gender in Tunisian society. Specifically, this study is interested in how these aspects have changed from before to after the political changes of the past …

“Somos Un Pueblo Fumigado”: Un Análisis De La Lucha Contra La Fumigación Y Sistema De Agronegocios En La Provincia De Buenos Aires, Samuel Brooks

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Esta investigación estudia el movimiento contra el sistema de monocultivo de soja transgénica, la fumigación con “agrotóxicos,” y los grandes agronegocios en la provincia de Buenos Aires. Con la información de tres entrevistas y una visita a un encuentro de habitantes de pueblos fumigados, examino los diferentes “marcos” que el movimiento tiene para describir las formas en que ellos expresan el problema actual, las soluciones que proponen, sus métodos para motivar a la gente, y la perspectiva del movimiento en general. También, incorporo perspectivas académicas para profundizar el análisis de las diferentes áreas de discurso en el movimiento y definir …

“Yo También Puedo” - Una Investigación De Pensamientos Y Opiniones Sobre Redes De Apoyo Y Historia De Violencia Intrafamiliar Contra Mujeres Mapuches Rurales, Shira A. Lyss-Loren

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is an exploration of the rural Mapuche women’s opinions and history of intrafamilial violence. Through small group personal interviews this study seeks to consider the multiple lived experiences and opinions of rural Mapuche women as it relates to intrafamilial violence against women and the social and government support systems available to both prevent it and support victims. Intention of this investigation was not to seek out personal stories of violence, instead focusing on community-wide held perceptions, opinions, and beliefs about where violence in their community comes from, how its perpetrated, and how it is responded to or prevented. …

(Witch) Crafting Identity: An Autoethnographic Analysis Of The Dutch National Identity Through Women In Haunted History, Hallie Kamosky

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This autoethnographic study analyzes the presentation of women in haunted history in order to dissect the construction of the Dutch national identity. Through a personal narrative experience, the art, museums, tourist enterprises, and physical locations that constitute the city of Amsterdam are put in conversation with one another in order to draw out the inconsistencies and hypocrisies in the Dutch narratives of progress. Firstly, the Spin Huis and the ghost story connected to it are juxtaposed to the City of Amsterdam’s narrative in order to draw out themes of sexual exceptionalism at the expense of foreign bodies. Next, the Amsterdam …

Perceptions Of The Efficacy And Trustworthiness Of Faith-Based Organizations And Secular Ngos In Mgwashi, Bumbuli District, Tanzania, Naomi Tomlin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study investigated perceptions of faith-based organizations (FBOs) compared to secular non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Mgwashi, Bumbuli District, Tanzania. Perceptions were sorted into two categories: efficacy of services and trustworthiness. This study also examined gender and religion to determine potential influences on perceptions of trustworthiness and efficacy.

This study conducted 72 interviews of Mgwashi residents (18 Muslim men, 18 Muslim women, 18 Christian men, and 18 Christian women). Participants were asked for their opinions on the trustworthiness and efficacy of secular NGOs and FBOs with which they had experience. Then, those who had experience with both types (n=41) were asked …

Worrying In Cato Manor: A Case Study Analysis On The Influence Of Context, Samantha Garbus

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Social Causation theory states that social and economic circumstances cause people to be at a higher risk of mental illness (Lund 2011, p.1). South Africa has high inequality, with racial disparities prevalent in multiple indicators of socioeconomic status. Moreover, mental health in South Africa has often not been prioritized. This project aimed to assess how context impacts relevant aspects of mental health, such as worrying and the mind/body stress-response in Cato Manor. An additional theme of community beliefs on stress emerged from the interviews which is also presented.

For this project, I used a Mixed Methods-Case Study research design. I …

Investigating White Hegemonic Masculinity Among Sadf Veterans In Durban, James Marculitis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In order to enforce apartheid at every level of South African society, the national party government required their white male security forces to share a uniform identity and ideology. This ideology relied on a hegemonic masculinity that would be willing to aggressively protect racism, patriarchy, and cultural conservatism. A whole generation of white men are now reckoning with living in an entirely new country, one where their white masculine identities are not able to be practiced in the same way as they were under an oppressive racist regime. This study will build on existing literature of masculinity in South Africa …

Can Joy Be Racialized? Analyzing How Ghanaians Conceptualize Joy, Zakiyyah (Zaza) Jones

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The racialization of joy is one’s own experience of joy being tied to their racial, and ethnic identity. Inspired by the concept of Black joy, which is an example of the racialization of joy, this paper aims to understand how Ghanaian university students conceptualize joy and whether they would consider their experience of joy to be influenced by their racial/ethnic identity. 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS). In addition, photography was used as a methodology to capture images of Black people experiencing joy …