Anthropology Commons^™

Ungrasping The Other: The Parent, The Child, And The Making Of Solidarities. A Response To Esther Ohito, Rubén Gaztambide-Fernández

Occasional Paper Series

The child reaches forward with his toes, extending to touch the world from the comfort of his mother’s lap. She smiles, wide brown eyes into the camera, left hand resting on her left knee while the index finger of her right hand clinches the child’s overalls near his belly, holding him in place. He smiles, wide eyes into the camera, right hand resting on her right wrist while the index finger of his left hand points forward. He feels the warmth of his mother’s chin resting on his nearly bald head, nested in the safety of her crossed legs. The …

Blood At The Root, Jarrett Martin Drake

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

What is the sound of silence and what is the sight of absence? The following essay situates itself along those two questions by devoting close ethnographic attention to the lives and afterlives of seven people—Delia, Renty, Jem, Alfred, Fassena, Drana, and Jack—whose reflections resonate and resound throughout the world of archives. I argue that a theory of archival power must consider the role of process and place in the shaping of modern memory practices. The article begins by narrating the story of how these seven people came to occupy the center of the archival universe. Next, it traces a tale …

“What’S Your College?” How A University’S Name Impacts Students’ Communication, Christina Coston

Campus Research Month

Despite Generation Z accounting for most college students today, there is a lack of information about Generation Zs and their college experience. This study aims to determine how a college’s name impacts college attending Generation Zs. Specifically, it investigates the impact of the inclusion of a religious denomination in the name of the college. To answer the research questions presented in this study, focus groups and surveys will be conducted. The presentation will focus on the results of the research which is currently being conducted.

Club-Fighters Of The Amazon: Warfare Among The Kayapó Indians Of Central Brazil By Gustaaf Verswijver, Laura Zanotti

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

No abstract provided.

Bacteria, Guano And Soot: Source Assessment Of Organic Matter Preserved In Black Laminae In Stalagmites From Caves Of The Sierra De Atapuerca (N Spain), Joeri Kaal, Virginia Martínez-Pillado, Antonio Martínez Cortizas, Jorge Sanjurjo Sánchez, Arantza Aranburu, Juan-Luis Arsuaga, Eneko Iriarte

International Journal of Speleology

Speleothems are a recognized source of paleoclimatic information, but their value as a source of signals from human activities in caves with an archaeological record has rarely been explored. Previous studies of speleothems in the Sierra de Atapuerca karst system (Burgos, northern Spain) revealed an important human fossil record, provided information about human activities in and around these caves, and the impacts on their natural environment. The present study reports the results of molecular characterization of dark-colored laminae from the stalagmites Ilargi (Galería de las Estatuas) and GS1, GS2, and GS3 (Galería del Silo), by pyrolysis-GC-MS (Py-GC-MS) and …

Cultivating The Future: Globalized Competition And Environmental Interactions In The New Mexico Chile Industry, Holly Patricia Brause

Anthropology ETDs

Despite the importance of chile to New Mexico, the future of the chile industry in the state is uncertain. Since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, chile producers in New Mexico have struggled to compete in a globalized marketplace. Additionally, predicted environmental problems, like impending water shortages and climate change, cast further doubt about the industry’s future. In this dissertation, I show how the New Mexico chile industry has become a binational endeavor. I examine the multiple future-making projects that are being undertaken by individuals and groups involved in the chile industry as they …

How Has Cultural Imperialism Affected Cultural Heritage In Greece?, Kelly Ford

Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

The Phoenix, Fernanda Perez-Alvarez

Montserrat Annual Writing Prize

This article uses a mythical creature, the phoenix, to examine and illustrate the biological principles for generation of an adult body plan from a single cell. Using the study of developmental biology, it explores the cellular and molecular biology that underpins the massive complexity of creating an adult body plan. It also explores the similarities and differences between different embryos, and how nature and evolution have shaped the biology of those embryos to create different body plans.

More Than Just A Label: The Afterlife Of The Hiv/Aids Pandemic In Richmond, Va, Josh Higdon

Arts & Sciences Student Symposium

This project investigated the current state of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Richmond, Virginia. Specifically, this project took into account the connections between HIV/AIDS and certain identity factors (race and sexuality), as well as the connections between HIV/AIDS and social isolation. Through using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methodology, this study provides information regarding new rates of HIV/AIDS contraction and the racial demographics of these new contractions, while also providing information of the lived experiences of people living with HIV/AIDS. Ultimately, this study sought to gain more information about HIV/AIDS to encourage continued research on this topic while also attempting …

Understanding Short-Term Household Recoveries From The 2015 Nepal Earthquakes: Lessons Learned And Recommendations, Jeremy Spoon, Drew Gerkey, Ram B. Chhetri, Alisa Rai, Umesh Basnet, Chelsea E. Hunter

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

We assess tangible and intangible disaster recovery dynamics following the 2015 Nepal earthquakes and aftershocks in order to understand household adaptive capacity and transformation. We randomly selected 400 households in four communities across two highly impacted districts for surveys and interviews at 9 months and 1.5 years afterwards and returned at 2.5 years to share and discuss results. We found that household recoveries were heterogenous, context specific, and changing. Tangible hazard exposure, livelihood disruption, and displacement and intangible place attachment and mental well-being influenced recoveries. We also illustrate challenges related to government programs, housing designs and codes, and outside aid.

Can’T Bear It! Employing Culturally Sensitive Initiatives To Reduce Bear Bile Demand In Northern Vietnam, Alicia Ngo, Shannon Randolph

EnviroLab Asia

Over the past 30 years, the combination of over-hunting, habitat loss, and increased bear bile demand has caused significant declines in Asiatic black bear (aka moon bear; Ursus thibetanus) and sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) populations. In Eastern medicine, bear bile is extracted from the gallbladders of bears and is then used to treat a wide range of inflammatory, liver, and degenerative ailments. However, the use of bear bile has had significant impacts on bear populations. Given that communities in Northern Vietnam have a lengthy history of using bear bile and bear bile is easily accessible, merely advocating …

Americans Adopted Fewer Pets From Shelters In 2020 As The Supply Of Rescue Animals Fell, Shelly Volsche

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Demand for new pets certainly seemed to spike when the COVID-19 pandemic reached the United States in early 2020 and forced many Americans to spend more time isolated.

But adoptions from animal shelters and rescues actually fell 17% to approximately 1.6 million in 2020 from over 1.9 million in 2019, according to Shelter Animal Counts, a nonprofit that tracks data regarding animals that spend time in shelters.

How did Americans end up welcoming fewer rescued animals into their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic? The short answer is that there weren’t enough furry friends to go around.

Functional Changes In Fortified Places: Strategy And Defensive Architecture In The Medieval And Early Modern Eras, Scott Kirk

Anthropology ETDs

Castles – defined as the fortified residences of a militarized elite class – are a global, cross-cultural phenomenon rather than a historically particular development in medieval Europe. Pairing Niche Construction Theory (NCT) with the Lévi-Straussian concept of the House, this research combines architectural, statistical, and geospatial analyses for a sample of castles from medieval European, western colonial, and nonwestern societies to show: (1) castle building is a recurring feature of competition in stratified pre-industrial societies, (2) geography and topography constrain castle location and function, and (3) changes in castle placement, design and elaboration reflect the changing nature of social, economic …

Embodied Injustices: Covid-19, Race, And Epigenetics, Maria Encinosa

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Digital Projects Showcase Exhibitor Award Although historical and even modern accounts of race assume significant biological differences between racial groups, race has little biological meaning. Nonetheless, the social construct of race has real consequences. Racial identity defines boundaries of community and impacts the experiences of individuals, including how people live and die during a pandemic. COVID-19 has disproportionately affected minority communities in the United States, triggering many explanations for racial disparities in health. Through an analysis of sources spanning from popular media to traditional academic journals, I analyze the potential for epigenetic research to serve as a missing link that …

Dental Disparities: A Quantitative & Regional Analysis Of Male Oral Health In The United States, Hannah Merritt, Gordon Rakita

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Project of Merit Winner

Multiple factors contribute to the oral health of male individuals in the United States, including economic, regional, and gender disparities. My study compares health care coverage and poverty rates to indicators of oral health status and dental care access such as percentage of tooth lost, number of dental visits, and oral health services at federally qualified health centers. This oral health data is drawn from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention across all fifty states in the year 2018 and from the United States Census. By examining this data, I will be able to answer …

The Remains Of The Fray: Nascent Colonialism And Heterogeneous Hybridity, Charles R. Cobb, James B. Legg, Steven D. Smith, Chester B. Depratter, Brad R. Lieb, Edmond A. Boudreaux Iii

Faculty Publications

Investigations at the Native American site complex of Stark Farms in Mississippi, USA, have yielded numerous examples of metal artifacts of European origin. Our study suggests that they derive from contact between the AD 1540–1541 winter encampment of the Spanish Hernando de Soto expedition and the local Indigenous polity. The artifacts display a wide range of modifications, uses, and depositional contexts congruent with hybrid practices. We argue that the early colonial setting of Stark Farms requires a different perspective on cultural mixing than is often applied in studies of European colonialism. This is highlighted by the strongly improvisational nature of …

How Race Is Made In Everyday Life: Food, Eating, And Dietary Acculturation Among Black And White Migrants In Florida, U.S., Laura Kihlstrom

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores how race impacts everyday food decisions and experiences among Black and White migrants in Florida, United States. The study is rooted in scholarship on food and immigration, which asserts that dietary acculturation or the “Americanization” of diets adversely affects the overall health status of migrant populations in the U.S. To date, the majority of this literature has focused on the experiences of Latinx migrants and has not centered race in its analysis. Building on participant observation and semi-structured interviews (n=49) completed over a period of 13 months in the Tampa and Miami Metropolitan areas among Ethiopian and …

The Martin Institute: Prints, Spring 2021, Stonehill College: The Martin Institute For Law And Society

The Martin Institute: Prints

No abstract provided.

[Review Of] The Doctor And Mrs. A.: Ethics And Counter-Ethics In An Indian Dream Analysis. Sarah Pinto. New York: Fordham University Press, 2019, 256 Pp. $28.00, Paper. Isbn 9780823286669., Srimati Basu

Gender and Women's Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

“The Jesuit Mission Proves We Were Here”: The Case Of Eighteenth-Century Jesuit Missions Aiding Twenty-First Century Tribal Recognition, Andrew R. Beaupre

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Records indicate that during the French colonial period, Jesuits established four mission congregations within the territory now known as Vermont. These missions were established to preach to both French colonists and Native converts on Isle La Motte, on the Missisquoi River in Swanton, at Fort Saint-Frédéric on Lake Champlain, and in the area known as the Koas on the Connecticut River. In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the Abenaki peoples of Vermont have had a long and difficult road to gain state and federal recognition. These descendant communities have invoked the existence of Jesuit missions to the Abenaki as proof …