Anthropology Commons^™

An Anthropological Analysis Of Ancient, Historic, And Modern Anatolian Cities, Genevieve S. Hall

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis proposes a model for the comparison of cities as settlement patterns, based primarily on the works of Monica Smith, Michael E. Smith, and V. Gordon Childe. The Tripart Stage-Based Model proposed here examines city proportions, internal specialization, and external specialization, as well as variables within each characteristic. It is intended for use in both the individual study of a settlement's form and function as well as comparative analysis. The Tripart Stage-Based Model operationalizes Monica Smith's triaxial model and creates a progression of analysis beginning with the form of the city before moving through its individual and larger context. …

Local People’S Perceptions Of Benefits And Costs Of Protected Areas: The Case Of Tarangire National Park And The Surrounding Ecosystem, Northern Tanzania, Felix J. Mkonyi

Journal of Ecological Anthropology

A

A better understanding of the benefits and costs of conservation to people living adjacent to protected areas is fundamental to balancing their conservation goals and needs. This study, based in the Tarangire-Simanjiro ecosystem, explored the costs, benefits and attitudes of local people living adjacent to Tarangire National Park in northern Tanzania. In-depth interviews were conducted with 30 respondents which were randomly selected from the ‘population’ of 300 respondents used previously for the main survey. Results indicate mixed responses towards protected areas. The majority of respondents held positive attitudes toward the park (56.7%) and park staff (63.3%) but had negative …

Yellowtail Snapper: Human-Ecological Relationships In The South Florida Fishery, Brent Stoffle, Amanda D. Stoltz

Journal of Ecological Anthropology

In 2018 over a period of five months researchers from National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) conducted a study with fishermen and local business owners who participate in the South Florida Yellowtail snapper fishery. Fishermen were asked about changes in their targeting strategies over the last several decades; and they perceive these changes to have altered the health and the biology of the snapper species. The changes are perceived as partially responsible for improving both the overall abundance of Yellowtail and having sped up its the growth and reproductive cycles. This is a case where …

Marked Membership: Anthropological Perspectives On North American Contemporary Tattooing, Rosalie A. Johnson

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Tattooing has persisted across time and space, often developing across ancient civilizations, even before cross-cultural contact. With the current oldest verified tattoos on the mummified body of Ötzi, the 5,300-year-old Tyrolean Iceman, up to current-day tattooing, a variety of uses and meanings have been ascribed to the practice. A majority of anthropological research has been dedicated towards indigenous tattooing traditions, external perceptions of marked individuals, and tattooing's deviant associations. Only a marginal amount of work has been geared towards the internal perceptions and cultural structuring of tattoos within modern societies, especially in the West. Frequently, a ‘tattoo community' is assumed …

To Influence?: Exploring The Socio-Ecology Of Zoo-Morphic Imagery On The Northern Colorado Plateau, Ralph J. Hartley

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

TO INFLUENCE?: EXPLORING THE SOCIO-ECOLOGY OF ZOO-MORPHIC IMAGERY ON THE NORTHERN COLORADO PLATEAU

Figurative zoo-morphic imagery is but one of a broad variety of created morphologically distinct depictions that can be used, both in isolation and in complexly configured modes of communication, to exploit the sensory responses of viewers. While contemporary observations of zoo-morphic petroglyphs and pictographs (i.e. rock-art) elicit varied interpretations and assignments of meaning relative to broader re-constructions of past socio-cultural systems, it is often assumed that the imagery reflects the creator’s intimate knowledge of behavior and habitat of the subject. In contemporary and recent historic times communicating …

Modelling Acoustics In Ancient Maya Cities: Moving Towards A Synesthetic Experience Using Gis & 3d Simulation, Graham Goodwin, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Archaeological analyses have successfully employed 2D and 3D tools to measure vision and movement within cityscapes; however, built environments are often designed to invoke synesthetic experiences. GIS and Virtual Reality (VR) now enable archaeologists to also measure the acoustics of ancient spaces. To move toward an understanding of synesthetic experience in ancient Maya cities, we employ GIS and 3D modelling to measure sound propagation and reverberation using the main civic-ceremonial complex in ancient Copán as a case study. For the ancient Maya, sight and sound worked in concert to create ritually-charged atmospheres and architecture served to shape these experiences. Together …

The Role Of Forensic Anthropological Techniques In Identifying America's War Dead From Past Conflicts, William Belcher, Calvin Y. Shiroma, Lesley A. Chesson, Gregory E. Berg, Miranda Jans

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The Scientific Analysis Directorate of the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is a unique entity within the U.S. Government. This agency currently houses the world's largest, accredited skeletal identification laboratory in the world, in terms of the size of the scientific staff, global mission, and number of annual identifications. Traditional forensic anthropology is used for the formation of a biological profile (biological sex, stature, population affinity/ancestry, and age) as well as trauma and pathologies that may be compared with historical records and personnel files. Since World War II, various scientists associated with DoD have conducted …

The Role Of Forensic Anthropological Techniques In Identifying America's War Dead From Past Conflicts, William Belcher, Calvin Y. Shiroma, Lesley A. Chesson, Gregory E. Berg, Miranda Jans

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The Scientific Analysis Directorate of the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is a unique entity within the U.S. Government. This agency currently houses the world's largest, accredited skeletal identification laboratory in the world, in terms of the size of the scientific staff, global mission, and number of annual identifications. Traditional forensic anthropology is used for the formation of a biological profile (biological sex, stature, population affinity/ancestry, and age) as well as trauma and pathologies that may be compared with historical records and personnel files. Since World War II, various scientists associated with DoD have conducted …

Disrupted Identities And Forced Nomads: A Post-Disaster Legacy Of Neocolonialism In The Island Of Barbuda, Lesser Antilles, Sophia Perdikaris, Rebecca Boger, Edith Gonzalez, Emira Ibrahimpašić, Jennifer D. Adams

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

In the aftermath of the forced evacuation of the island of Barbuda due to Hurricane Irma, the Barbudan people have experienced an exile and return to a ‘new’ geographical, political, and economic context, albeit on the same island. With the specter of climate change and the potential impacts on island communities and nations, we use Barbuda, sister island of Antigua in the Lesser Antilles, to examine the trajectory of nomadic identities as they navigate changes that threaten contemporary land relationships and culture. Since its first permanent settlement in the 17th Century, the island geography of Barbuda has been fundamental to …

Surviving “Los Sures”: An Anthropological Reflection On The Nuyoricans Lived Experiences In South Williamsburg, Brooklyn And The Current Urban Context Of Gentrification In New York City, Victor Vázquez, Ashley Mcafee

Departmental Papers (S&A)

The following article presents an anthropological and historical reflection on the Puerto Rican inner-city neighborhood better known as “Los Sures” in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City (NYC). The analysis will explore the contemporary academic discussion regarding the following concepts: poverty, the welfare State, the discourse surrounding welfare recipients’ culture, inner-city living conditions, and the current context of gentrification. Methodologically, the article presents an ethnographic reflection based on fieldwork experiences and interviews conducted on residents of the previous “Los Sures” and still living in NYC. Finally, we present a critical reflection on the poverty, welfare State policy, and shed light …

Who’S Doing The Dishes?: Reproductive Labor, Gender, And Middle-Class Subjectivities In Rabat, Morocco, Miriam Ruth Dike

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

The dissertation uses reproductive labor as a lens to examine how gendered and classed subjectivities are continuously created, performed, and subtly transformed within and outside of urban middle-class Moroccan households. Reproductive labor is broadly defined as unpaid and paid labor associated with caregiving and domestic roles including but not limited to cleaning, cooking, and child care. Subjectivities are the perspectives, feelings, beliefs, and desires of subjects within uneven relations of power. This research is based on seventeen months of ethnographic fieldwork in Rabat-Sale, Morocco including fifty-seven semi-structured interviews with married working- and middle-class Moroccans, as well as extensive participant observation …

Neanderthal Ecology In Western Iberia: The Case From Lapa Do Picareiro, Milena Moreira De Carvalho

Anthropology ETDs

In Iberia, potentially the last place where Neanderthals survived, the demographic breakdown of small, loosely connected populations seems to have been a significant driver their demise. Human responses to the climatic fluctuations of the Late Pleistocene, particularly Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3, could be an explanation for the decreases in Neanderthal population size during this time; it may be that habitat fragmentation and environmental instability contributed to a demographic breakdown, resulting in small, secluded Neanderthal populations that remained for some time in refugia, even after the arrival of anatomically modern humans in Europe some 40,000 years ago. In this dissertation, …

Aging And Gender In The Tsimane’: Differences In Energy Expenditure, Physical Activity, And Horticultural Work, Daniel Kruse Cummings

Anthropology ETDs

The purpose of this dissertation is to measure and explain age- and sex-related differences in energy expenditure, physical activity, and patterns of horticultural work, in the Tsimane’, a subsistence forager-horticulturalist population from the Bolivian Amazon. Changes in the way energy is used with advancing age has important implications for the tradeoffs negotiated within the aging body as it partitions increasingly limited energy among competing life functions. It is guided by a theoretical framework which posits the co-evolution of the unique suite of fast and slow human life history traits, cooperative production of resources, and ageand sex-specific schedules of growth, production, …

Performing Multiculturalism: Ukrainian-Canadian Identities In Transnational Politics Of Recognition, Olga Glinskii

Anthropology ETDs

As a result of specific aspects of history, including historically complex diasporas, contemporary Ukrainian identities -- both socially normative and personal -- are subject to a transnational politics of recognition. Whereas Charles Taylor has done more than any other scholar to highlight obligatory and unavoidable character of the politics of identity today, his univocal approach to the relations among language, culture, and identity is inadequate for illuminating the Ukrainian situation. In this dissertation I show that Ukrainians of different sorts employ situational strategies for mobilizing a set of perspectively valid --though not always logically consistent -- historically based ontologies. I …

Counting Chins To Count People: Determining Mni For Umm An-Nar Tombs From Mandibular Fragments, Chaylee Arellano, Quentin Burke, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Jaime M. Ullinger

Year 1: AAPA 2021 – virtual

Background: The Umm an-Nar period (2700-2000 BCE) was a time of rapid transformation within the Oman Peninsula, characterized by changes in mortuary practices, agriculture, and settlement. Located in the United Arab Emirates, Unar 1 (2400-2200 BCE) and Unar 2 (2300-2100 BCE) are two large Umm an-Nar tombs that held commingled, fragmented remains, posing a challenge in determining the minimum number of individuals (MNI). Based on the larger size of Unar 2, we hypothesized that the number of interred individuals would increase over time.

Methods: MNI was calculated using the zonation and landmark methods for the mandible. MNI and tomb size …

It Happened Centuries Ago: Using Gis And Spatial Analysis To Map The Quilombo Dos Palmares, Charlotte Mills

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

In Brazil, the largest escaped slave community in the Americas incorporated multiple settlements into a united federation. This was Palmares, named for the palm forests where community members sheltered in the Captaincy of Pernambuco. Encompassing nine individual villages at its height in the mid-1600s, only one known settlement has been extensively studied by archaeologists. The remaining eight have not been definitively located. Through historiography, spatial analysis, and remote sensing techniques, the locations of the eight unknown sites of Palmares may be estimated using geographic information science. Introducing spatial analysis into the current body of Palmares literature offers new insights and …

Queer Arab American Experiences: Navigating Cross Cultural Expectations Of Gender And Sexuality, Gabriela Mansour

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The understanding of the experiences of queer Arab Americans and the ways in which they navigate cross cultural expectations of gender and sexuality is limited in the anthropology or social sciences scholarship. The available scholarship focuses primarily on queerness in juxtaposition to Islam, which is not relatable to all Arab Americans as they are a religiously diverse group. Through an intersectional approach, this research, conducted from April 2020 to May 2021, explores the lived experiences of queer Arab Americans from across the United States (U.S.) while seeking to identify potential commonalities that could encompass a more general queer Arab American …

Understanding The Dietary Behavior Of A 7th - 8th Century Avar Community From Jagodnjak, Croatia Using Stable Isotope Analysis Of Bone Collagen, Marlon Koci

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The dietary behavior of past communities is influenced by several factors such as environmental sources, social and economic organization, individual preferences, and physiological needs. Every society has its characteristics and understanding the dietary choices of its individuals expands the knowledge about its lifestyle. Applying biochemical tracers, we can explore the food choices of an Early Medieval Avar community. The Jagodnjak cemetery (n=35) in Croatia is dated to the 7–8th century. Historical and archaeological records are currently limited for Avar populations. Jagodnjak is a transitory community from a period where different historical events shaped the community's way of life. The research …

Reading The Bones: A Taphonomic Investigation Of Archaeofaunal Remains Recovered From Site 48pa551, Northwest Wyoming, Morgan H. Thurman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This is a preliminary taphonomy study of archaeofaunal remains found at site 48PA551, more commonly known as the Dead Indian Creek Site. 48PA551 is a well-known and commonly cited example of a McKean Complex occupation dating to between 3,800 and 4,800 B.P. The University of Montana held a field school at the site conducting small test excavations under the supervision of Dr. Anna Marie Prentiss in 2018. In the course of this testing a highly fragmentary bone bed consisting mostly of mammalian bone, cervids largely, was discovered eroding into the nearby creek. Ten 50 x 50 cm quadrants were excavated …

Buffalo In The Mountains: Mapping Evidence Of Historical Bison Prescence And Bison Hunting In Glacier National Park, Kyle Langley

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study explores 10,000+ years of bison presence and bison hunting within Glacier National Park. Despite significant faunal evidence of bison presence in the area, few people today associate bison with Glacier National Park. Previous archaeological studies have found bison faunal remains and evidence of bison hunting throughout the eastern half of the park going back thousands of years. Furthermore, local tribes such as the Kootenai and Blackfeet maintain oral traditions that detail ancestral hunting strategies and practice in the region. This project reviews all of these sources to contextualize the archaeological signatures of bison and tell the story of …