Anthropology Commons^™

Heritage And Archaeological Knowledge Dissemination Strategies: A Kurd Qaburstan Case Study, Myli R. Sangria

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis addresses the long-standing absence of community archaeology initiatives in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq by designing and implementing a pilot public archaeology program at the site of Kurd Qaburstan, a large Middle Bronze Age city (ca. 1800 BCE) located on the Erbil Plain. In summer 2024, the author implemented a community archaeology activity designed as a first step toward sustained engagement with the village that partially overlaps the site. The program—a hands-on lesson in archaeological stratigraphy for K–5 students, followed by a guided site visit—was intentionally simple, affordable, and easy to carry out alongside ongoing fieldwork. The activity …

Florida’S Gifted Education Program: Exploring The Nexus Between Giftedness And Choice Of College Major, Sterlin L. Bass

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Florida’s Gifted Education Program (FGEP) is a K-12 educational program in Florida’s public education system through which gifted students are identified and supported through individualized educational plans promoting intellectual development. The intent of this study is to explore the influence Florida’s Gifted Education Program has on the choice of major of a student and mental health outcomes. Current data revolving around different definitions of “giftedness” such as high ACT scores, SAT scores, and GPA, show a connection between negative mental health outcomes produced by the development of perfectionism. FGEP presents challenges in addressing these concerns due to non-standardized curricula across …

A Systematic Review Of Dietary Trends, Influencing Factors, And Their Impacts On Cardiovascular Health In Turkish Populations, Pelin L. Özoğlu

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death globally, including in Türkiye. One key factor influencing CVD prevention is dietary patterns, which directly impacts cardiovascular health. Türkiye traditionally follows the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet), which is acclaimed for its cardiovascular benefits. Despite this, Türkiye continues to experience high rates of CVD, with projections indicating that CVD mortality will double for both men and women by 2030. It is crucial to address diet-related factors, including potential nutritional deficiencies, to reduce cardiovascular health risks.

This research aims to analyze the Turkish community's adherence to the Mediterranean diet to understand why CVD prevalence …

Role Of C4 Resources In Isotopic Variability In Diet Among Children From Kellis 2 Cemetery, Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt, Faith R. Hendrix

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Using stable carbon isotope analysis, this study investigates dietary diversity in children buried at the Kellis 2 Cemetery (c. AD 50–450) in Egypt's Dakhleh Oasis. From the analysis of δ¹³C isotope values in hair keratin and bone collagen, the study reconstructs short-term and long-term dietary signals in juvenile and adult subjects. The aim is to clarify the role of C₄ plants—particularly millet—in weaning and childhood diets in a Romano-Christian Egyptian village context. A total of 631 segmented hair and 54 bone collagen samples were analyzed from 127 juveniles and 97 adults. Juvenile individuals (i.e., under 15 years biological age) showed …

Starch Analysis Of Shell Tools From The Penny Plot Site (8br158) For The Cape Canaveral Archaeological Mitigation Project, Alaina Waldo

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Shell tools have a history of being used in the processing and usage of plant foods and materials in past cultures. This study looks at starch residue analysis obtained from shell tools retrieved at site 8BR158 during excavations by the Cape Canaveral Archaeological Mitigation Project (CCAMP) in Cape Canaveral, Florida. This research hopes to expand the understanding and usage of shell tools and to gain a clearer picture of plant usage and environmental interactions of earlier inhabitants along the East Coast of Florida through starch grain analysis. Eleven shell tools were analyzed for starch residues, with six showing evidence of …

On The Use Of Dental Microwear Texture Analysis To Determine Aetiology And Assess Wear Of Dental Tissues For Clinical Evaluation, Peter Ungar, Anderson T. Hara

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Here, we present and synthesise some recent collaborative efforts in our laboratories to establish protocols for using dental microwear texture analysis, originally developed to reconstruct diets of fossil mammals and to aid in the clinical assessment of dental patients today. The idea is to propose a method where polyvinylsiloxane impressions, as used in many dental practices, can be combined with surface texture analysis for a rapid, non-invasive, and inexpensive approach to detect and monitor the progression of tooth wear at fine scales over short durations and help determine causal agents of dental tissue loss. We employed both in vitro experimentation …

Archaeoparasitology Of The Colorado Plateau, Karl J. Reinhard, Morgana Caacho

Karl Reinhard Publications

Archaeoparasitology has been conducted in the Southwest for 57 years. In the first decade of the period, two pictures of parasitism emerged. Analysis of compressed organic sediments from a latrine at Elden Pueblo presented a spectrum of geohelminths not different from medieval Europe. These findings contrast pronouncedly with an analysis of coprolites from all other studies that show consistent pinworm parasitism at other sites in the Southwest. We summarize the paleoepidemiological bases for these contrasting phenomena.

The Impact Of Whiteness Among Black College Students' Racial Identity, La'quida Reneé Smith

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Although the impact of racism is well-documented in both conceptual and empirical research on the experiences of Black college students, some scholars have pointed out that many of the negative, race-based experiences these students face on college campuses extend beyond overt acts of racism (e.g., individual racism, institutional racism; Gusa, 2010; Hargons et al., 2022; Ingram & Wallace, 2019; Le et al., 2020; Smith et al., 2011; Tyler et al., 2022). Whiteness has been identified as an overt factor shaping the lived experiences of Black individuals (Leonardo, 2009; Matias, 2016; Tyler et al., 2022) and is, therefore, believed to impact …

A New Application Of The Coimbra Method On Cranial Entheseal Changes, Emily Marie Carlo

Honors Program Theses

No abstract provided.

Age-Associated Alterations In Immune And Inflammatory Responses In Captive Olive Baboons (Papio Anubis), Michele M. Mulholland, Bharti P. Nehete, Ashley Delise, Angela M. Achorn, Lisa M. Pytka, Pramod N. Nehete

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Introduction: Advanced age is a primary risk factor for many chronic diseases and conditions; however, age-related immune dysregulation is not well understood. Animal models, particularly those that resemble human age-related physiological changes, are needed to better understand immunosenescence and to improve health outcomes. Here, we explore the utility of the olive baboon (Papio anubis) in studying age-related changes to the immune system and understanding mechanisms of immunosenescence.

Methods: We examined immune cell, inflammatory responses, cytokines, and cortisol levels using hematology and flow cytometry, mitogen stimulation, multiplex cytokine assay, and cortisol immunoassay.

Results and Discussion: Our results reveal significant age effects …

Symbols Of Sovereignty And How They Speak To Us: Reading Contemporary Wampum Artwork In New York State Museums, Marie Peterson

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Contemporary Haudenosaunee artworks in exhibit spaces across New York State are bringing cultural information and counter-historical narratives to the public that they might not encounter otherwise. Artwork that includes wampum depictions or materials has heuristic qualities that can engage viewers with Haudenosaunee ways of knowing and relating. Wampum heuristics and Haudenosaunee scholarship are employed to interrogate how wampum materials were collected, categorized, and researched by the New York State Museum during the salvage anthropology era. The narratives embedded in wampum artworks are traced from this salvage era history, throughout the century between the salvage era that began at the end …

Territory And Border Dynamics Among Small Pre-Hispanic Polities In Western Chiapas, Mexico, Antonio Martinez Tunon

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This dissertation examines the concept of territory in premodern polities, challenging modern assumptions that territory is a static or obsolete notion in the face of globalization. It critiques the conventional Westphalian model of state sovereignty, emphasizing that premodern political entities often exhibited flexible, overlapping territorial arrangements rather than fixed, linear boundaries. By analyzing territorial organization in premodern societies, this research explores the historical evolution of territoriality, identifying continuities and transformations over time.

Drawing from archaeology, anthropology, and historical geography, the research investigates how different societies have defined and maintained territorial control based on factors such as political authority, economic resources, …

The Maritime Archaic Occupation Of The Stock Cove Site (Ckal-3), Newfoundland, Canada, Dana M. Keil

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

The Stock Cove site (CkAL-3), located on the southeastern coast of Newfoundland, is an archaeologically rich multi-component site. The Maritime Archaic (ca. 8,000-3,200 BP) culture was the earliest people to inhabit the island of Newfoundland and the Stock Cove site, settling the island by at least 6,400 years ago. Their ability to maintain lithic traditions was key to their success. Finding new sources of lithic material would have been necessary and that process would have varied greatly across the island. In southeastern Newfoundland, far away from key lithic sources on the mainland, this would have been even more important as …

Y’All Means All: Pro-Choice Abortion Activism In West Texas Post-Dobbs, Hannah S. Noblewolf

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

In the spring of 2021, a six-week abortion ban passed by popular vote in the city of Westerburg, Texas. It had a civil enforcement mechanism, allowing someone to collect a reward of $2,000 if they successfully sued someone they reported for “aiding and abetting” abortion. The ban, called the Westerburg Sanctuary City ordinance, was referred to as “bounty hunting.” When the ban passed it became the template for the state-level Texas Heartbeat Act, which provides a greater financial reward for a successful civil suit, with a minimum of $10,000 plus legal fees. In the face of this ban, pro-choice activists …

Audit Culture And A Nonprofit In Northern Illinois, Onyenum Ruth Udoh

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Audit culture has become a defining feature of nonprofit life, shaping how organizations balance accountability to donors with responsibility to their communities. While existing scholarship often highlights large or international NGOs, less is known about how small and mid-sized nonprofits in the United States experience these pressures. This study focused on nonprofit in DeKalb County, Illinois, to examine how audits, donor restrictions, and accountability demands influence nonprofit practices, priorities, and relationships with their communities. Grounded in ethnographic fieldwork and organizational anthropology, I conducted eight weeks of participant observation and semi-structured interviews with seven staff across leadership, finance, program, and administrative …

Tackling Paradoxes And Double Binds For A Healthier Workplace: Insights From The Early Covid-19 Responses In Quebec And Ontario, Daniel Côté, Amelia León, Ai-Thuy Huynh, Jessica Dubé, Ellen Maceachen, Pamela Hopwood, Marie Laberge, Samantha Meyer, Meghan K. Crouch, Joyceline Amoako

Études primaires

The urgency of managing the COVID-19 health crisis in workplaces led to tensions, work overload, and confusion about preventive measures. This study presents a secondary analysis of qualitative data on paradoxes and double binds (PDBs) experienced by precarious essential workers in Canada who interacted with the public and their supervisors. Based on 13 interviews from a larger qualitative dataset, we examine how workers navigated public health recommendations and organisational demands during the pandemic. Findings reveal multiple organisational and managerial PDBs—both COVID-19-related and pre-existing—that contributed to psychological distress and compromised well-being. We argue that PDBs represent a significant occupational health hazard …

On Creating Bog Bodies: The Effects Of Ph Value On Dna Decomposition In A Bog Environment, Gabrielle B. Giangreco

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Bog bodies have been a consistent area of interest in both archaeology and biological anthropology, due to their high rates of physical preservation. While there are many physical analyses that have been done on these remains, DNA analysis is lacking. Most studies focus on changes to the remains themselves or attempt to determine why they were placed in a bog. This study aims to examine the effects of pH level on the breakdown of DNA on remains placed inside a bog along with any larger differences in the preservation of the remains. The results of this study seem to point …

Cultural Model Of Indigenous Custom Marriage, Maria G. Stapleton

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines and documents the tradition of Indigenous Custom Marriage (ICM) practiced in a semi-rural community in central Mexico. The arrival of Spaniards to Mesoamerica during the sixteenth century brought new forms of marriage to the region, those of the Christian religion and of the Spanish crown’s laws. While these new forms slowly gained acceptance, the traditional pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican form of getting married has endured over the intervening centuries up through the present. This traditional form of marriage is not monolithic, but shows variation across the diverse ethnic groups, communities, and geographic regions of Mesoamerica. The community studied, Tlanalapa, …

Learning Through Following: The Role Of Social Foraging In Juvenile Saddleback Tamarin (Leontocebus Weddelli Weddelli) Development In The Department Of Pando, Bolivia, Meghan E.F. Hanson

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Across the primate order, the juvenile stage is an important period of development that transitions individuals from infancy to adulthood. During the juvenile stage, individuals are weaned but lack experience feeding and foraging on solid foods. As a result, juveniles must learn foraging and feeding skills during this vital period of growth and development. The purpose of this study is to assess how juvenile saddleback tamarins (Leontocebus weddelli) gain foraging and food manipulation skills. During this study, I observed feeding behaviors in a group containing two juveniles and four adults, located at the Estación Biológica Tahuamanu in the Department of …

Insect Foraging Behaviors Across Habitat Types In Weddell’S Saddle-Back Tamarins, (Leontocebus Weddelli Weddelli) In Pando, Bolivia, Brianna Nicole Abba

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Researchers assume that small-bodied primates like the callitrichines are highly adaptable to environmental change and can increase their consumption of insects in disturbed habitats, however, these assumptions have rarely been tested. To better understand how habitat and other factors may influence the frequency of insect foraging, the type of prey capture techniques used, and prey capture success, I collected detailed observational data on one group of Weddell’s saddle-back tamarins (Leontocebus weddelli weddelli) in northwestern Bolivia in July and August 2022. I found that tamarins spent 62% of their total foraging and feeding time on insects. They spent 89% of their …