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Species Identification Of The Stylohyoid Bone For North American Artiodactyls, Thomas A. Hale 2016 Central Washington University

Species Identification Of The Stylohyoid Bone For North American Artiodactyls, Thomas A. Hale

All Master's Theses

Zooarchaeologists cannot identify mammal species by their stylohyoid bones. Current trends in zooarchaeological research stress the need for rigorous and accessible identification methodology. I examined the stylohyoids of 15 hooved mammals: cattle, bison, domestic sheep, bighorn sheep, Dall sheep, mountain goat, domestic goat, elk, caribou, white-tailed deer, mule deer, moose, pronghorn antelope, domestic pig, and horse. Objectives included documenting how to side the stylohyoid (left or right), and producing species identification criteria based on large samples. A total of 325 samples were measured from eight repositories. Written descriptions, photographs, and success ratios for metrics and distinct traits are included for …


An Economic Approach To Modeling Archaeological Settlement Patterns In Central Idaho, Anthony J. Saunders 2016 Central Washington University

An Economic Approach To Modeling Archaeological Settlement Patterns In Central Idaho, Anthony J. Saunders

All Master's Theses

Archaeologists can gain a better understanding of subsistence strategies by analyzing the net advantage of exploiting certain resources over others across a large area with the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and application of economic. GIS modeling is a powerful tool used by archaeologists to catalog and analyze site information in a spatial context. Economic models interpret human behavior in terms of cost and benefit. Little archaeological research has been done in central Idaho. This thesis develops economic models of hunting, gathering and fishing for the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness (FC-RONRW). This research builds upon previous …


Defining Biodiversity: A Local Assessment Of The Tahuayo River, Peru Using Self-Directed Photography, Rozsika D. Steele 2016 Central Washington University

Defining Biodiversity: A Local Assessment Of The Tahuayo River, Peru Using Self-Directed Photography, Rozsika D. Steele

All Master's Theses

The Área de Conservación Regional Comunal Tamshiyacu Tahuayo (ACRCTT), located in Loreto, Peru, protects 420,000 hectares of the Amazon basin. In 2009, the ACRCTT received formal government recognition after three decades of advocacy and conservation work by resident communities. Local resource users who live a subsistence lifestyle possess sophisticated Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) that can be used to identify which constituents of biodiversity are culturally relevant. This information can help resource managers develop an operational definition of biodiversity. Self-directed photography is a research method that allows participants the opportunity to direct data collection and empowers them to visually communicate their …


Land Use Variation On Mid-Columbia Plateau Upland And Lowland Archaeology Sites, Cathy J. Anderson 2016 Central Washington University

Land Use Variation On Mid-Columbia Plateau Upland And Lowland Archaeology Sites, Cathy J. Anderson

All Master's Theses

Investigators of the Mid-Plateau archaeological record have interpreted artifact deposits in their environmental settings as evidence of human land use labeled as site types. Land use models consisting of cultural and environmental variables were developed from those studies. Those variables were compared to a sample of archaeological records located in the upland eastSaddleMountainsand lowland Wenas Creek-Yakima River confluence. While much of the archaeological record fits expectations derived from cultural-environmental models of human land use developed during this research thesis, significant variation in the archaeological record remains unexplained.


Hiker Trash And Trail Dogs: An Ethnographic Inquiry Into Human Nature In The Trail Space, Jody A. Chinchen 2016 Central Washington University

Hiker Trash And Trail Dogs: An Ethnographic Inquiry Into Human Nature In The Trail Space, Jody A. Chinchen

All Master's Theses

In the face of declining trail maintenance budgets and increasing recreational use, we must develop a critical understanding of trail culture, including the motivations, perspectives, and experiences of various users and how they intersect with one another. Trail use on National Scenic Trails (NSTs) may represent a deeper symbolic yearning to seek out meaningful connections with nature, self, and community. This study seeks to understand: (1) How trails are built and paved with meaning, (2) how trails foster and sustain social, symbolic, and material landscapes, through performance of work and leisure; and (3) the relationship between the National Wilderness Preservation …


Mapping And Radiocarbon Dating Archaic Period Monuments: La Alberca Structure Complex, Highland Michoacán, Mexico, Mark F. Steinkraus 2016 Central Washington University

Mapping And Radiocarbon Dating Archaic Period Monuments: La Alberca Structure Complex, Highland Michoacán, Mexico, Mark F. Steinkraus

All Master's Theses

Ongoing collaborations with the Comunidad Indígena de Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro hold great potential for exploring the origins of sedentary ranked communities that predate others in Mesoamerica by as much as one thousand years. Three carbon samples from the lower buried portions of the Central Structure at La Alberca Complex yield a date range of 7245-6470 cal B.P. The carbon sample laying on an upper tier of the feature yields a date of 4780 cal B.P. These dates suggest that the feature is 7000 to 6000 years old and may have been in use as recently as 5000 to 4000 …


Play In Immature Tibetan Macaques (Macaca Thibetana): Location, Use Of Play Signals, And Play Bout Termination At Mt. Huangshan, China, Kaitlin R. Wright 2016 Central Washington University

Play In Immature Tibetan Macaques (Macaca Thibetana): Location, Use Of Play Signals, And Play Bout Termination At Mt. Huangshan, China, Kaitlin R. Wright

All Master's Theses

In this study, I examined the relationship between play behaviors, play location, the frequency of selected play signals, and play bout termination in Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) during immature social play. I gathered video data at the Valley of the Wild Monkeys, Mt. Huangshan, China, and focused on 21 juvenile and infant macaques (zero to five years of age). I used an all occurrence sampling method to score play behaviors and play signals with an ethogram. I hypothesized that play groups would use play signals in functionally appropriate ways based on the location of the play bout, the …


Comparison Of Chimpanzee (Pan Troglodytes) Behavior On Tour And Non-Tour Days At Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, Allison A. Farley 2016 Central Washington University

Comparison Of Chimpanzee (Pan Troglodytes) Behavior On Tour And Non-Tour Days At Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, Allison A. Farley

All Master's Theses

In this study, I investigated the potential effect of a visitor program on captive chimpanzees’ (Pan troglodytes) behaviors at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest (CSNW) in Cle Elum, Washington. I used focal animal sampling to score behaviors from an ethogram of affiliative, aggressive and abnormal chimpanzee behaviors, as well as foraging and vigilance. During each sample, I recorded the focal’s location within the enclosure and whether he or she was situated in locations that would be in view of visitors (present or not). I analyzed 720 minutes of data from each of the seven CSNW chimpanzees. I tested the hypothesis …


Alternatives To Charcoal For Improving Chronometric Dating Of Puget Sound Archaeological Sites, James W. Brown 2016 Central Washington University

Alternatives To Charcoal For Improving Chronometric Dating Of Puget Sound Archaeological Sites, James W. Brown

All Master's Theses

Radiocarbon dating of archaeological sites in the Puget Lowlands can be problematic. Dating specific cultural events associated with features and sites is difficult due to the ubiquity of charcoal in forest soils and poor preservation of bone in acidic soils. These conditions have impeded the development of regional cultural chronologies. The lack of dates for critical time periods also inhibits testing processual models of cultural change. Evidence for the timing and rate of ecological, economic, and political change is critical for testing evolutionary models in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). Radiocarbon dating highly burned bone (calcined bone) and luminescence dating fire-modified …


Reaction To Stimulus Figures In Chimpanzee Drawings, Alexandra Bobrinskoy Casti 2016 Central Washington University

Reaction To Stimulus Figures In Chimpanzee Drawings, Alexandra Bobrinskoy Casti

All Master's Theses

Seven captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) produced drawings at the University of Oklahoma between November 1971 and November 1972. Chimpanzees drew on sheets of paper that were either blank or had a stimulus. The stimulus was located in the center or offset from the center. These drawings were scanned and digitized. Analysis tested whether chimpanzee mark placement was contingent on the location of stimulus figures. Centroid locations significantly changed between stimulus type for all drawing categories and among participants for free choice and central figure drawings. Participants drew in the empty space opposite offset figure drawings. Findings support previous …


A Comparison Of Field Methods At Camp Lawton (9js1), William C. Brant 2016 Georgia Southern University

A Comparison Of Field Methods At Camp Lawton (9js1), William C. Brant

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Camp Lawton was a Confederate POW Camp located in Jenkins County, Georgia during the latter part of the Civil War. This research uses shovel testing, metal detection, magnetometry, soil phosphate analysis, and terrestrial LiDAR scanning to attempt to ascertain which method, or combination of methods, is more effective on mid-19th century components in the Georgia Coastal Plain. Findings were inconclusive, but indicate that shovel testing and metal detection are the more effective methods. Data also suggest that areas of Confederate occupation at Camp Lawton probably covered a much larger area than previously anticipated.


A Cautionary Tale: Examining The Interplay Of Culturally Specific Risk And Resilience Factors In Indigenous Communities, Melissa L. Walls, Les B. Whitbeck, Brian E. Armenta 2016 University of Minnesota - Crookston

A Cautionary Tale: Examining The Interplay Of Culturally Specific Risk And Resilience Factors In Indigenous Communities, Melissa L. Walls, Les B. Whitbeck, Brian E. Armenta

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Efforts to build empirical evidence for the protective effects of Indigenous cultural factors on psychological health have yielded mixed findings. We examine the interplay of previously hypothesized culturally relevant risk (discrimination, historical loss) and protective (spiritual activities) factors among Indigenous people. The sample includes 569 Indigenous adolescents (mean age = 17.23, SD = 0.88; 51.0% girls) and 563 Indigenous adult caregivers (mean age = 44.66, SD = 9.18; 77.4% women). Our central finding was that indigenous spirituality was associated with poorer psychological outcomes across several domains (depressive symptoms, anger, anxiety, somatization, and interpersonal difficulties), but observed effects were attenuated once …


An Analysis Of The Archaeological Collection From The Jaketown (22hu505) Site At The University Of Mississippi, Alexandria Elizabeth Gochenauer 2016 University of Mississippi. Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College

An Analysis Of The Archaeological Collection From The Jaketown (22hu505) Site At The University Of Mississippi, Alexandria Elizabeth Gochenauer

Honors Theses

Jaketown (22HU505) is a significant prehistoric site that is located in the Lower Mississippi Valley. A collection from the University of Mississippi was found in storage and contained an amalgamation of surface collections from Jaketown undertaken during the 1950s and 1970s that were never analyzed and reported. Analysis of the artifacts that constitute the UM Collection may have a meaningful impact on our understanding of Jaketown's importance. Analysis enabled the identification of the number of Poverty Point attributes, diagnostic features of the Poverty Point culture period, present in the collection. Future research may lead to new knowledge about prehistoric settlement …


Oldowan Hominin Behavior And Ecology At Kanjera South, Kenya, Thomas W. Plummer, Laura C. Bishop 2016 CUNY Queens College

Oldowan Hominin Behavior And Ecology At Kanjera South, Kenya, Thomas W. Plummer, Laura C. Bishop

Publications and Research

The Early Stone Age archaeological record does not become persistent and widespread until approximately 2.0-1.7 million years ago, when Oldowan sites spread across Africa and ultimately into Eurasia. However, good records of hominin behavior from this important time interval are uncommon. Here we describe recent findings from the two million year old Oldowan site of Kanjera South, on the Homa Peninsula of southwestern Kenya. Kanjera South is the oldest Oldowan site with large assemblages of stone artifacts and well-preserved archaeological fauna. Our research indicates that hominin activities were situated in an open habitat within a grassland dominated ecosystem, the first …


A Comparison Of Shovel Testing And Surface Collection As Archaeological Site Discovery Methods: A Case Study Using Mississippian Farmsteads, Cameron Smith Howell 2016 University of Mississippi

A Comparison Of Shovel Testing And Surface Collection As Archaeological Site Discovery Methods: A Case Study Using Mississippian Farmsteads, Cameron Smith Howell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Shovel testing and controlled surface collection are commethods of archaeological site investigation that are generally approved by state and federal agencies as well as the academic community for cultural resource management projects and research. While both techniques are equally utilized, little research has been conducted on how equivalent these techniques are in terms of their efficacy for finding site. This thesis seeks to find a way to compare these techniques by creating mathematical models to describe how well the methods behave when tested on known datasets generated from Mississippian period farmsteads. The predicted performance can then be compared to real …


Linearly Stressed To Death: Consideration Of Early Childhood Stress As A Main Contributor To The Regional Variability In Classic Maya Mortuary Profiles, Nicholas Billstrand 2016 University of Mississippi

Linearly Stressed To Death: Consideration Of Early Childhood Stress As A Main Contributor To The Regional Variability In Classic Maya Mortuary Profiles, Nicholas Billstrand

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Late and Terminal Classic periods were times of great social, economic, and political change in Maya civilization. Scholars have suggested that increasing levels of dietary stress during this time may have been the result of ecological instability, drought, warfare, and significant levels of population movement across the Maya lowlands. All of these processes may have affected human health and left measurable markers of stress in human skeletal material. The burial population recovered from two sites on Ambergris Caye, located near the coast of Belize, have significantly more sub-adult individuals than sites in inland Belize, such as Actuncan, suggesting the …


Excavating The Catacomb Of Santa Lucia, Gabby Coggin 2016 University of Mississippi

Excavating The Catacomb Of Santa Lucia, Gabby Coggin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 733 B.C., Archias (a Corinthian) founded the city of Syracuse in Sicily. This began Syracuse’ history as a Greek colony, and also a history of cultural influences and changes produced by different occupations. The catacomb of St. Lucy is located in Syracuse, and contains evidence for the Greek, Roman Christian and Byzantine cultures. Excavations have been occurring here since 1916, beginning with Paolo Orsi, and most recently occurring in 2015 with Dr. Davide Tanasi. St. Lucy is an excellent case study for examining how different cultures have used this site as a burial location for centuries. The research done …


Pre-1900s Chinese Placer Mining In Northeastern Washington State: An Archaeological Investigation, Lindsey M. Evenson 2016 Eastern Washington University

Pre-1900s Chinese Placer Mining In Northeastern Washington State: An Archaeological Investigation, Lindsey M. Evenson

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"The lack of organized historical and archival documentation regarding the pre-1900s Chinese placer miners in northeastern Washington has left the historical and archaeological records fragmented. Documentation of the Chinese placer mining activities in the region is poor, at best, and the scars left on the landscape by these miners are often inundated by the damming of the Columbia River (and other major waterways), or the sites are heavily eroded and damaged. The available historic and archival data has been organized and synthesized to create an historical context regarding the pre-1900s Chinese placer miners in the region. Furthermore, archaeological sites previously …


Knife River Flint Distribution And Identification In Montana, Laura Evilsizer 2016 University of Montana

Knife River Flint Distribution And Identification In Montana, Laura Evilsizer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

An examination of the spatial, temporal, and functional distribution of Knife River flint in Montana, and a study in misidentification of Knife River flint in archaeological assemblages. Lithic sourcing has the potential to provide a plethora of information to archaeologists: resource procurement strategies, mobility patterns, trade networks, and the preferencing of particular lithic material types. However, without proper identification it is impossible to study the distribution of lithic materials from their source. Knife River flint, a brown chalcedony, is a particularly fascinating material, geologically occurring in a small area, but culturally distributed over a large area. I analyze the distribution …


Late Fremont Cultural Identities And Borderland Processes, Michael T. Searcy, Richard K. Talbot 2016 Brigham Young University - Provo

Late Fremont Cultural Identities And Borderland Processes, Michael T. Searcy, Richard K. Talbot

Faculty Publications

he spread of maize farming across the American Southwest reached its northernmost extent west of the Rockies by the first or second centuries ad (James Allison, personal communication, 2014; Allison 2014), in the area encompassing the Colorado Plateau north of the Colorado River and the eastern portion of the Great Basin. he practitioners of farming in this area, the Fremont, generally resemble other Southwest farmers in material culture, social structure, settlement, and land use. hey are markedly different from contemporaneous hunter- gatherers to the west, north, and east in these same characteristics and in general economic strategy. Changing paradigms have …


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