Anthropology Commons^™

Testing And Data Recovery Excavations At 11 Native American Archeological Sites Along The U.S. Highway 271 Mount Pleasant Relief Route, Titus County, Texas Volume I, Ross C. Fields, Virginia L. Hatfield, Damon Burden, Eloise Frances Gadus, Michael C. Wilder, Karl W. Kibler

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

This report deals with three episodes of archeological work that began in 2005 and concluded in 2010 for the proposed U.S. Highway 271 Mount Pleasant relief route in Titus County, Texas. The early part of the work was done for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Environmental Affairs Division. The later part was done for PTP, LP, acting on behalf of Titus County. The work was done to address the requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and the Texas Antiquities Code and was governed by the terms of Texas Antiquities Permit Nos. 3786, 4303, and 5495. …

An Inquiry Into The Harshness Of German Colonialism In Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, Jessica Rohr

Theses & Honors Papers

This thesis investigates German colonialism in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. It discusses the pressure and competition Germany experienced as neighboring countries also aggressively expanded and as Europe underwent massive and rapid industrial growth. It also analyzes the harshness Germany employed in colonizing foreign lands and the reasons for such measures, such as perceived racial and social superiority and economic need.

Neither (Fully) Here Nor There: Negotiation Narratives Of Nashville's Kurdish Youth, Stephen Ross Goddard

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Nashville, Tennessee, is home to nearly fifteen thousand ethnic Kurds. They have come in four distinct groups over the course of two decades to escape the hardship and horror of brutal central government policies, some directed toward their extinction. Many of that number are young people who were infants or toddlers when they were whisked away to the safety of temporary way stations prior to their arrival in the United States. What that means is that these youth have spent the majority of their formative years within the context of the American culture. This thesis is a study of how …

Estimating The Economic Value Of Australian Stock Herding Dogs, E. R. Arnott, J. B. Early, C. M. Wade, P. D. Mcgreevy

Sport and Working Animal Welfare Collection

This study aimed to estimate the value of the typical Australian herding dog in terms of predicted return on investment. This required an assessment of the costs associated with owning herding dogs and estimation of the work they typically perform. Data on a total of 4,027 dogs were acquired through The Farm Dog Survey which gathered information from 812 herding dog owners around Australia. The median cost involved in owning a herding dog was estimated to be a total of AU$7,763 over the period of its working life. The work performed by the dog throughout this time was estimated to …

Biology, Culture, And The Origins Of Pet-Keeping, Harold Herzog

Human-Companion Animal Relationships Collection

Attachments between non-human animals of different species are surprisingly common in situations involving human agency (e.g., homes, zoos, and wildlife parks). However, cross-species animal friendships analogous to pet-keeping by humans are at least rare and possibly non-existent in nature. Why has pet-keeping evolved only in Homo sapiens? I review theories that explain pet-keeping either as an adaptation or an evolutionary by-product. I suggest that these explanations cannot account for the wide variation in the distribution and forms of pet-keeping across human societies and over historical time. Using fluctuations in the popularity of dog breeds in the United States, I show …

The Phonetics Of Moraic Alignment In Yoloxóchitl Mixtec, Christian Dicanio, Jonathan Amith, Rey Castillo Garcia

Anthropology Faculty Publications

This talk highlights recent research on the phonetics of tonal alignment in Yoloxóchitl Mixtec (YM). This language is notable for its large tonal inventory, where 20 tonal melodies contrast on monosyllabic words. The language’s phonological structure strongly supports the alignment of tonal targets to moras, resulting in contrastive contour types even within a single syllable, e.g. /1.3/ vs. /13.3/. Patterns of phonetic tonal alignment were investigated. The alignment of non-glottalized tonal targets was examined with original field data collected by the authors from 10 speakers. Words varied by word type (monosyllabic, disyllabic) and tone. Both the phonological patterning of tone …

From Biopower To Energopolitics In England's Modern Waste Technology, Joshua Reno, Catherine Alexander

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

Two energy-generating technologies in Britain which transform waste into a resource are compared. One is the (in)famous Combined Heat and Power incinerator in Sheffield, the other a forgotten biological digester in Devon utilizing anaerobic microbes. Both sites are early exemplars of experimental and biopolitical waste disposal technologies—incineration and anaerobic digestion—now regarded as leading alternatives for reducing the United Kingdom’s dependence on landfill and fossil fuel; both sites also inspired public resistance at critical moments in their development. The analysis here relates how activists and technicians struggle to demonstrate competing truths about alternative energy. Through comparison, it becomes clear that, beyond …

Identifying Desaparecidos: The Development Of Forensic Anthropology In Chile, Amanda M. Quinn

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Between 1973 and 1990, Pinochet’s dictatorship in Chile implemented the systematic practice of forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in order to eradicate the imagined “communist cancer” (Wyndham and Read 2010: 31). A total of 3,227 deaths have been tallied; 1,465 of these were cases of detenidos-desaparecidos, or enforced disappearances (Garrido and Intriago 2012: 34). Scholars suggest that Chile’s transition to democracy will remain incomplete without first locating and identifying the desaparecidos (Aguilar 2002). Through methods of comparing postmortem skeletal analysis with antemortem data, forensic anthropologists carry out the important work that makes identifications possible.

This thesis evaluates the development …

Applications Of Gis Analyses And Ecological Approaches To Paleolithic Sites In Portugal., Christopher M. Sims

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Developments in landscape approaches to archaeological research have been greatly advanced by the use of geospatial technologies. Despite this boon, certain questions remain where the spatial distributions of archaeological material are complicated by other factors. Geomorphic processes significantly hinder site survivability and visibility, and complicate fieldwork. Such is the case for Paleolithic archaeological sites in Portugal, where the current landscape has been drastically altered since Paleolithic human occupation at the Last Glacial Maximum. The challenge to landscape-scale approaches is to provide a bridge between long-term environmental factors and smaller-scale evidence for human-ecosystem interaction. This requires that adaptations be made to …

Natures And Wars : Neoliberal Discourse And The Contested Future Of East Kentucky., Shelly Annette Biesel 1986-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Coal mining has been Appalachian Kentucky’s keystone industry for over a century. However, in 2012 and 2013 coal production plummeted, driving industry employment to historic lows. In the wake of production declines, the coal lobby attests that President Obama is waging a “war on coal.” Drawing primarily from ethnographic data, this research offers a holistic and critical examination of the recent decline in coal production and concomitant narratives that have emerged in the wake of socio-economic uncertainty. I argue that “war on coal” discourses, informed by neoliberal philosophies, seek to conflate the region’s mining heritage with the coal industry’s desire …

“Why Do You Sing To Me?”: A Case Study Of Form And Function Of Children's Songs In The Caribbean Diaspora Culture In South Florida, Finley Walker

Masters Theses

How does a child gain a musical identity? Music resides in the depths of personhood. Even before birth we are all touched by its power. Music is a language in that it communicates--thoughts, feelings, desires, information, and more. As children grow physically and mentally, they also grow musically. A person's musical development will be directly influenced by their culture and family. The following qualitative study looks at the form and function of children's songs, specifically children's songs from the diasporic Caribbean culture in South Florida. Twenty-one interviews, including 53 participants, were conducted to see how children's songs might play a …

Anthropology And Open Access, Jason B. Jackson, Ryan B. Anderson

Faculty Publications

While still largely ignored by many anthropologists, open access (OA) has been a confusing and volatile center around which a wide range of contentious debates and vexing leadership dilemmas orbit. Despite widespread misunderstandings and honest differences of perspective on how and why to move forward, OA frameworks for scholarly communication are now part of the publishing ecology in which all active anthropologists work. Cultural Anthropology is unambiguously a leading journal in the field. The move to transition it toward a gold OA model represents a milestone for the iterative transformation of how cultural anthropologists, along with diverse fellow travelers, communicate …

Health, Nutrition, And Disease In Rural Northern Jordan: A Study Of Enamel Defects Related To Childhood Stress In Skeletal Samples From The Bronze Age To The Byzantine Period, Teresa Veronica Wilson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Northern Jordan has seen periods of climate change, political transformation, and economic prosperity between the Late Bronze Age to the end of the Byzantine period. This research tests the assumption that the rural agricultural communities of this region were undernourished by examining the dentition for periodic childhood stress. Canine teeth from five sites (Ya'amun, Sa'ad, Yasileh, Natfieh, and Waqqas) that covered the time periods in question were collected to study overall quality of life.

The teeth were thin-sectioned and examined under a light microscope. Digital micrographs were made of the thin-sectioned teeth in order to record the number and location …

Maturing Temporal Bones As Non-Neural Sites For Transforming The Speech Signal During Language Development, Lisa A. Hogan

Anthropology ETDs

Developmental events in the temporal bones shift the pattern of a given speech sounds acoustic profile through the time children are mapping linguistic sound systems. Before age 5 years, frequency information in vowels is differentially accessible through the years children are acquiring the sound systems of their native language(s). To model the acoustic effects caused by developing temporal bones, data collected to elicit steady-state vowels from adult native speakers of English and Diné were modified to reflect the form of children's hearing sensitivities at different ages based on patterns established in the psychoacoustic literature. It was assumed, based on the …

Women And Cultural Production: Fiestas, Families, And Foodways In San Rafael, New Mexico, Stephanie M. Sanchez

Anthropology ETDs

Historically, New Mexico scholars and folklorists have often omitted womens roles in Hispanic cultural production and heritage maintenance. However, women make significant contributions to the retention, transmission, and adaptation of traditional Hispanic practices. In this dissertation, I examine how particular Hispanic women, who I refer to as 'center women' (Brodkin Sacks 1988), from a small village named San Rafael, New Mexico mobilize their families and other community members in order to successfully perform traditional New Mexican events such as the annual fiesta in honor of the local patron saint, Las Posadas, a Christmas time novena, and Good Friday commemorations. These …

A Phenomenological Study On The Role Of Juche, Militarism, And Human Rights In The Educational Life Experiences Of North Korean Defectors, Andrea Lee

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This transcendental phenomenological study describes the essence of the premigration, transmigration, and postmigration educational life experiences of 15 North Korean defectors in South Korea in light of their exposure to Juche, militarism, and human rights violations. The literature review includes a theoretical framework rooted in the transformative learning theory and pertinent themes related to the educational experiences of North Korean defectors. Data was collected through a demographic survey; a timeline of primary life events; standardized, open-ended interviews; and journal entries. The central research question examined primary themes from the educational life experiences of North Korean defectors during premigration, transmigration, and …

Women's Activism And Social Networks In Post-Genocide Rwanda., Michelle Cecelia Marie Fox

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Following the 1994 genocide the social networks of many Rwandan women changed. The loss of kin, particularly men, left many women needing new sources of social and material support. Beginning in the early 1990s the international development and aid community recognized the need to integrate gender analysis in their work and began to focus on women’s activism and efforts to improve the position of women in the supposed developing world. Using social network data and structured interview data gathered in Rwanda in June and July 2013 from 30 women, this study attempts to answer the question: Do women who were …

Pottery And Differential Foodways: An Evaluation Of Social Stratification At The Winterville Site (22ws500), Amy Catherine Geiger

Honors Theses

The Winterville archeological site (22WS500) is a Mississippian-era chiefdom that flourished as a political center. Excavations at the site have unearthed ritual artifacts, deliberate burning, and feasting pits that hint at social stratification and other relationships present during the site’s occupation. This project analyzed 432 ceramic rim sherds from three separate contexts at the site— Area A, Mound C, and the area between Mounds B and C— and used vessel morphology, orifice diameter, decoration, and tempering to find evidence related to the occurrence of ritual feasting events and other food sharing activities as well as document changes in vessel prominence …

Religious And Ceremonial Microartifacts From The Winterville Archaeological Site (22ws500), Caitlyn E. Burkes

Honors Theses

The Winterville Archaeological Site (22WS500), located near Greenville, Mississippi, served as a ceremonial center during the Mississippian Period (approximately 1000-1500 AD). Originally consisting of twenty-three or more mounds, Winterville was a significant social and religious gathering place and was home to the elite classes of the society. This study analyses microartifacts from two locations on the site, leading to comparisons and conclusions of the types of religious activities occurring at each. Mound C was home to an elite group while Mound B likely served as a temple or religiously significant mound. The findings indicate that elites and elite mounds played …

Sovereign Silence: Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act And Sex Work In Sonagachhi, Simanti Dasgupta

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

Drawing upon ethnographic work with a grassroots sex workers’ organization in Calcutta, Durbar Samanwaya Samiti (Durbar), this article analyzes the relationship between subalternity and silence. I discuss how sex workers, especially new entrants, use silence as a subaltern strategy to resist state and non-state surveillance intended to oppose trafficking. The increased surveillance is a direct result of the global anti-trafficking narrative, led mainly by the United States, in which developing countries, like India, adopt measures to avoid being downgraded in the United States’ Trafficking in Persons Report. I contend that these national and international efforts have led to a quandary …