Anthropology Commons^™

Deconstructing The Hopewell Interaction Sphere, Steven Sarich

Nebraska Anthropologist

It is the intention of this paper to ponder the impetus behind the Hopewell Interaction Sphere and relate it back to the Hopewell society as a whole. I will present a number of models offered by other researchers and find a common theme that connects them all, namely ceremonialism. Socially valued items and ceremonialism are closely tied according to Katherine Spielmann and so through close examination I will find out how close they are. Also, more contemporary cross-cultural examples of ritual exchange will be presented to show its prevalence through time.

Grave Vows: A Cross-Cultural Examination Of The Varying Forms Of Ghost Marriage Among Five Societies, Lucas J. Schwartze

Nebraska Anthropologist

Marriage is one of the most ubiquitous social relationships in human societies. However, the forms this institution takes do not follow the same patterns across all cultures. This paper examines one of the rarer forms of marriage; ghost marriage. After introducing the societies that practice this rare form of marriage, the similarities and differences between the forms this practice takes are examined. Various scholarly explanations for this form of marriage are presented as well.

Paths To Zion: The Mormon Settlement At Wyoming, Ne, Sherri L. Sklenar

Nebraska Anthropologist

This preliminary study examined the cultural and logistical factors underlying the settlement of the historic town of nyoming, Nebraska. Located along the Mormon Trail, this site provides a new window for understanding the dynamics of nineteenth century u.s. emigrant trails. Utilizing a body of primary and secondary documents as well as cartographic source, the preliminary analysis revealed two integrated themes: (1) frontier logistics and expansion and (2) religious values and experiences. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or Mormons, needed both a prosperous town to equip themselves for their journey to Salt Lake City and a smaller …

Aging In America: Now And When, Laura Ihrig

Nebraska Anthropologist

The following paper is a study of aging in two societies, the United States and the traditional culture of the !Kung of western Botswana, Africa. The material reviewed includes current and projected population trends, cultural norms with regard to the elderly, and potential future implications of the gathered information. Resources consisted of journal articles, books, and government agency reports.

Indigenous Archaeology: Historical Interpretation From An Emic Perspective, Stephanie M. Kennedy

Nebraska Anthropologist

This inquiry explores indigenous archaeology as a form of resistance to dominant Western science. Literature was identified and analyzed pertaining to the success of indigenous archaeology in the United States, British Columbia, and Australia. It is argued that a more inclusive archaeology is necessary, one that encourages partnerships with Indigenous groups in the interpretation of their own past. This study has implications for how we perceive Indigenous peoples from an archaeological perspective.

A Response To "Indigenous Archaeology: Historical Interpretation From An Emic Perspective" - From A Native American Archaeologist's Perspective, Albert M. Lebeau Iii, Andrew E. Labounty

Nebraska Anthropologist

This response is written from the point of view of the senior author, the former Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. It is not intended as a rebuttal, per se, but rather an expansion upon the topics addressed in Kennedy's "Indigenous Archaeology: Historical Interpretation from an Emic Perspective." This response is thus designed (and was sought by the Nebraska Anthropologist editorial staff) to broaden the reader's understanding of a complex topic within archaeology.

An Examination Of Autism Spectrum Disorders In Relation To Human Evolution And Life History Theory, Daniel E. Lomelin

Nebraska Anthropologist

Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders are multifaceted conditions that are being diagnosed increasingly in Western nations. Current research suggests genetic and epigenetic effects as well as social and environmental conditions all playing direct roles in the expression and development of these disorders. Evaluating the development of the human brain s increased intelligence and plasticity in terms of human life history and evolutionary trade offs allows for new hypotheses to be formed regarding the development of the disorders. Aspects of the broad autism phenotype may have given ancient humans advantages in tool making and mechanical thinking, thus preserving the trait in …

Nebraska Anthropologist Volume 25 : 2010 Table Of Contents

Nebraska Anthropologist

Indigenous Archaeology: Historical Interpretation from an Emic Perspective (Stephanie M. Kennedy)

A Response to "Indigenous Archaeology: Historical Interpretation from an Emic Perspective" - from a Native American Archaeologist's Perspective (Albert M. LeBeau III and Andrew E. LaBounty)

Mitochondrial and Y-Chromosomal DNA in the Analysis of Kinship: Methods, Current Practices, and Areas of Further Inquiry (Anne M. Cafer)

Deconstructing the Hopewell Interaction Sphere (Steven Sarich)

Time Perspectivism as Applied to Three Mennonite Cemeteries in York County, Nebraska (Tayrah Epp)

An Examination of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Relation to Human Evolution and Life History Theory (Daniel E. Lomelin)

Grave Vows: A Cross-Cultural …

Mitochondrial And Ychromosomal Dna In The Analysis Of Kinship: Methods, Current Practices, And Areas Of Further Inquiry, Anne M. Cafer

Nebraska Anthropologist

This paper examines the use of both mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosomal DNA in the study of kinship groups, particularly those from ancient burial sites. The characteristics of both types of DNA that make them suitable for such endeavors as well as methods of application to kinship studies will be outlined. Additionally, specific examples from modern, ancient, and other non-human primate research will be discussed along with the implications of these studies. Finally, ethical concerns and areas of further study will be addressed. This paper is designed to assess the utility of a specific scientific method of analysis that can augment …

Migration, Food And Cultural Production Across Changing Afro-Ecuadorian Geographies, Amelia J. Swinton

Honors Theses

The human geography of Ecuador is changing. Urban Afro-Ecuadorians now outnumber those living in the two rural regions that have been the ancestral homelands of the population. This physical transformation assaults Ecuador's historically racialized geography, which conflated cities, modernity and white-mestizo identity. Though Afro-Ecuadorians living in the rural north had previously been physically and figuratively located outside of the national project, Ecuador’s new constitution has sought to reverse this institutionalized exclusion. National belonging has been reframed through the concept of interculturality, which recognizes diversity and equality at the same time. I conducted two periods of fieldwork in the north-central Chota …

Ua1b1/1 Rodes-Helm Lecture Series, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

These records were created by and about the Rodes-Helm Lecture Series which invited distinguished, and prominent individuals from the spheres of politics, economics, and the arts, to lecture at the university. The records include programs, and recordings of lectures.

Citizenship In The Humanities And Social Sciences: A Selective Bibliography, 2000-2009, Wayne State University School Of Library And Information Science, Winter 2010 Lis 7160, James E. Van Loon, H.G.B. Anghelescu

School of Information Sciences Faculty Research Publications

Citizenship in the Humanities and Social Sciences is a selective bibliography consisting of citations to works published during the years 2000-2009 on citizenship-related topics in the humanities and social sciences. Primarily consisting of books/chapters and scholarly journal articles, the bibliography also includes other materials (case studies, reports, dissertations, and working papers) for which scholarship, authority and relevance have been established. Most cited works are published in the English language, although articles published in other languages using a Latin alphabet are also included. Citations were retrieved during January-March 2010 from a variety of aggregated databases accessed through the Wayne State University …

Turkey Backbones And Chicken Gizzards: Women’S Roles And The Making Of A Soup King In Post Socialist Hungary, Lisa Pope Fischer

Publications and Research

This article looks at soup making as a lens to view the impact of societal change for Hungarian pensioner women. Food as a practice illustrates agency: strategies and tactics used in time and space to communicate meaning for people in everyday life. During the Socialist period women endured frustrations of long lines and scarce resources. Post socialism, their heroic clout as food providers is diminished by the introduction of a market economy. However, the survival skills learned in the socialist era allow them to adapt to the new era of high inflation, and high unemployment. I use descriptions of one …

Local And Traditional Knowledge And The Historical Ecology Of Pacific Herring In Alaska, Thomas F. Thornton, Madonna L. Moss, Virginia L. Butler, Jamie Hebert, Fritz Funk

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The article focuses on the historical ecology of the Pacific herring, a marine food web resource, in the Gulf of Alaska. It states the hearing conducted by the Alaska Legislature's House special committee on fisheries on the status and management of herring in Southeast Alaska during which Tlingit fisherman Clarence Jackson of Kake notes the disappearance of herring in his lifetime. Information on herring ecology based from Native and non-Native individuals from Southeast communities and archaeological site reports reveal that non-Natives in Southeast Alaska have exploited herring with the development of a herring reduction plant. It underscores the need for …

Sri Lanka’S Post-Tsunami Recovery: Cultural Traditions, Social Structures And Power Struggles, Michele Ruth Gamburd, Dennis B. Mcgilvray

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 26, 2004 killed over 220,000 people and affected two million more in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and other Indian Ocean nations. As the world reels under the impact of more recent disasters in Haiti, Peru and Pakistan, we consider lessons learned about postdisaster relief and recovery from the aftermath of the tsunami in Sri Lanka.

The tsunami waves caused by an undersea subduction earthquake off the coast of Sumatra devastated 70% of Sri Lanka’s coastline and killed 35,000 people. Days after the disaster, Dennis McGilvray joined forces with Michele Gamburd to organize an …

Doing Ethnography In An Urban Hospital Emergency Department Setting: Understanding How Culture Was Related To Emergency Physician Habitus, Renady Hightower

Wayne State University Dissertations

This hospital ethnography focused on the relationship between culture and emergency physician habitus. The habitus of these physicians was defined as those routine, patterned forms of behaviors and practices performed by the physicians while in the emergency department and while interacting with the patient during the physician-patient interaction. Pierre Bourdieu's practice theory was used to address how culture was related to the habitus of the emergency physician. The researcher found that culture was not only related to the habitus of these physicians, but it reproduced, and at times created, aspects of the habitus through the practices performed while in the …

Puebloan Sites In The Hidden Hills, James R. Allison

Faculty Publications

In 2006 and 2007, the Brigham Young University Archaeological Field School worked in the Hidden Hills area of the Shivwits Plateau, in the western part of the Arizona Strip. The field school mapped, surface collected, and tested a number of Puebloan habitation sites dating from about A.D. 800 to the late 1200s. Architecture includes surface room blocks, stand-alone circular structures, and pit structures, including one deep masonry-lined pit structure that may be a kiva. Ceramic analysis shows that the Hidden Hills residents participated in ceramic exchange networks encompassing other parts of the Arizona Strip as well as more distant places.

The End Of Farming In The “Northern Periphery” Of The Southwest, James R. Allison

Faculty Publications

Prehispanic farmers belonging to the Virgin and Fremont traditions once occupied most of Utah and adjacent parts of Arizona and Nevada. Through much of the twentieth century, these areas were called the "Northern Periphery'' of the Southwest, but in recent decades, both Fremont and Virgin have often been left out of syntheses of southwestern archaeology-even though they clearly had strong connections to the Southwest and represented, respectively, the northernmost and westernmost extensions of maize-based horticulture in western North America. This exclusion results from a combination of factors, the most important of which are geography and the territorial behavior of some …

Cultural And Contextual Differentiation Of Mesoamerican Iconography In The Southwest/Northwest, Michael T. Searcy

Faculty Publications

Ample research has documented the long-term interaction between Mesoamerica and the U.S. Southwest/Northwest Mexico (SW/NW). Nelson (2006:345) has used the phrase "Mesoamerican interaction markers" as a way to describe evidence of this contact in the SW/NW. He further defines these as "a variety of archaeological patterns that are reminiscent of Mesoamerican counterparts" including "objects, practices, and styles." Some of the interaction markers that have been studied at length are trade goods such as copper bells, macaws, shell, and iron pyrite mirrors (Bayman 2002; Bradley 1993; Ericson and Baugh 1993; Kelley 1966, 1995; Mathien 1993; McGuire 1993b; Nelson 2000; Riley 2005). …

GarifunaduáÜ : Cultural Continuity, Change And Resistance In The Garifuna Diaspora, Boyd Malcolm Servio-Mariano

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Garifuna are a diasporic community that positions Yurumein (St. Vincent) at the center of its collective memory, and whose populations primarily reside in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and, more recently, in urban centers in the United States. This multi-sited, historio-ethnographic study traces the group's socio-political struggles over time and space against cultural dislocation, ethnic oppression, and culturally destructive forces. It highlights how this population's core principles and forms, Garifunaduáü ("Garifunaness," or the "Garifuna way"), and particularly its central tenet of reciprocity "Aü bu, amürü nu" (roughly translated as "me for you and you for me"), functions on multiple levels …