Published ETD Collection
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Browsing Published ETD Collection by Department "Comparative Cultural Studies, Department of"
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Item A Comparative Bioarchaeology of K’Axob & Cuello: Non-Specific Infection Markers & Social Status Differentiation in the Maya Pre-Classic Period(2018-08) McElvaney, Katherine A.; Storey, Rebecca; Widmer, Randolph J.; Van Tuerenhout, DirkThis thesis explores whether there is a statistical difference in rates of non-specific infection between two Maya Pre-classic villages, K’axob and Cuello, and whether these findings can be correlated to social status differentiation within and between the two villages. Using representative skeletal samples from these populations, an osteological analysis is performed to determine the presence of non-specific infection markers in the form of periosteal reactions. Combining these health indicators with other socioeconomic factors can be informative about the social status of individuals and allow both a correlation of infection rates among suspected elite versus non-elite individuals, as well as make a socioeconomic versus health status comparison between two villages within the region coexisting within the same period. Results show a high overall inclusion of grave goods in the combined Pre-classic samples, with 80% of individuals having some included grave goods compared to 20% with none included. Non-specific infection markers show a low overall infection rate in the combined Pre-classic samples, with 76.2% having no infection markers present while 23.8% showed indication of periosteal reactions. Of those with infection markers present, 84.4% have included grave goods compared to 15.6% without any included goods. The 20% of the combined Pre-classic sample without grave goods present was not found to overlap in any significant way with the 23.8% of the combined Pre-classic sample with infection markers present. Social status differentiation was not found to impact health status in a discernible way.Item A Critical Analysis of the Use of FORDISC for Estimating Ancestry Using Facial Landmarks(2022-08-10) Garcia, Jasmine; Storey, Rebecca; Widmer, Randolph J.; Bytheway, Joan A.In medico-legal death investigations, forensic anthropologists play an important role in identifying unknown individuals and manner of death. Forensic anthropologists build biological profiles to help aid in the identification of the unknown. Biological profiles include determining ancestry, sex, age, any trauma, or pathology present. This study re-evaluates the standard method of identifying ancestry when using FORDISC 3.1. This study aims to critically analyze the standard methodology while comparing it to a condensed version of the method. The current metric method of determining ancestry on the cranium that has trauma or pathology requires the use of costly advanced technology and typically requires outsourcing to find a facility that has advanced tools. The standard practice does not include the possibility of using skulls with any pathology or trauma, this new effort is to possibly include skulls that have trauma or pathology on the cranial vault without the requirement of costly advanced imaging technology and be easily accessible to labs with limited funding.Item A Disturbed Archeological Site: the Measure of a Valuable Resource of Archeological Data Site 16CU190(2017-12) Belvin, Karen M.; Storey, Rebecca; McNeal, Keith; Van Tuerenhout, DirkArcheological studies that have concentrated on disturbed sites have frequently been criticized as failing to produce meaningful results beyond those relating to specific research objectives of complex site investigations. Moreover, the archeological results gained from these type sites are often argued as incapable of advancing our understanding of the prehistoric and-or historic societies responsible for their development. While these criticisms may be applicable in some instances, they more often oversimplify the issue, and, in so doing, ignore valid and important archeological research efforts that are coming out of disturbed site studies as they pertain to discrete sites. This study supports the cogency of this argument through an intensive, systematic investigation of a disturbed multi-component cultural deposit in the Lower Sabine River Drainage Basin of southwestern Louisiana, site 16CU190. Situated along the left channel margin (east ascending) of Old River, the site comprised a historic deposit and a remnant subsistence refuse (shell-bearing midden) presumed to be irrevocably despoiled and exhausted of information potential. Analysis of the refuse midden, conjointly with analysis of the sites material culture revealed that such sites have the potential to yield significant information.Item A Material Cultural Approach to Childhood in Antebellum and Postbellum Gulf Coast Plantation Societies(2013-12) Webb, Derry Robson 1964-; Brown, Kenneth L.; Hutchinson, Janis F.; Reed, LindaThe brick cabins of the Magnolia Plantation Quarters in Derry, Louisiana, were occupied continuously from the early to mid 1840’s through the late 1960’s where 7.5 of the brick cabins stand today. In contrast the cabins at the Levi Jordan Plantation in Brazoria County, Texas were occupied from the early to mid 1840s only until the late 1880s when archaeological evidence indicates that they were abandoned and left to decay. The investigation by Kenneth Brown of both sites yielded historical, oral and archaeological evidence of both antebellum and postbellum tenant communities. The research presented in this thesis examines the enslaved and tenant children of these communities using historical evidence and the material record they left behind, including toys and school related artifacts. In previous studies, children have often been treated as a minor component of an overall research project. This study attempts to place the focus directly on the children by asking questions specific to them.Item A MICROSCOPIC USEWEAR ANALYSIS OF GLASS FRAGMENTS RECOVERED FROM THE LEVI JORDAN PLANTATION, BRAZORIA COUNTY, TEXAS(2016-05) Walker, Nile F.; Brown, Kenneth L.; Widmer, Randolph J.; McDavid, CarolThe Levi Jordan Plantation Quarters Area was occupied by enslaved people and later tenant farmers and sharecroppers between approximately 1848 and 1887. Glass fragments recovered from three cabins were selected as a sample and observed microscopically for evidence of use as tools, focusing on striation and microfracture as usewear evidence. Observations were compared with previous research and an experimental set constructed for this study for identification. The purpose of the analysis is to determine if glass tool were employed by members of the Quarters Area community and to compare any evidence of use found with previous interpretations of activities within two cabins and propose an activity or activities taking place in the third. Findings are limited, but glass tools were identified, and observed usewear supports previous interpretations. No glass tools were identified in the third cabin, so no activities could be proposed for the location.Item ACCURACY AND RELIABILITY IN SEX DETERMINATION USING THE OS COXA: A COMPARISON OF METRIC VS. PHENICE METHOD(2012-12) Salim, Zuwena 1978-; Storey, Rebecca; Hutchinson, Janis F.; McIntosh, Susan K.Determination of biological sex is one of the most important determinations to be made from undocumented human remains and is an essential first step in the development of the biological profile in forensics and bioarchaeology. The chances of attaining high levels of accuracy & reliability regarding sex identification are related to the skeletal components analyzed and the ability of techniques utilized to analyze shape and size differences among the sexes. Current opinion regards the ossa coxae or hip bone as the most reliable sex indicator because it is the most dimorphic bone, particularly in adult individuals. The aim of this study was to compare the Phenice method & metric measurements of the os coxa to determine the most accurate and reliable method to determine sex. Metric measurements used were the os coxa height, pubis length, ischium length, iliac breadth, and the greater sciatic notch width. 101 individuals of known sex from the Maxwell Museum collection were used in this study. Sex was correctly estimated in 93.1 % of all individuals for both methods with a higher accuracy estimated in females than males. The Phenice method incorrectly estimated 7 males and no females. The metric method incorrectly assessed 2 females and 5 males. An intra-observer error test completed on a random sample proved the Phenice method to be more reliable and accurate on a repeatable basis. Previous experience in human osteological analysis was shown to have no effect on accuracy in this test using the Phenice method, confirming Phenice’s assertion that the technique does not require extensive experience to yield accurate results.Item African American Resistance, Social Control, and the Spiritual Alteration of the Physical Environment(2018-05) Ruttley, Tara; Brown, Kenneth L.; Hutchinson, Janis F.; Walther, Eric H.Archaeologists have unearthed artifacts associated with West African-derived spiritual belief systems in many different African American locations in the New World. What can the artifacts tell us about the social control mechanisms used within enslaved plantation quarters communities to maintain internal cohesion and collective identity? In enslaved plantation quarters, where oppression and a harsh living environment were the foundation of a new collective cultural identity, the possibility of social control existed not just between the enslaved community and their oppressors, but also among their own community as a means of maintaining harmony and managing internal conflict. Ethnographic, historical, and archaeological data associated with African American praise houses and churches and the medicine of curers and conjurers are used in this study to interpret their roles in social control. The first objective of this study establishes the need for social control among the enslaved and freed African American communities through ethnographic analysis of the Gullah and Geechee cultures, who, due to their geographically isolated conditions, have maintained many West African cultural traditions. The second portion of this study uses the archaeological evidence of West African-derived ritual deposits from the Jordan Plantation slave quarters and main house yard in Brazoria County, Texas to examine how the Jordan Plantation enslaved community attempted to socially control their environment beyond the slave quarters.Item American Attitudes toward Sushi as a Reflection of Attitudes toward Globalization and Culture(2016-08) McDonald, Emily V.; Rasmussen, Susan J.; Widmer, Randolph J.; Fukutomi, SatomiThis research examines American attitudes toward “high quality” sushi in America, in order to examine ideas that individuals have regarding the authenticity of “ethnic” food and the designation of “high quality.” By examining American sushi restaurants’ reputations and trends regarding omakase menus from different large metropolitan cities in the United States and observing and interviewing members of a large sushi enthusiast organization, attitudes and ideas that individuals have regarding identity and globalization are revealed. The perception of American sushi’s quality, particularly as it relates to adherence to or deviation from traditional Japanese sushi production, indicate real and imagined ideas of sushi’s cultural identity, as this “ethnic” food is being experienced outside of its original culture by individuals who may or may not have ever experienced Japanese culture. Individuals and geographic areas with different levels of exposure to Japanese cuisine and culture appear to influence the manner that sushi is produced and how its quality is determined. The perception of what is termed “Americanized” sushi also reveal values and attitudes held by Americans regarding authenticity and quality in food production.Item AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF VIETNAMESE SORORITY WOMEN: ACCULTURATION WITHOUT ASSIMILATION(2014-05) Wanissorn, Natchaya; Gordon, Andrew J.; Rasmussen, Susan J.; McPhail, BeverlyThis is an exploratory research in which I wish to examine the role of ethnic organizations and whether they create ethnic assimilation or ethnic separation in American society. An Asian sorority is used as a case study and Vietnamese sorority members as informants to represent one particular type of Asian ethnicity within an ethnic organization. I used one of the data analysis methods called axial coding to compare the categories and subcategories while re-reading the text to make sure that the categories and subcategories accurately represent interview responses and to explore how the categories and subcategories are related. The analysis of the interviews elicited thematic material which the researcher finally came up with four Categories of Explorations: Self-Identity, Kinship, Friendship, and Sorority Participation. In this research document, the researcher explored these four Categories of Explorations and analyze whether the beliefs and behaviors of the informants can be related to the role of the sorority, and to answer my main thesis question whether it creates more separation from or assimilation into American society. The results gained from doing the ethnographic analysis represent a paradox: the sorority creates more ethnic separation and at the same time stimulates acculturation without assimilation in American society.Item ANALYSIS OF HUMAN DECOMPOSITION PATTERNS WITHIN THE PINEY WOODS REGION OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS(2017-05) Palermo, Alexander S.; Storey, Rebecca; Hutchinson, Janis F.; Bytheway, Joan A.Temperature, climate, and various other environmental factors are known to affect the rate and process of decomposition, calling for region-specific visual characteristics to be identified, characterized, and implemented in decomposition templates for use by medico-legal personnel in order to more accurately estimate the post-mortem interval (PMI). This research aimed to more accurately describe and characterize the stages of decomposition undergone by four human cadavers within the Piney Woods region of Southeast Texas. Creating a more accurate template in terms of the stages and visually observable phases of decomposition proves beneficial to law enforcement and researchers alike by means of having the ability to correlate characteristics with a stage of decomposition, which can be linked to accumulated degree days and the estimation of the post-mortem interval. Major research goals included identifying visual characteristics associated with region-specific decomposition patterns occurring in human cadavers in the subtropical and humid region of the Piney Woods in Southeast Texas; as well as describing and analyzing the stages of decomposition that the cadavers undergo as well as any and all modifications or transformations that the cadavers experience.Item Analysis of Mortuary Patterns and Burial Practices in the Classic Period Burials from the Maya Site of K'axob in Belize(2016-05) Gwyn, Christina; Storey, Rebecca; Widmer, Randolph J.; Van Tuerenhout, DirkMortuary patterns among the Maya are quite diverse, and have been studied for many years. The scope of what is understood about Maya burial treatment has widened with the discovery of more skeletal remains at Maya sites. Field reports as well as skeletal remains were analyzed to determine the mortuary patterns and burial practices from the Classic period burials at the Maya site of K’axob. Age was determined mostly from dental wear and tooth eruption patterns, and sex was determined based on measurements from the femurs and tibiae when intact bones were found. The aspects of burial practices that were observed included age, sex, number of interments, type of interment, burial position, ceramic complex, offerings, location, and orientation. From the analysis of the Classic period burials and the comparison to those from the Preclassic at K’axob and the Classic at a nearby site, Nohmul, the mortuary patterns and burial practices were determined to be generally consistent with those of the lowland Maya area. In the Classic period burials at K’axob, the most common interments were single, primary interments, and of these the most common burial position was extended/supine. Private interments dominated public interments and of the individuals for whom age and sex could be determined, adult males were the most common group. Evidence for ancestor veneration was also found in forms of burial placement, instances of multiple, secondary interments, as well as grave goods.Item ANALYSIS OF SITE 41WH44: INDICATIONS OF CAREGIVING DURING THE LATE ARCHAIC PERIOD(2020-08) Hoeppner, Riley; Storey, Rebecca; Widmer, Randolph J.; Van Tuerenhout, DirkDisease and disability are intractable realities of human life. Traditional practice of archaeology has generally (with a few notable exceptions) limited study of the physical signs of disability and disease to the subject of statistical analysis. In the last ten years, the bioarcheology of care has become increasingly used to analyze archaeological remains. While it is impossible at the distance of centuries to presume to understand the emotions or intentions of a person, the extent of a life-altering medical condition can in many cases be understood from careful study of the remains of the afflicted individual. This diagnosis can be used in concert with information about the lifeways context of the population to develop a more nuanced understanding of the culture through the lens of caregiving. This thesis aims to combine modern medical understanding, historical and archaeological records , and contemporary comparisons to determine what kind of assistance, if any, the Late Archaic period individuals “A” and “B” excavated in Wharton Co. TX , would have required to live with a chronic skeletal infection for a significant period of time, and to infer the ways in which a nomadic hunter/gatherer population like Late Archaic period Texans responded to the requirements for the survival of IA & IB .Item Aquatic Resources Used by the Gulf Coast Olmec: Carrying Capacity Analysis Based on Commercial Fishing Catch Data(2015-05) Maycotte, Ernesto; Widmer, Randolph J.; Storey, Rebecca; Koontz, RexThe Olmec have long been considered one of the first complex societies to develop in Mesoamerica. Scholars have traditionally believed that the Olmec relied on maize agriculture since their initial development during the Early Formative period. New research however, is providing information that is pointing to a subsistence strategy that was not dominated by maize agriculture but rather a mixed subsistence based mostly on aquatic resources. These emergent models for Early Formative Olmec subsistence have been developed primarily from the recovery of faunal remains, archaeobotanical analysis, settlement patterns, and the study of artifacts and tools. There is a need for a study to measure the availability of the local aquatic resources and the population they can support. This thesis presents a carrying capacity analysis of the fish and other aquatic resources present in the Olmec Heartland region, based on commercial fishing catch data. The end result of this study is an estimate of the population that can be supported with these resources, and a comparison of this number with population estimates for the Olmec during the Early Formative period. The result shows that aquatic resources in the region could have provided all or most of the caloric requirements of the Olmec population during their emergence in the Early Formative, and thus showing that maize agriculture does not necessarily have to be a prerequisite for complexity.Item Aztec Twin-Temple Pyramids as Evidence for State Religion through Shared Architecture and Symbology(2017-08) Ott, Aaron F.; Widmer, Randolph J.; Storey, Rebecca; Koontz, RexTwin-temple pyramids of the Late Postclassic in central Mexico became a distinct symbol of Aztec ideology. Nowehere is this demonstrated more than with Templo Mayor, the Great Temple of Tenochtitlán, the capital city of the Aztec empire. The deities worshipped and the rituals conducted at Templo Mayor made it a beacon of ideological identity for the Aztec, both in religious belief and national dominance. The very aspects that made it so symbolically significant would also carry over to the other temples of similar construction outside of the capital city. By examining the shared architectural features between Templo Mayor and nearby pyramids in cities under Aztec influence and control, their contribution to the state religion is place at the time becomes clear.Item Cameras as Cultural Stressors in Changing the Immune System: Implications for NASA’s Astronaut Program(2018-12) Dollinger, Christina; Storey, Rebecca; Hutchinson, Janis F.; LaVoy, Emily C.Previous studies of camera effects have focused on behavior change or privacy invasion. There have also been numerous studies on the effects of stress on the body and how it effects the immune system. No one yet has attempted to link the two and how this could influence astronaut health in current or future missions. This study used salivary cortisol concentrations run through an ELISA for twelve test subjects and surveys for eighteen subjects to determine the biological stress effects of cameras. Results showed that cortisol concentrations did not differ between post on and off-camera conditions and did not differ between gender. Heart rate was found to not differ between the on and off-camera conditions and between gender with individual trends showing heart rates higher in the on-camera condition than the off-camera. This study proposes that cameras on current and future missions be turned off during certain times and places to further study this effect.Item Choices and Changes: The Investigation of a Slave/Tenant Cabin Magnolia Plantation, Derry, Louisiana(2013-05) Cole, Stephanie A.; Brown, Kenneth L.; Hutchinson, Janis F.; Kellogg, SusanThe brick cabins of the Magnolia Plantation Quarters in Derry, Louisiana were occupied continuously from the early to mid 1840’s thru the late 1960’s where 7.5 of the brick cabins stand today. The investigation of a number of the home and yard spaces of this community conducted by Kenneth Brown, have yielded evidence of changing beliefs, landscape, architecture, use of space and a changing sense of unity and individualism. As a component of this larger project, the research presented in this thesis show these changes as they are manifested in one of the extant cabins and its associated yard spaces. Only a limited amount of archaeological research has been performed in and around postbellum tenant communities. The results of this research demonstrate the importance of the tenant community sites to the study of the continued development and evolution of African American culture.Item CONTROLLED CLIMATES AND HUMAN VARIATION: UBIQUITOUS AIR CONDITIONING AND LOWERING HEAT THRESHOLDS IN A HOTTER WORLD(2016-05) Durham, Gabriel B.; Hutchinson, Janis F.; Widmer, Randolph J.; Breslin, WhitneyThis project assessed how ubiquitous air conditioning is affecting human biological and cultural adaptation to heat. Big data from the “CDC Environmental Health Tracker” on morbidity and air conditioning (AC) usage was used to identify relevant Texan and Floridian populations; who were then anonymously interviewed regarding AC use, hot weather exposure, and heat related illness. IBM-SPSS was used to analyze both quantitative and qualitative variables. A final sample of 13 participants from each state between the ages of 21-28 was selected. In this population, AC usage was strongly linked to increased irritability in the heat along with resulting correlations with heat related illness (r = .469, p = .005). Qualitatively, a culture of dependency on air conditioning is shown in Texas while Floridians took advantage of “beach culture” more often. These findings link air conditioning use to the health risks of inactivity along with identified trends in biological maladaptation.Item Conversion and Gender Among Diasporic Punjabi Women In Singapore and Texas(2016-05) Bennett, Raishym H.; Rasmussen, Susan J.; Gordon, Andrew J.; Maynard, Elizabeth A.“Conversion” derives from the Latin verb converto—to turn back or around, to change, to translate, to turn in a particular direction, to direct, to devote” (Faubion 2001, pg 23) Why are some Hindu and Sikh women converting to Christianity? This research seeks to understand the drastic choice towards change that Indian women are making. Conversion changes the entire social organization of ones’ life. As Indian-Christians, women are not bound by the ritual and tradition of Hinduism/Sikhism. Upon conversion Indian women relinquish certain elements of Hinduism/Sikhism. I believe women are converting to change their social order and improve their economic opportunities. Specifically, I will be looking at Punjabi-Indian-Americans living in the metropolitan city of Dallas, Texas at the United Christian Church, as well as Punjabi-Christians living in Singapore at the Parish of Christ Church. I will focus on women from Northern India-Punjab, currently living in the United States (U.S.), and how their lives have changed through religious conversion from Hinduism/Sikhism to Christianity (Pentecostal). The focus is upon the religious changes that have come after conversion. There is also a large population of Punjabi’s living in Singapore, and the Parish of Christ Church is known for the conversion of Hindus/Sikhs to Christianity. The relevance of Singapore in this research is to create a multi-sided ethnographic study on conversion in the lives of Punjabi’s in the U.S and those Punjabi’s living in Singapore. Through my research in Dallas and Singapore I will develop a method of multi-sited ethnography. Conversions do differ from one another across different dimensions; however, Punjabi’s in Singapore and Punjabi’s in Dallas, Texas are from the same social group—regionally and ethnically.Item Dental Analysis of the Prevalence of Caries and Infection in the Ancient Maya of K’Axob, Belize(2018-12) Harmon, Meghan C.; Storey, Rebecca; Brown, Kenneth L.; Van Tuerenhout, DirkRemains of humans recovered in modern and archaeological contexts provide a wealth of information regarding an individual’s life history and that of the society itself in which they lived. Individuals that have been excavated from burials at K’axob, Belize, an ancient Maya site have yielded a skeletal population dating from the Preclassic to Classic periods. Through examination of the dentition of these remains for caries, infection, and wear, this study aims to analyze the prevalence of these dental pathologies and their correlations to one another among other factors. Caries were found to be present in 80 (76.2%) of the 105 individuals and infection was seen in 16 (15.2%) of the individuals. Tooth wear was seen to have not occurred in 13 individuals (12.4%); light wear was seen in 17 (16.2%), moderate in 39 (37.1%), and severe wear occurred in 36 (34.3%) of the 105 individuals. It was found that tooth wear and caries prevalence of individuals were not interconnected, while infection and tooth wear were related with more wear of the teeth resulting in the presence of infection.Item Does the Case of Mcneill v. Masterson Support the Abandonment Hypothesis of the Former Slave Quarters at the Levi Jordan Plantation State Historic Site in Brazoria County, Texas?(2019-08) Ericson, Cynthia D.; Brown, Kenneth L.; Storey, Rebecca; Picard, Trey D.This thesis compares data from the records of court cases involving descendants of Levi Jordan along with supporting documents to the narrative of abandonment in the interpretation of the archaeology of the former slave quarters at the Levi Jordan Plantation State Historic Site in Brazoria County, Texas. Originally outlined in 1989, the abandonment narrative in the interpretation of the archaeology of the former slave quarters at the Levi Jordan plantation has connected the proposed postbellum, sudden departure of the formerly enslaved people from their residence in the former slave quarters with legal actions between the descendants of Levi Jordan. This thesis has revisited the many (but probably not all) legal records of the Jordan descendants to look for direct evidence of the abandonment in them, but it has not found it. Instead, the records show that the Jordan descendants’ interaction with a third-party, Harris Masterson, seems to have had a greater impact on the lands and descendants of Levi Jordan than previously understood.
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