Anthropology Theses

Dental Microwear Analysis of Cercopithecoides Williamsi

Elise Geissler — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 06:20:57 PDT

Cercopithecoides williamsi, a Plio-Pleistocene primate, is believed to have been a terrestrial colobine monkey. Dental microwear analysis of C. williamsi specimens from South African cave sites was employed to test these assumptions. Analysis of the features shows that although the microwear signature of C. williamsi is similar to that of folivorous primates, there are also similarities with terrestrial papionins. Overall, the dental microwear analysis demonstrates that C. williamsi could have indeed been a folivorous, terrestrial monkey. A high amount of puncture pits also points to a substantial amount of grit in the diet. Similarities between the microwear features of C. williamsi and Cebus apella indicate that fruit or hard objects could have been a supplemental food of C. williamsi. The consumption of underground storage organs covered in grit would explain the heavy pitting of C. williamsi teeth. Being terrestrial, C. williamsi would have been in direct competition with terrestrial papionins.

Investigations of a Ground Stone Tool Workshop at Pacbitun, Belize

Drew T. Ward — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:01:08 PDT

The Ancient Maya site of Pacbitun is centrally located between the two major ecozones of the Belize River Valley and the Mountain Pine Ridge in west-central Belize. In June 2012, investigations began on a group of mounds, known as the Tzib Group, located outside of Pacbitun’s site core in order to investigate the group's potential as a locale for ground stone tool workshops. Excavations at the Tzib Group uncovered over 1000kg of granite debitage as well as mano and metate preforms at varying stages of production. In analyzing the possibility of a ground stone production center, this paper seeks to expand upon previous research at Pacbitun pertaining to resource acquisition, craft-specialization, and exchange as a result of the site’s central location in the valley during the Late Classic period (AD 600-900).

Dietary Reconstruction in Medieval Holbæk, Denmark using Dental Microwear and Macrowear, Isotopic Analyses, and Dental Caries

Sara A. Turner — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:37:13 PDT

The medieval period in Denmark (11^th-16^th century) was a time of great social and economic change. The current study seeks to analyze dietary patterns of individuals from a medieval site in Holbæk, Denmark who lived during this historically dynamic and tumultuous period. A previous isotopic analysis indicated a mixed terrestrial C₃ based diet with varying amounts of marine foods (Jørkov 2007). This study compares the existing isotopic data with collected data from dental microwear, macrowear, and caries in order to provide a more complete picture of diet and subsistence patterns of these individuals during their latter years. Results suggest that there were some dietary and behavioral differences between males and females with a lack of change in diet over time that run counter to expectations given the historical record. A subset of males were also discovered with entirely different dietary patterns. This study contributes a better understanding of variation in medieval European populations.

A House is Not (Necessarily) a Home: Nomads, American Truck Drivers, and the Creation and Conception of Home

Brooke Marshall — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:37:10 PDT

What is home? Is it simply a place, or is it something more than that? What is the nature of home for truck drivers? Where does it occur, and how do they create and conceptualize it? I examine the literature on home, concluding that home is not a place but rather a relationship that occurs between an individual and a place. I then draw upon autoethnographic research to communicate how truck drivers conceptualize and create home.

An Archaeological Survey at Oak Level Mound: Investigating Settlement Patterns and Intrasite Use During the Middle Mississippian Period (A.D. 1150-1350)

Billy J. McCarley — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 06:51:06 PDT

This study is about a Middle Mississippian (A.D. 1150-1350) burial mound site known as Oak Level Mound. Located in the back swamps of Bryan County, Georgia 2.4 km south of the Ogeechee River, the site is situated amongst Live Oak hammocks and Palmettoes. The earthen architecture and material remains found at Oak Level Mound during the fall of 2012 and winter 2013 tell a tale of ancient people whose subsistence included oysters, snail, and nuts. Their daily practices are expressed in burial mounds and utilitarian and/or status goods, such as plain, cord-marked, and complicated-stamped pottery. This study, then, seeks to understand those daily practices taking place at Oak Level Mound between A.D. 1150 and A.D 1350, both locally and regionally.

Coming to Christ: Narratives of Prayer and Evangelism from Born-Again Christians in Atlanta

Richard B. Bledsoe — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 06:51:05 PDT

Drawing on ethnographic research conducted with a Southern Baptist congregation in Atlanta, this thesis analyzes members’ experiences of becoming born-again Christians and their engagement with prayer to explore the affects that permeate the practice of developing a personal relationship with Jesus.

"Yeah, But Can It Kill You?" Understanding Endometriosis in the Atlanta Area

Amanda Day — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 11:56:29 PST

This paper contributes to a growing body of literature on women with endometriosis, a gynecological condition in which tissue similar to the endometrium, or lining of the uterus which is shed during menses, grows elsewhere in the body. Despite a growing understanding of the disease in medical literature, it is still not well known by the general population or fully understood by the medical community. The paper incorporates a biomedical understanding with Emma Whelan’s idea of these women as an epistemological community, autoethnography, and narratives of sufferers in order to understand how women discuss, experience, and form communities around it. It draws upon individual interviews, a focus group, and readings of medical and social science literature and found that women of dissimilar socioeconomic backgrounds approached and discussed the disease distinctively from one another with three phases of coping with the illness: the discovery, quest, and revelation.

Negotiations for Spooky Spaces during the Halloween Season: Trunk-or-Treats in the Bible Belt South

Michael D. Sharbaugh — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 10:55:56 PDT

The Halloween ritual, trick-or-treat, has compelled suburban residents in Atlanta, Georgia to parade throughout the shared public spaces of their communities’ streets for nearly a century. In recent years, however, privatized children’s rituals beyond the realm of the neighborhood seemingly compete for trick-or-treat’s participants: trunk-or-treats in church parking lots now rise in popularity. I parse the impetuses behind the construction of these innovative ritual spaces using in-depth interviews and participant observations alongside the Christian churches who host them and the parents and guardians who participate in them. Cursorily appearing solely as privatized defangings of otherwise venomous and pagan-aligned public rites, trunk-or-treats embody social action in other ways: by actualizing and expanding faith communities’ networks of social capital, they not only afford churches the means to surmount various challenges they face in the New South, but also provide safe and attractive options for security-conscious parents and guardians in contemporary suburban Atlanta.

Òyötùnjí Village: Making Africans in America

Antionette B. Brown-Waithe — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 11:29:54 PDT

Òyötùnjí: The Making of Africans in America examines the impact of self-identification with African culture and the impact it has on African identity within social and Black Nationalist movements. More so than the Civil Rights movement, the Black Nationalist movement has influenced the ways in which African Americans self identified as a group and as individuals. Comprised primarily of African nationalists, Òyötùnjí Village was considered the vanguard in re- introducing the African ideology into Santeria, and giving birth to what is now considered the Ifa/Yoruba tradition. As the intentional community of Òyötùnjí grew, the Ifa tradition spread as well because of its porous population. To explore the relationship between identity and social movements, this paper examines the motivation behind the formation of Òyötùnjí Village and the formation of an independent community.

A Landscape of Conflict: An Archaeological Investigation of the New Hope Church Battlefield

Jason N. Brooks — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 07:33:05 PDT

The Battle of New Hope Church was fought on May 25-26, 1864 as part of the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. This research utilizes historical records along with archaeological fieldwork in order to better understand the battlefield landscape. In particular, I seek to answer whether soldiers behaved in, perceived of, and constructed the battlefield landscape based on a set of cultural norms imposed on them by the strict structure of the military. This research offers insight into the construction of the battlefield landscape at New Hope Church, how it is connected to related battlefield landscapes, and how it has been memorialized as a landscape of conflict.

What's to Know?: Navigating Knowledge Gaps of Hansen's Disease in the U.S.

Kristen E. Kuhns — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:09:46 PDT

This thesis uses a critical medical anthropology approach to explore healthcare professionals’ perspectives of Hansen’s disease (HD) patients’ treatment-seeking experiences in the United States. During semi-structured interviews my eight informants discussed challenges patients face when seeking treatment. The number one challenge discussed was that of knowledge gaps among healthcare professionals which influence misconceptions of HD being highly contagious and dangerous. Such misconceptions negatively influence patients’ treatment from start to finish. My informants discussed their understandings of, and roles in minimizing challenges for their patients.

Negotiating Beauty Ideals: Perceptions of Beauty Among Black Female University Students

Fiana O. Swain — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:09:44 PDT

This thesis explores the college lives of Black women who attend or recently attended majority white colleges and universities in the United States. Emphasis is placed on how Black women’s college experience is influenced by the way they define beauty, as well as how they perceive their White peers to define beauty. Through the collection of ten in-depth interviews, I examine how Black women’s perceptions of beauty compare with those of mainstream United States standards and those of the dominant culture of their schools. I explored how the Black women I interviewed responded when confronted with these mainstream beauty standards and how these standards influence their social and academic lives on campus.

Stable isotope analysis of human remains from the Early Contact Period site of La Capilla del Niño Serranito at La Capilla de Santa María Magdalena de Eten

Leslie E. Brown — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:09:43 PDT

Oxygen and carbon stable isotope analyses of bone and tooth enamel carbonate were conducted on a subset of the burial population (n = 17) of the La Capilla de El Niño Serranito of the La Capilla Santa María Magdalena de Eten site in the Lambayeque Valley of Peru. The individuals sampled display oxygen stable isotope (δ¹⁸O_dw(V-SMOW)) values consistent with higher altitude δ¹⁸O_dw(V-SMOW) levels. Carbon stable isotope (δ¹³C_(VPDB)) values for the individuals sampled are consistent with C₄ and potentially marine-based food sources. The results of the stable isotope analyses, when combined with elements from the site-specific archaeological and bioarchaeological data, provide a more comprehensive view of the lives and identities of the individuals examined.

Analysis of Secular Change and a Novel Method of Stature Estimation Utilizing Modern Skeletal Collections

Tony A. Fitzpatrick — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:06:25 PDT

Reconstructing stature is at the core of providing information on unidentified human remains. This research shows that there are significant differences between modern populations and those used to create the most common stature estimation formulae. New formulae for the femur and fibula in males and females were created to provide accurate estimates for modern forensic cases. Additionally, a novel measurement of the femur is shown to be moderately correlated with stature and stature estimation formulae for this measurement are included.

Refining Dietary Estimates at Machu Picchu Using Combined Dental Macro/Microwear and Isotopic Analyses

Sarah Victoria Livengood — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:06:23 PDT

Reconstructing diet in Andean populations is complicated by ecological complexity and by large-scale population movements and trade networks during the period of imperial rule. It is therefore more difficult to reconstruct dietary patterns within these contexts. Previous multi-isotopic analysis of the skeletal population from the Inca site of Machu Picchu indicates marked variation in dietary composition both early and late in life. However, these data are limited in their specificity due to overlap in isotopic signals from different resource types. I compare existing isotopic data to enamel macro- and microwear data to more accurately profile diet composition in a Machu Picchu skeletal population subset. Results suggest there is little to no dietary variation between sexes and age groups. Results also reveal the role that maize played in the diet of this non-elite population, which may prove useful in more accurately estimating consumed food resources in this and other Andean populations.

"Where There is No Love, Put Love": Homeless Addiction Recovery Perspectives and Ways to Enhance Healing

Mark W. Flanagan — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:03:57 PDT

This study explores how middle-aged homeless persons in Atlanta, GA, who have harmful, self-identified addictive behaviors come to make positive material and psychological changes, while constrained by urban poverty and structural violence. This study is divided into two parts. In part one, I examine the interaction between individual, social, and material factors that promote recovery from addiction in a poor, urban context. I argue that recovery occurs through a process, initiated by a decision and realized through practice. Recovery is enhanced by a stable community and consistent material access. In part two, I examine how pain associated with homelessness can create a strong drive to intensify substance usage as a means to seek relief. I then describe how alienation, pain and corresponding addictive behaviors among homeless persons can be lessened through intentioned, empowering acts, which I call “symbolic love”. Finally, I offer policy recommendations based on my findings.

Mortuary Variability in the Final Palatial Period on Crete: Investigating Regionality, Status, and “Mycenaean” Identity

Heather K. Kerr — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:01:24 PDT

The Late Bronze Age on the island of Crete saw a period of strong administrative and religious control by the palace at Knossos, which also controlled a vast trade network with the rest of the eastern Mediterranean. After the collapse of the palace of Knossos, the Final Palatial period (1490 - 1320 BCE), was a time of sociopolitical transition and change, witnessing an explosion in number and variety of mortuary practices used, even within the same cemetery. In this thesis I analyze Final Palatial burial practices in a more systematic method than has been previously attempted, in order to gain a better understanding of how the Minoans chose to use the mortuary sphere as a platform for constructing and negotiating their social and political identities in the dynamic socio-political climate of the Final Palatial period.

Political Theatre in Public Spaces: Manifesting Identity in Venice, Italy

Ivey R. Tapp — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:32:21 PDT

The combination of poorly managed mass tourism, rapidly increasing international migration, and a declining economy facilitated a permanent exodus of natives out of the Venetian lagoon. This thesis examines how the community activism group and social network Venessia.com attempts to reclaim a place-based and place-manifested Venetian identity (venezianità) through theatrical public protests. While members are sensitive to an ethic of intercultural awareness, the discourse accompanying their concerns reveals nostalgia for the power and grandeur of Venice’s past that is threatened by a perceived invasion by suspicious outsiders. The theoretical framework I employ to illuminate Venessia.com's efforts includes the socio-cultural and economic implications of mass tourism, theory of space and place, and critiques of modernity and postmodernity.

Passing through Dink – A Closer Look at How Couples in the United States Make the Decision to Have Children

Allyson H. Korb — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 09:08:01 PDT

This thesis explores how Dual Income No Kids (DINK) couples within the United States approach family planning. The study is based on ethnographic work I carried out over the course of 2011, including a nationwide survey and in-depth interviews I conducted in Atlanta, Georgia, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Denver Colorado. Specifically, I was interested in investigating why these couples were “delaying” having children based on the national average. While current literature points to changes in education, healthcare, and societal values as being the catalyst for the DINK movement, I wanted to understand Americans’ childbearing decisions on a more personal level. Through this project I looked at how both the social goals (parent and peer role models) and personal pressures (prioritization of education, career and marital partnership) influence an individual’s decision about whether and when to have children. As such, I also explore themes of identity, life narrative, and choice in regards to family planning. Whereas the popular stereotype of DINK suggests that these couples are uninterested in family or “family values”, my research shows that many couples actually choose to be DINK for a time because they are actively pursuing and preparing for parenthood.

The Promise of Gayness: Queers and Kin in South Korea

Timothy Gitzen — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 09:07:55 PDT

This thesis examines whether the interrelationship of family and gay identity in South Korea is best understood as one of conflict, pitting a traditional, national, and filial constraint against a presumed global, progressive, and individualistic freedom, or whether it requires (or perhaps, in the narratives themselves, already provides) a different, more recursive understanding. This thesis explores the recursivity between gay identity and filial piety among college students in contemporary Korea while also providing a critique of a global gay paradigm that others may argue infiltrates Korean gay discourse. The aim of this ethnography is not just to collect the stories that these young South Korean college men tell about their experiences of being gay and a son, but to trace how my position as a researcher and a friend are shaped by my experiences with other gay Korean men and how those positions are intimately tied to this ethnography as a whole.