Anthropology Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2742
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Item Cultural Resilience and Lithic Traditions: Examining Stone Tool Use and Production by Enslaved Africans in the Caribbean and Africa(2024) Hardy, Darrell; Palus, Matthew M; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis explores the continuation of African stone tool-making traditions among enslaved Africans in the Caribbean, specifically through case studies in Jamaica and St. Kitts. By examining archaeological evidence, this study argues that enslaved Africans on these islands were not merely passive recipients of new cultural influences but actively maintained and adapted their traditional lithic practices. The findings challenge the prevailing narrative that attributes all stone tools in the New World solely to Native American or European origins. Instead, they suggest a more complex picture of cultural persistence and adaptation, with enslaved Africans using their ancestral knowledge to produce and utilize stone tools in novel contexts. This research contributes to a broader understanding of the African Diaspora by highlighting the resilience and creativity of enslaved communities, who maintained cultural continuity despite displacement and enslavement. The study also underscores the need for re-evaluating the cultural significance of stone tools found at archaeological sites in the Caribbean, urging scholars to consider the contributions of African traditions in shaping the material culture of the region.Item SERVING UP HISTORY THROUGH PROTEIN ANALYSIS: AN INVESTIGATION OF THE SHELL (LA 20241) AND PECAN (LA 38597) SITES, NEW MEXICO(2024) Winter, Chelsea; Palus, Matthew; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Poor faunal preservation in Southeast New Mexico (SENM) has left a gap in the archaeological record for this region. What plant and animal food resources were collected, processed, and/or consumed by the site’s indigenous inhabitants in this area during the Archaic and Early Formative Periods? A way to fill that informational gap is with multidisciplinary analyses such as pollen, phytoliths, starch grains, and residues through the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) method. These analyses have been applied successfully in excavation projects in the Southeast New Mexico SENM region.This study aims to investigate what plants and animals were processed at Archaic period to the Early Formative sites LA 20241 and LA 38597 through protein residue analysis. This region is quickly being consumed by the oil field industry and it is imperative that as much information about the area and its past peoples be gathered, before the history is erased forever. This thesis presents the methods, results, and findings from a protein residue analysis study using tools from these sites and demonstrates the use of protein residue analysis within this region. Despite this being a rather costly process, a programmatic agreement established between agencies operating in the area can allow for higher budgets for cultural resource management work. Protein residue analysis is at least a three-day process that included extracting the proteins from the tools, creating the gels to run through the cross electrophoresis, pressing and drying, and lastly staining and drying the gels for reading the results. Thirty tools were tested using Cross-electrophoresis (CIEP) to find what tools reacted with which antisera (proteins) to the family level. The results present the range of reactions with the strongest positives being, chicken, mouse, yucca, and agave. The analysis presents the use and importance of all the resources identified in this study. This data allows us to know what plants and animals were processed at the shell (LA 20241) and the pecan (LA 38597) sites providing a broader glimpse into the lives of the people who thrived in this region. It also stands to be a useful technique to be applied in SENM answering broader research questions.Item WINDS OF CHANGE: HURRICANE PATTERNS AND IMPACTS ON EARLY NATIVE COASTAL COMMUNITIES(2024) Martin, Nicole Linsey; Palus, Matthew; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Over time society has learned to adapt during hurricane season with various methods of preparations, some including evacuating. But how did early Native settlements prepare and withstand such adversity? Hurricanes would have tested the resiliency and adaptability of early Native settlements. Utilizing common theories and methods of paleotempestology and marine historical ecology, this research analyzes the relationship between early Native settlement patterns and hurricane patterns in the Panhandle and Northwest Region of Florida. Early storm data is extracted from cores processed through sedimentary particle size analysis. The storms identified are compared to the historical hurricane data published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Archaeological sites with pertinent existing collections within the vicinity of the research areas are identified and with permissions of the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research (BAR), new data on shell height was recorded to support this research project. The shell height data had a noticeable relationship with the periods of stormy impact. The period of stormy occurrence is compared to archaeological site location data provided by the Florida Master Site Files (FMSF) identifying an apparent relationship between the storm occurrences and the archaeological site density along the coastline.Item INSIGHTS ON THE APPLICATION OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND DIGITAL DATA COLLECTION ON A BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL SAMPLE FROM ÇADIR HÖYÜK IN CENTRAL TURKEY(2024) Titus, Katherine Frances; Palus, Matthew; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This project seeks to answer the question as to how photogrammetry and digital data collection can be used to address the major issues of accessibility, preservation, and ethics on a collection of human remains from the archaeological site of Çadır Höyük located in the Anatolian Plateau. These issues are ubiquitous in the field of bioarchaeology and there is a pressing need to develop new methodologies and research practices to assuage them, especially for researchers working in foreign countries, or researchers who do not have immediate access to collections. The purpose of this research endeavor was to obtain both metric, and photographic data that could be further studied in posterity outside of the host country. Many limitations exist inhibiting researchers in this field as archaeological material, specifically within the country of Turkey, is strictly regulated. This thesis examines the application of photogrammetry in conjunction with the data obtained from a physical bioarchaeological investigation on a collection of ten individuals from Çadır Höyük and seeks to determine the reliability of digital modeling and digital data collection without having the collection present. This was done with the aspiration of addressing the concerns specific to the study of human remains from contexts outside of the United States while also respecting and abiding by local heritage regulations. Only two three-dimensional renderings were successfully created from the ten individuals using the photogrammetry software AgiSoft, due to issues of preservation and fragmentation. A comparison of craniometric measurements collected from the physical collection and measurements collected from the digital models demonstrated an impressive degree of accuracy between the two datasets, indicating the reliability of the digital models for post-field research. In addition, this demonstrated theefficiency and practicality of obtaining this data from the digital models. The digital modeling and digital data collection on this sample exemplifies the viability and practicality of incorporating this methodology and offers immediate solutions for issues pertaining to preservation, accessibility and ethical treatment of these remains.Item AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF CLOVIS BLADE TECHNOLOGY AT THUNDERBIRD (44WR11), A PALEOLITHIC STRATIFIED SITE OF THE FLINT RUN COMPLEX, WARREN COUNTY, VA(2024) Fredrickson, Kurt N; Palus, Matthew; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The presence of Paleoindians in the Eastern United States at the end of the Pleistocene has been a focus of scientific examination for more than a century, resulting in the discovery of numerous sites. These sites, occupied more than ten millennia ago, are extremely rare, and even more so in an undisturbed context. The Flint Run Complex in Northern Virginia contains not one, but several Late Pleistocene and Holocene open-air stratified Paleoindian sites. Thunderbird (44WR11) is the main site within the complex with evidence of human occupation in the region at around 9,990 BP. Numerous tools were recovered which fit the Clovis technocomplex and extensive analysis has been performed on bifacial technology at the site. Additionally, the identification of blades at Thunderbird would support previous assertions that the site was an important refugia on a migratory pattern where scheduled resource exploitation and toolkit refurbishments took place as part of seasonal rounds. How does the analysis of lithic blade production at the Thunderbird site (44WR11) refine our understanding of localized seasonal migration and exploitation of local resources among Paleoindian people of the Shenandoah River Valley. Confirmation of blades and their use would indicate a more robust exploitation of the region’s natural resources and reinforce previous assessments of the importance of Thunderbird as a sedentary seasonal base camp. Through the examination of 324 lithic artifacts from the site, this study seeks to identify the presence of a concerted blade manufacturing technology where it was believed one did not exist, and better understand the behaviors tied to those tools. Blades are a known part of the Clovis toolkit and have been found at sites across the United States. The identification of blades at Thunderbird will provide an expanded understating of the Clovis toolkit, the spread of blade technology, and of Paleoindian lifeways in the Middle Atlantic region.Item USING GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS TO PREDICT THE FORM OF “ROADBEDS AND ROAD SEGMENTS” CLASSIFICATIONS FOR THE CHEROKEE TRAIL OF TEARS IN MISSOURI, 1837-1839(2024) Lester, Ansley; Palus, Matthew M; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis aims to answer the questions, “How can we efficiently use the processes of categorization and Geospatial Information System (GIS) methods and analyses to help identify the ‘form’ that various segments on the Trail of Tears, specifically the listed National Historic Trail (NHT) of the “Cherokee Trail of Tears in Missouri, 1837-1839”? Can a predictive model be developed by looking at the spatial relationships between modern roads and the suspected paths taken by the Cherokee in 1837- 1839? If so, what other information can be gained from this approach?”The classifications are derived from the National Register of Historic Properties (NRHP) Multiple Property Documentation Form (MPDF) and discuss the classifications and criteria that segments of the Trail of Tears must meet to be considered contributing characteristics. The NRHP documentation form defines these different classes of the Trail of Tears into ‘three basic forms:1) Modern Roads, 2) Limited-Use, Passable Roads, and 3) Abandoned Roads. This thesis is limited to the segments of the Trail of Tears that fall within the Mark Twain National Forest (MTNF) boundaries. Though much of the Trail has been modified into modern roads, traces are still evident in many locations along these modern routes that hold integrity from the significant period of the late 1830s. Because the Trail of Tears passes through multiple states and traverses over 6,000 miles, managing the protection of its physical traces can be a logistical challenge for cultural resource managers. For this thesis, I developed a carefully constructed GIS model that is able to predict these classifications of various Trail of Tears segments using a sequence of geoprocessing methods, logical operators, and Boolean algebraic expressions. Using GIS, I determine the spatial relationship between the National Park Service’s Trail of Tears linear data and the extant roads that have been documented to date. I then use statistical analysis to assess the model itself and its findings. The results identified seventeen segments of the Trail that are likely to hold integrity in the roadbed and road segment form three: abandoned. This is important because this form is the most sensitive to any undertakings and includes the segments that hold the greatest amount of integrity. The results also confirmed that the Trail of Tears does have a spatial relationship with many modern and limited-use roads that are still used today. Basic statistical analysis confirmed that the sample segments used to develop the draft model are representative of the model’s outcomes when applied to a forest-wide scale and that a total of 68.94 miles of the Trail crosses through the Mark Twain National Forest. This thesis also emphasizes collaboration and consultation methods with the Cherokee Nation throughout the chapters as the way forward before this model is considered finished. The intent of this thesis is to provide a management tool for cultural resource managers to predict which segments of the Trail of Tears fall into the three classifications by using a specific set of geoprocessing methods. This tool can be helpful in identifying areas of the Trail that may hold more physical integrity than others and implementing specific protection measures from any undertakings. It also adds to our understanding of the Trail of Tears within the MTNF. This model can also contribute to our understanding of the Trail of Tears and the hardships the Cherokee faced during that time. It will also provide research and public education opportunities so we can adequately convey the significance that the Trail of Tears has in our history. This model is built to be flexible for adding additional parameters that may be added through future research or consultation. The methodology used to produce this model would stay the same if used in other areas where the Trail crosses. The input parameters are likely to differ, but the methodology would stand.Item A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE WATER: A COMPARISON OF HYDROLOGIC FEATURES AS VARIABLES IN PRECONTACT SITE LOCATION PREDICTIVE MODELS FOR THE VIRGINIA PIEDMONT(2024) Johnson, Jeffrey Wade; Palus, Matthew M; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The use of predictive modeling in Cultural Heritage Resource Management (CHRM) archaeology has become commonplace since its foundational principals were established in the 1980s, but criticisms of the practice persist, often centered around their lack of theory and dehumanization of the archaeological record. Proximity to water, typically expressed in the United States as distance to streamline data from the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD), is one of the most utilized variables when creating predictive models for Precontact period sites, but how does the variable “distance to streamline” compare to other hydrologic variables? In this thesis I seek to answer the question “how do distance to stream confluences and distance to wetlands compare to distance to streamline when attempting to predict Precontact site locations in the Virginia Piedmont?”The publication Quantifying the Present and Predicting the Past: Theory, Method, and Application of Archaeological Predictive Modeling (Altschul et al. 1988) is considered foundational to the practice of predictive modeling in archaeology; it is referenced frequently in modern theoretical works and throughout this thesis. The approaches to creating archaeological predictive models are typically divided into two camps: models that utilize an inductive, or correlative, approach and models that utilize a deductive, or theory driven, approach. Rather than establishing distance correlations between wetlands and stream confluences with previously recorded site data, I utilize a deductive approach where I establish the importance of those variables through archaeological theory pertaining to subsistence and settlement patterns and test their value with site data. Inductive associational models are very good at showing that archaeological site distribution is strongly patterned, but they often lack the explanatory framework that would be useful for management decisions based on their findings. The Study Area the models are tested on is located within Orange County, Virginia near the town of Locust Grove, and encompasses about 686 acres. The Study Area contains two main streams, named Cormack Run and Mine Run, the confluence of those streams and other lower order streams, as well as wetlands located adjacent to the streams. Precontact occupations have likely occurred in this region for the past 12,000 years, if not longer. The test results demonstrate that models created using deductively derived variables perform well enough to justify their use in CHRM contexts, but also include the added benefit of an explanatory framework. The guidelines for archaeological investigations in Virginia allow for the use of predictive models when conducting inventory surveys, meaning the archaeological predictive models (APM) created for this thesis could be utilized in a real-world context. The primary focus of this thesis was to determine if using hydrologic features other than streams, specifically stream confluences and wetlands, to express the distance to water variable would improve the performance of an APM. I demonstrated that, yes, other hydrologic features may be better predictors of Precontact site locations in the Virginia Piedmont. Secondarily, I hoped to show that an APM created using a deductive approach would perform well enough to be considered appropriate for use in CHRM contexts. The high probability areas of all three of the APMs I created yielded Kg values high enough to be considered as having predictive utility. This demonstrates that the use of all three of the APMs I created could be considered appropriate to guide survey efforts in a CHRM context.Item Beyond Consultation: Rethinking the Indigenous Right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent in Costa Rica(2024) Breitfeller, Jessica Ashley; Chernela, Janet M.; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is an international legal norm meant to ensure Indigenous Peoples’ right to be consulted about projects that affect their lands. Over the past decade, the small Central American country of Costa Rica has strived to develop and implement a series of new, ‘culturally appropriate’ consultation protocols to better uphold the right to FPIC. This dissertation investigates the concept of FPIC as it applies to the Indigenous Bribri in the context of Costa Rica's burgeoning national forestry and climate change strategy known as the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) program. Drawing on extended, multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork, including semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and document analysis, this dissertation addresses the issues of Indigenous agency and autonomy by considering the ways in which the country’s REDD+ consultations and emerging FPIC processes serve to both strengthen and weaken communities’ rights to participation and self-determination. Weaving together a conceptual framework from political ecology, critical development theory, and political and legal anthropology, this study reveals that the country’s current FPIC protocols perpetuate historical state-Indigenous relations while simultaneously creating new opportunities for negotiation, compromise, and resistance. I demonstrate that FPIC consultations are all at once sites of ontological conflict, a legal instrument for the ontological defense of territoriality, and participatory spaces of (re)negotiation and resistance wherein ontological differences are arbitrated in an effort to shape policy and transform age-old power relations. Ultimately, this research deepens our understanding of how Western mechanisms designed to protect human rights and natural resources intersect with Indigenous ways of knowing and being to inform broader debates on Indigenous self-determination and climate justice. In doing so, it asks us to consider how we—as scholars, advocates, and practitioners—may go about collaboratively reimagining and rethinking FPIC in the future.Item The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and Faunal Repatriation(2024) Touchin, Jewel Miriam; Palus, Matthew M; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) was enacted in 1990 for the repatriation and disposition of certain Native American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony. Although it has been 34 years since the law was enacted, tribal nations have experienced hurdles associated with repatriating faunal remains from institutions. This thesis uses data from the Federal Register, published sources documenting oral histories, and the National NAGPRA website to address two research questions. In addition, a survey questionnaire provided additional information from bioarchaeologists and faunal analysts, and tribal cultural resources professionals regarding their general thoughts on NAGPRA. These sources of information were analyzed to address two questions:• How have dog remains been repatriated through NAGPRA? • Are there any trends in the data that show progression and integration of tribal voices or tribal input regarding faunal repatriation during the NAGPRA process? This is an important issue for tribal communities who have different ways of defining faunal remains based on their concepts of personhood and based on their oral traditions. This thesis focuses on dog remains and attempts to demonstrate how dog remains have been repatriated in the past and to identify any trends that show tribal input during the repatriation process.Item ARCHAEOBOTANICAL LEGACIES: CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE THROUGH AN INVESTIGATION OF MACROBOTANICALS, MICRORESIDUES, AND ETHNOBOTANICAL DATA AT 12OR0001, HOOSIER NATIONAL FOREST, INDIANA(2024) Woodruff, Emma; Palus, Matthew; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Unequal archaeobotanical preservation has wide-reaching impacts on archaeologists’ views on what is culturally significant. By looking at the intersections and differences between ethnobotanical, macrobotanical, and microresidue data I examine the information streams that are available to archaeologists tasked with determining regulatory “ cultural significance” with regards to plants. This thesis documents the only microresidue research conducted as of this writing for 12Or0001, a site located on Hoosier National Forest in southern Indiana. Preliminary research is vital to beginning any consultation or collaboration process so that informed consent regarding laboratory methods and materials identification can be obtained. The viability of future microresidue studies, and their place in Cultural and Heritage Resource Management, are examined within the framework of existing United States legislation. Future research in ancient starches should include consultation and may aid the recovery of knowledge about traditionally utilized plants that has been lost to Indigenous Peoples over time.