College of Liberal Arts
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10877/17052
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Browsing College of Liberal Arts by Department "Anthropology"
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Item Coping on Campus: A Public History of the COVID-19 Pandemic at Texas State(2022-03)No abstract prepared.Item Evidence of an Early Projectile Point Technology in North America at the Gault Site, Texas, USA(American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2018-07) Williams, Thomas J.; Collins, Michael B.; Rodrigues, Kathleen; Rink, William Jack; Velchoff, Nancy; Keen-Zebert, Amanda; Gilmer, Anastasia; Frederick, Charles D.; Ayala, Sergio J.; Prewitt, Elton R.American archaeology has long been polarized over the issue of a human presence in the Western Hemisphere earlier than Clovis. As evidence of early sites across North and South America continues to emerge, stone tool assemblages appear more geographically and temporally diverse than traditionally assumed. Within this new framework, the prevailing models of Clovis origins and the peopling of the Americas are being reevaluated. This paper presents age estimates from a series of alluvial sedimentary samples from the earliest cultural assemblage at the Gault Site, Central Texas. The optically stimulated luminescence age estimates (~16 to 20 thousand years ago) indicate an early human occupation in North America before at least ~16 thousand years ago. Significantly, this assemblage exhibits a previously unknown, early projectile point technology unrelated to Clovis. Within a wider context, this evidence suggests that Clovis technology spread across an already regionalized, indigenous population.Item Holocene Paleoecology and Later Stone Age Hunter-Gatherer Adaptations in the South African Interior Plateau(1991-05) Bousman, C. Britt; Sampson, C. GarthExcavations at Blydefontein Rockshelter and Meerkat Rockshelter are used to test models of hunter-gatherer technological organization. Climatic and ecologically driven models that predict differential use of weapons and tool kits among hunter-gatherers were constructed from modern hunter-gatherer studies from throughout the world. Ethnographic, historic and archaeological observations on tools made by still-living Bushmen from the 19th and 20th century were used to predict the specific technological changes that would occur under varying climatic circumstances. Local paleoenvironmental and modern botanic studies are used to predict past hunter-gatherer behavior through the reconstruction of past climates. Tests of these models were conducted with Later Stone Age artifacts from the rockshelter excavations.Item Humanitarian action in academic institutions: A case study in the ethical stewardship of unidentified forensic cases(Taylor & Francis, 2022-03) Goldstein, Justin; Moe, Mariah; Wiedenmeyer, Emilie; Banks, Petra; Mavroudas, Sophia; Hamilton, Michelle D.Forensic anthropologists are often responsible for the management of long-term unidentified individuals. Others have contextualised these decedents—many of whom likely belonged to socially, politically, and/or economically marginalised groups in life—as part of a larger identification crisis in the United States. However, there has been little discussion surrounding how this humanitarian crisis has manifested in academic institutions, where anthropologists often provide medicolegal consultation and act as long-term stewards of the unidentified. The Identification & Repatriation Initiative was created at the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State University (FACTS) to recognise and investigate unidentified human remains in long-term storage. Our paper outlines common challenges that were encountered during our initial reassessment of unidentified cases at FACTS, emphasising the detrimental impacts of inconsistent procedures, loss of context, and case fatigue. It is likely that other academic institutions face similar challenges, and by highlighting these issues we hope to help initiate a larger conversation concerning ethical stewardship of human remains in these settings. By incorporating humanitarian perspectives into forensic casework, anthropologists in academia can better advocate for the long-term unidentified.Item Identifying Migrant Remains in South Texas: Policy and Practice(Taylor & Francis, 2019-10) Spradley, Katherine M.; Herrmann, Nicholas P.; Siegert, Courtney B.; McDaneld, Chloe P.In 2012, Texas surpassed Arizona in migrant deaths. The majority of deaths occurred in the Rio Grande Valley, specifically in Brooks County, Texas. Brooks County is one of the poorest in the state and was overwhelmed with deaths, without appropriate resources to follow the state laws pertaining to the investigation of unidentified human remains. Until 2013, most remains that were not immediately identified were buried without collecting DNA samples and the location of burials was not recorded. Our paper outlines the difficulties searching for these burials, the struggles of the families of the missing, and the collaborative approaches to facilitating identifications in South Texas. Community outreach combined with geophysical surveys guide which cemeteries are in need of exhumations. Once cemeteries are surveyed, archaeological methods are employed to exhume remains and document burials. Remains are taken to the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State for processing, analysis, and identification efforts. Undergraduate and graduate students clean remains and wash clothing and personal effects. After skeletal analysis, all information regarding the remains, including photographs of personal effects, are uploaded to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) and a DNA sample is submitted to the University of North Texas for inclusion in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) DNA database. However, CODIS lacks DNA family reference samples from many families of the missing due to families living outside the US or because they do not feel comfortable providing a DNA sample in the presence of law enforcement. Therefore, it is necessary to work with non-governmental organizations who specialize in collecting missing persons reports and DNA samples from the families of the missing. Working collaboratively with multiple agencies, identification of migrant remains is possible.Item Identifying Parents Who Are Amenable to Pro-Vaccination Conversations(Sage, 2015-01) Brunson, Emily K.While health care providers are often cited as parents' most trusted source for information and advice about vaccination, parents differ in their level of receptiveness to pro-vaccination conversations. The purpose of this research was to identify points in individual parents' decision-making processes when parents are particularly open to receiving information and advice from their children's health care providers. Interview data were collected from 20 mothers and 5 couples. Analysis of these data suggested 3 primary circumstances when parents were particularly open to receiving information and advice: during parents' initial decision-making, as parents continued to assess vaccination options, and during particular circumstances that prompted parents to reconsider previously made vaccination choices. These results provide a mechanism for providers to identify parents who may be particularly receptive to pro-vaccination conversations. By prioritizing conversations with parents at one of these points, health care providers' efforts at promoting vaccination may be more effective.Item Lucy Lloyd and the University of Texas Copy of Bleek's a Brief Account of Bushman Folk-Lore and Other Texts(South African Archaeological Society, 2022-08) Bousman, C. BrittNo abstract prepared.Item Nest-Building Behaviour by Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in the Non-Protected Area of Diaguiri (Kedougou, Senegal): Implications for Conservation(2018-01) Ndiaye, Papa Ibnou; Badji, Landing; Lindshield, Stacy Marie; Pruetz, JillDiaguiri is a non-protected area situated in south-eastern Senegal. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) have been living here since 1999 but information on the characteristics of their nest sites have been lacking until now. Furthermore, we implemented nest survey methods recently standardised to arid landscapes during a national chimpanzee survey. Variations in nest decay rates are poorly understood in savanna-woodland mosaic habitats. This study aims to describe in Diaguiri: (1) the distribution of chimpanzee nests and the location of their core sleeping area, (2) the tree species used for nest building, (3) the association between nests and nesting tree heights, and (4) differences in nest decay rates between habitats. We surveyed 43 km of chimpanzee nesting habitats and recorded 871 nests in gallery forest and woodland habitats between March 2015 and June 2016. Diaguiri chimpanzees used at least 17 tree species for nest building, and 58.8% of nests were in only 3 tree species: Pterocarpus erinaceus, Anogeissus leiocarpus and Diospyros mespiliformis. Nest decay rate was faster in gallery forests than in woodlands. These data are of great value for understanding habitat use by a Critically Endangered subspecies of savanna chimpanzee, for population density estimates of the species and for conservation programmes in this region and in savanna biomes.Item New Archaeological Evidence for an Early Human Presence at Monte Verde, Chile(Public Library of Science, 2015-11-18) Dillehay, Tom D.; Ocampo, Carlos; Saavedra, Jose; Sawakuchi, Andre; Vega, Rodrigo; Pino, Mario; Collins, Michael B.; Scott Cummings, Linda; Arregui, Ivan; Villagran, Ximena; Hartmann, Gelvam; Mella, Mauricio; Gonzalez, Andrea; Dix, GeorgeQuestions surrounding the chronology, place, and character of the initial human colonization of the Americas are a long-standing focus of debate. Interdisciplinary debate continues over the timing of entry, the rapidity and direction of dispersion, the variety of human responses to diverse habitats, the criteria for evaluating the validity of early sites, and the differences and similarities between colonization in North and South America. Despite recent advances in our understanding of these issues, archaeology still faces challenges in defining interdisciplinary research problems, assessing the reliability of the data, and applying new interpretative models. As the debates and challenges continue, new studies take place and previous research reexamined. Here we discuss recent exploratory excavation at and interdisciplinary data from the Monte Verde area in Chile to further our understanding of the first peopling of the Americas. New evidence of stone artifacts, faunal remains, and burned areas suggests discrete horizons of ephemeral human activity in a sandur plain setting radiocarbon and luminescence dated between at least ~18,500 and 14,500 cal BP. Based on multiple lines of evidence, including sedimentary proxies and artifact analysis, we present the probable anthropogenic origins and wider implications of this evidence. In a non-glacial cold climate environment of the south-central Andes, which is challenging for human occupation and for the preservation of hunter-gatherer sites, these horizons provide insight into an earlier context of late Pleistocene human behavior in northern Patagonia.Item Recent Advances in Forensic Anthropology: Decomposition Research(Taylor & Francis, 2018-08) Wescott, Daniel J.Decomposition research is still in its infancy, but significant advances have occurred within forensic anthropology and other disciplines in the past several decades. Decomposition research in forensic anthropology has primarily focused on estimating the postmortem interval (PMI), detecting clandestine remains, and interpreting the context of the scene. Additionally, while much of the work has focused on forensic-related questions, an interdisciplinary focus on the ecology of decomposition has also advanced our knowledge. The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the fundamental shifts that have occurred to advance decomposition research, such as the role of primary extrinsic factors, the application of decomposition research to the detection of clandestine remains and the estimation of the PMI in forensic anthropology casework. Future research in decomposition should focus on the collection of standardized data, the incorporation of ecological and evolutionary theory, more rigorous statistical analyses, examination of extended PMIs, greater emphasis on aquatic decomposition and interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary research, and the use of human cadavers to get forensically reliable data.Item Recommendations on How to Manage Anticipated Communication Dilemmas Involving Medical Countermeasures in an Emergency(Sage, 2018-05) Schoch-Spana, Monica; Brunson, Emily K.; Chandler, Hannah; Gronvall, Gigi Kwik; Ravi, Sanjana; Sell, Tara K.; Shearer, Matthew P.National investments to facilitate prompt access to safe and effective medical countermeasures (MCMs) (ie, products used to diagnose, prevent, protect from, or treat conditions associated with chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear threats, or emerging infectious diseases) have little merit if people are not willing to take a recommended MCM during an emergency or inadvertently misuse or miss out on a recommended MCM during an emergency. Informed by the Expert Working Group on MCM Emergency Communication, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security developed recommendations for achieving desired public health outcomes through improved MCM communication based on a review of model practices in risk communication, crisis communication, and public warnings; detailed analysis of recent health crises involving MCMs; and development of a scenario depicting future MCM communication dilemmas. The public's topics of concern, emotional requirements, capacity for processing information, and health needs will evolve as an emergency unfolds, from a pre-event period of routine conditions, to a crisis state, to a post-event period of reflection. Thus, MCM communication by public health authorities requires a phased approach that spans from building up a reputation as a trusted steward of MCMs between crises to developing recovery-focused messages about applying newly acquired data about MCM safety, efficacy, and accessibility to improve future situations.Item Simple Technologies and Diverse Food Strategies of the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene at Huaca Prieta, Coastal Peru(American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2017-05) Dillehay, Tom D.; Goodbred, Steven; Pino, Mario; Vasquez Sanchez, Victor F.; Rosales , Teresa; Adovasio, James; Collins, Michael B.; Netherly, Patricia J.; Hastorf, Christine A.; Chiou, Katherine L.; Piperno, Dolores; Rey, Isabel; Velchoff, NancySimple pebble tools, ephemeral cultural features, and the remains of maritime and terrestrial foods are present in undisturbed Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene deposits underneath a large human-made mound at Huaca Prieta and nearby sites on the Pacific coast of northern Peru. Radiocarbon ages indicate an intermittent human presence dated between ~15,000 and 8000 calendar years ago before the mound was built. The absence of fishhooks, harpoons, and bifacial stone tools suggests that technologies of gathering, trapping, clubbing, and exchange were used primarily to procure food resources along the shoreline and in estuarine wetlands and distant mountains. The stone artifacts are minimally worked unifacial stone tools characteristic of several areas of South America. Remains of avocado, bean, and possibly cultivated squash and chile pepper are also present, suggesting human transport and consumption. Our new findings emphasize an early coastal lifeway of diverse food procurement strategies that suggest detailed observation of resource availability in multiple environments and a knowledgeable economic organization, although technologies were simple and campsites were seemingly ephemeral and discontinuous. These findings raise questions about the pace of early human movement along some areas of the Pacific coast and the level of knowledge and technology required to exploit maritime and inland resources.Item Structures of Resentment: On Feeling—and Being—Left Behind by Health Care Reform(American Anthropological Association, Society for Cultural Anthropology, 2020-01) Mulligan, Jessica M.; Brunson, Emily K.Described by many as an emotional state rooted in having been treated unfairly, resentment has surged over the past decade. Resentment politics troubled the passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, 2010) in the United States. While some people gained access to health insurance through the ACA, others experienced continued exclusion from affordable coverage. Drawing on ethnographic interviews with poor whites from Florida, Rhode Island, and Texas, we show how uninsured individuals talked about and experienced resentment through contradictory tropes of “us versus them,” deservingness, and personal responsibility. We argue that policies based in resentment, occurring on both national and state levels, structured these individuals’ experiences and amplified their resentment sentiments. Through this case study we argue that resentment is more than an emotion: it is also a force that structures policies and their implementation. Resentment policies in turn create the social, political, and economic circumstances that generate resentment feelings.Item Texas River Center Archaeology, Test Excavations at 41HY160, Hays County, Texas(Center for Archaeological Studies, 2010-01) Nickels, David L.; Bousman, C. BrittThis report describes the results of investigations undertaken to assess the archaeological resources at the Spring Lake Site, 41HY160, on the campus of Texas State University-San Marcos in Hays County, Texas. The Spring Lake Site, 41HY160, was recorded in the 1980s at the Aquarena Center, then a privately owned water park. In 1994 Texas State University-San Marcos purchased the Aquarena Center with the intention of converting it into an educational and research facility focused on rivers and springs in Texas. Eventually the University founded the River Systems Institute and it is now housed at the Texas River Center in the restored Hotel at the San Marcos Springs. In preparation for the construction planning for the Texas River Center, an archaeological testing project was undertaken in January 2001 and this report describes the results of that investigation. The primary goal of this project was to determine if intact and well-preserved archaeological materials were contained in the area planned for eventually construction.Item The Search for Late Pleistocene pre-Clovis Archeology in Texas: Problems and Potentials(Texas Archeological Society, 2007-01) Bousman, C. Britt; Skinner, S. AlanGeoarcheological research in the North Sulphur River valley demonstrates the presence of an alluvial sequence that spans 17,000 years and provides the first radiocarbon dates for the Lower Sulphur River Formation. Stone artifacts and a single bone were discovered on the eroded surface of the Lower Sulphur River Formation and might represent a pre-Clovis occupation. Before such a claim can be made, in situ artifacts must be documented in these Late Pleistocene sediments. If pre-Clovis occupations exist anywhere in Texas, systematic geoarcheological investigations must target and identify Late Pleistocene deposits older than 11,050 B.P., then careful archeological searches must focus on these sediments.Item The SPARS Pandemic 2025–2028: A Futuristic Scenario to Facilitate Medical Countermeasure Communication(Nicholson School of Communication and Media, 2020-06) Brunson, Emily K.; Chandler, Hannah; Gronvall, Gigi Kwik; Ravi, Sanjana; Sell, Tara K.; Shearer, Matthew P.; Schoch-Spana, MonicaEffective communication about medical countermeasures—including drugs, devices, and biologics—is often critical in emergency situations. Such communication, however, does not just happen. It must be planned and prepared for. One mechanism to develop communication strategies is through the use of prospective scenarios, which allow readers the opportunity to rehearse responses while also weighing the implications of their actions. This article describes the development of such a scenario: The SPARS Pandemic 2025–2028. Steps in this process included deciding on a time frame, identifying likely critical uncertainties, and then using this framework to construct a storyline covering both the response and recovery phases of a fictional emergency event. Lessons learned from the scenario development and how the scenario can be used to improve communication are also discussed.Item The Texas State Donated Skeletal Collection at the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2021-12-27) Gocha, Timothy P.; Mavroudas, Sophia; Wescott, Daniel J.The Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State (FACTS) began accepting whole-body donations for scientific research and educational purposes under the Texas Anatomical Gift Act in 2008. Research conducted with donated whole bodies involves studies in taphonomy and human decomposition, including reconstructing the postmortem interval. Following decomposition, the skeletal elements of all donors are collected, cleaned, and permanently curated into the Texas State Donated Skeletal Collection (TXSTDSC), which is used for teaching and research by faculty and students at Texas State but is also open to external researchers. To date, FACTS has received 710 donors. Fifty-eight percent of donors are male and 42% are female. Donor ages range from 21 weeks’ gestation to 103 years old at the time of death, with a mean of 66 years, and a median of 68 years. Based on self-identified or family-identified ancestry, 90% of donors are White, 4.5% are Hispanic, 3% are Black, less than 2% are of mixed ancestry, and less than 1% are Asian or Native American. Information collected about each donor includes geographic/residential history; occupational history; socioeconomic status; anthropometrics; parity status; alcohol, tobacco, and drug use history; mobility status; an overall health questionnaire; cause and manner of death.