Anthropologyhttp://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/10211.4_232024-03-28T22:25:03Z2024-03-28T22:25:03ZRelationships between dental pathology and ancestry from the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center pauper cemeteryWells, Karinhttp://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/2135832019-10-04T18:34:00Z2019-10-04T00:00:00ZRelationships between dental pathology and ancestry from the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center pauper cemetery
Wells, Karin
In order to assess variation in oral health, hygiene, and diet within the Santa Clara County Valley Medical Center pauper cemetery, pathological conditions of the teeth and jaws were analyzed by ancestry group. Utilizing a biocultural approach for analyzing pathological conditions, this study aims at understanding the interactions of sociocultural constructs and biology in a late 19th and early 20th century pauper cemetery. A total of 40 individuals from the Valley Medical Center (VMC) collection was analyzed for carious lesions, alveolar abscesses, dental attrition, and antemortem tooth loss. These individuals were separated into ancestry groups using dental morphological methods of ancestry estimation. As this skeletal collection is very poorly preserved, it was hypothesized that dental morphology would be a more reliable method of ancestry estimation than previously employed cranial methods. Analysis of the ancestry estimation results indicate that all of the previously indeterminate individuals were able to be estimated using dental morphology, though to what degree of accuracy is unknown. It was hypothesized that there would be variation in the frequency and type of dental pathology between the estimated ancestry groups. It was predicted that the greatest frequency of pathological conditions of the dentition would be seen among the non-white ancestry groups due to differences in access to healthcare and overall diet. Results of these data indicate that there is a significant difference in the number of carious lesions between white and non-white groups; however, the prediction was not supported. More significant dental pathology was observed among the white ancestry group, possibly indicating a lack of access to proper nutrition and healthcare, or diets more reliant on refined sugars. This project highlights the limitations of using dental pathology for indications of social status when working with a small sample size, as well as the inherent difficulty in estimating ancestry from skeletal remains.
2019-10-04T00:00:00ZTaphonomy and bone mineral density in a historic pauper cemeteryPeters, Malloryhttp://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/2134662019-09-26T20:42:12Z2019-09-26T00:00:00ZTaphonomy and bone mineral density in a historic pauper cemetery
Peters, Mallory
Understanding how culture shapes skeletal development, maintenance, and decomposition is critical to bioarchaeological studies that depend on skeletal assemblages to make conclusions about past populations. Few studies have thus far focused on how socioeconomic status has impacted bone mineral density and skeletal preservation. To address this, the current study compares bone mineral density in different skeletal collections and taphonomic damage within a single historic Californian skeletal collection. It was hypothesized that (1) cultural factors would impact bone mineral density, (2) that the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC) population’s mean bone mineral density is impacted because of its marginalized status, (3) within the SCVMC sample the hospital patients will have lower density than non-patients, and (4) individuals within the SCVMC sample with lower density will have higher rates of taphonomic damage. These hypotheses were tested using second metacarpal radiogrammetry to assess bone mineral density levels in four samples and compare these values across populations. The results indicate that the populations examined in this study do not have significantly different bone mineral density levels but the SCVMC collection’s density is lower than the modern and contemporaneous historic populations examined. Additionally, within the SCVMC collection there was no significant difference in density levels between patients and non-patients. The one hypothesis that was supported was that individuals in the SCVMC collection with lower density levels incurred greater amounts of taphonomic damage than those with higher density levels. This line of study would benefit from using larger and more diverse samples with greater demographic information. It supports previous literature which identifies bone mineral density as a key component in susceptibility to taphonomic processes but does not suggest that culture is a predominantly driving force in determining density levels for populations.
2019-09-26T00:00:00ZA faunal analysis and seasonality study using cementum increment analysis at Payne's Cave (CA-TEH-193) in northern CaliforniaMcMahon, Claire E.http://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/2133942019-10-11T22:11:18Z2019-09-19T00:00:00ZA faunal analysis and seasonality study using cementum increment analysis at Payne's Cave (CA-TEH-193) in northern California
McMahon, Claire E.
In 1956, members of the University of California Survey, Baumhoff, Bennyhoff, Elasser, and Kranz, excavated Payne’s Cave (CA-TEH-193), a site associated with Southern Yana territory. The artifact assemblage indicated a clear pre- and protohistoric occupation. At the time, Baumhoff determined the seasonality of occupation as the winter season, given the elevation of the site at 1,600 feet. Baumhoff also developed a culture chronology, and stated the cave was likely occupied during what he called the “Period of Hiding,” lasting from about 1850-1875 AD. This study uses models from Human Behavioral Ecology to examine the faunal data from the Payne’s Cave assemblage to refine our understanding of the impact of Euro-American contact for the Yana. Aspects of resource depression and mobility are analyzed to uncover the unique method of resistance-survival used by the Yana during contact era. Also, cementum increment analysis is conducted on mule deer teeth from the assemblage to confirm Baumhoff’s original seasonality determination. Results include provisional support data indicating resource depression at the time of culture contact, while faunal data in tangent with historic data show strong support for high Yana mobility at this time. Cementum increment results support Baumhoff’s determination, and provide a higher resolution of site use.
2019-09-19T00:00:00ZFragility and permanence: civic 9/11 memorials and the creation of American historical narrativeMaxey, Tamarahttp://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/2133922019-10-11T22:11:18Z2019-09-19T00:00:00ZFragility and permanence: civic 9/11 memorials and the creation of American historical narrative
Maxey, Tamara
The events of September 11, 2001 caused emotional trauma across the United States and elicited myriad reactions within the Nation that effected the lives of every American to some degree. In the months and years following the attacks, there was an enthusiastic drive to memorialize the lives that were lost on that day, as well as to acknowledge the actions of the first responders who died in the line of duty. Many small, civic memorials now dot the Country and educate the public about the events and significance of 9/11. This thesis considers civic 9/11 memorials from a museological perspective and aims to determine what initiated the civic memorialization process, how World Trade Center artifacts are used in the memorials, and what the installations contribute to the collective understanding of the attacks. In formant interviews and site surveys were used to gather data on the design and construction process of the memorials, as well as the various objects and words featured at each location. The influence of object curation and organization on the creation of collective historical memory is explored, as well as the significance of social and material capital in facilitating access to public expression. Additionally, this study looks at what is missing from the memorial sites; what parts of the 9/11 story are left out and how these omissions contribute to the particular historical message that memorial visitors encounter. This study observes that some civic 9/11 memorials, through the careful curation of objects and ideas, as well as the application of social and material capital, offer a framing of 9/11 which encourages a historically disconnected understanding of the event and glosses over some of the more unflattering aspects of the Nation’s response to the tragedy.
2019-09-19T00:00:00Z