Dr. J. Mark Kenoyer

Professor of Archaeology

Department of Anthropology

University of Wisconsin

Ongoing analysis of raw materials and finished objects at Harappa provide new evidence for the presence of long distance trade networks during the Upper Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods. These networks were still in place during the initial agro-pastoral settlement of Harappa (>3700-2800 BCE).

The development of specialized crafting of marine shell ornaments, stone beads and seals at Harappa during the subsequent Kot Diji and Harappa Phases will be discussed along with the links to more distant resource areas and trade partners. A comparison with stone beads and other objects found at Gulf sites in Oman and Mesopotamia  will be included to highlight the complex patterns of craft production that yield clues into the nature of these early exchanges.

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Amelia presented her MA thesis research alongside thousands of researchers from around the world.  Her efforts were funded through a grant by the UAF Graduate School.

Congratulations Amelia!

Title: Zooarchaeological Analysis of Alaskan Gold Rush Sites

Abstract: The current accumulation of archaeological investigations at far-north Alaskan Gold Rush sites either completely lack or severely underrepresent the zooarchaeological components at these sites. This data is vital and adds context to past and future archaeological investigations by enabling more accurate and inclusive interpretations of life in the mining-related settlements of the far north. This research is an analysis of previously unidentified and partially identified faunal assemblages from Gold Rush-era archaeological sites in interior Alaska. These sites include Coldfoot, Barnette Street (Fairbanks), Tofty, Wiseman, Eagle, and Uhler Creek Cabin. I use the data I generate from the analyses of these diverse sites and site types to determine how animals were being utilized by the residents of differing mining-related settlements. By comparing sites of different sizes and purposes I identify how domesticated and wild animals were differentially utilized in various places and circumstances. This complements analyses previously completed on trade goods at these historical sites while informing upon localized (wild) resource use. A formal study of these dynamics has not been completed leaving a large gap in our understanding of human-environmental interaction in far north mining-related settlements.

Dr. Andrea Cucina

Professor of Anthropology

Facultad de Cienias Antropológicas

Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, MEXICO

This presentation focuses on residential mobility, through isotope analyses, in Prehispanic Maya populations in the Northern Maya lowlands during Classic and Postclassic times. Results from nine human collections indicate that, on average, nearly 20% of people may be considered non-local. Though potential places of origins are variable, most were born within the Northern or Central Lowlands; only a few originated from outside of the Lowlands. Migration to the coast largely occurred from inland places, for few coastal dwellers appear to have moved to inland centers. The fact that non-locals were almost equally distributed by sex, and included infants and children indicate that residential mobility was not only related to trading activities, but that a much wider range of reasons served as push factors. Indeed, mortuary contexts suggest non-locals may have been considered community members rather than “outsiders.”

Funded by CONACYT grant 2017A1-S-10037.

Archaeologists and Native communities strongly differ and often conflict in how to approach the deep past. At long time scales both parties tend to disregard the potential contributions that knowledge from the other side may provide, as well as distrust potential political interpretations of the findings. The Blackfoot ancestral territory, at the southern end of the lce-Free Corridor, is one such place where archaeological discourses about repeated episodes of dispersal during the settlement of North America have tended to alienate Native communities. The Blackfoot Early Origins project is a collaboration between tribes of the Blackfoot Confederacy and the Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology at the University of Arizona University of Arizona to provide a more inclusive way to approach the deep past and meet both stakeholders' agendas. Research questions target testing long-standing dispersal hypotheses but in a way that contributes to forging the Blackfoot identity, and can be appropriated by the tribes as part of traditional knowledge that may be taught to future generations.

Meredith McMahon (advised by Dr. Robin Shoaps)

Meredith’s project titled “Language, Gender and Power in a “Gentlemen’s Club”: A linguistic anthropological study” examines how erotic dancers craft the interactional personae they sell to customers and how these performances respond to power dynamics in their workplace. It will draw from ethnographic research and discourse analysis of interviews with dancers and staff at a local gentlemen's club.

Brooke Fisher (advised by Dr. Brian Hemphill)

Brooke’s project is focused on the the Bodo, a Tibeto-Burman-speaking ethnic group found north of the Brahmaputra valley in Arunachal Pradesh, India. Investigation into the relationship between Bodos and other ethnic groups conducted under an URSA Mentor Award failed to find any affinities between the Bodos and the comparative groups throughout South Asia considered. Introduction of another comparative sample, the Nyishi, who reside north of the Brahmaputra Valley and are also part of the Tibeto-Burman language group, may bridge this gap. A biodistance analysis will be conducted based on the mesiodistal and buccolingual diameters of the permanent tooth crown obtained from diestone casts collected from post-secondary student volunteers with informed consent as per UAF IRB approval (No. 638167-2). Right and left side measurements will be tested for comparability with paired samples t-test and standardized against the geometric mean by sex. These measurements will then undergo a series of univariate tests to whether they are normally distributed and have the homogeneity of variance that permit use of multivariate parametric data reduction techniques appropriate for biodistance analysis.

Nov 18, 22