Studying settlements can lead to an understanding of a community's political, economic, and ideological sectors. While, many settlement studies exclusively examine either environmental or cultural attributes, by utilizing both variables, it is possible to understand settlement placement and daily interactions. The Free Germans in Denmark during the Iron Age (500 BC- AD 600) inhabited two types of settlements: a stationary mound village and a relocating settlement. The existence of mounds in some villages in northern Jutland indicates that buildings remained in the same position for centuries. However, the majority of settlements in Denmark relocated to a new area every 20-50 years. The existence of two distinct types of villages resulted from a variety of cultural and environmental factors. In order to analyze previous hypotheses, I used ArcGIS to produce a variety of raster and vector layers that enabled me to demonstrate environmental, political, and economic differences between settlement types. The spatial analyses included overlaying a raster layer of the location of soils with vector maps illustrating the distribution of imports, weapon graves, settlements, and deposits that had a higher number of artifact types and may be from elite men and women. Since the same cultural goods and soil were present at both types of communities, the differences in settlement patterns was not due to the mound villages lacking certain items or using better soil. Based on the hypotheses that I could analyze, the most plausible explanation is that the mound villages formed because of the different materials that the Free Germans used during the construction of the houses. Around 200 BC political differentiation grew in the Free German society, and during the same period, they encountered the Romans for the first time. These parallel occurrences led me to question whether the growing political differentiation resulted from independent developments, or whether trade with the Romans was the basis for the emerging elite class. The present study addresses the question of elite emergence in Denmark by examining the two types of settlements and their different levels of political complexity. While the Free Germans adopted Roman goods and some Roman traits through the importation of items and ideas, the acceptance of the goods and ideas did not specifically lead to the new elite class. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2008. / February 29, 2008. / Settlement patterns, Iron Age, Archaeology, Denmark, Political Complexity / Includes bibliographical references. / William Parkinson, Professor Directing Thesis; Lynne Schepartz, Committee Member; Glen Doran, Committee Member.

The primary goals of this study were to present a complete analysis of the faunal material recovered from an unusual deposit at Lagartero in Chiapas, Mexico, and to introduce an alternative approach to the interpretation of ambiguous archaeological deposits by applying Turner's (1986) concept of social drama integrated with Wiessner's (2001) ethnoarchaeological study of Enga feasting to material recovered archaeologically. This study also presents eight contemporaneous faunal assemblages, providing a picture of faunal usage during the Late and Terminal Classic Periods. Despite the fact that many details of the event that led to the creation of the basurero remain unclear, some general hypotheses can be made. It is plausible that the unique deposit was the result of a single or brief series of public events that took place during the Terminal Classic period, included feasting, emphasized an unusual combination of animals (dog, deer, and rabbit), was possibly related to the role of women or the Moon Goddess, and might have functioned to assert or reaffirm the status of Lagartero at the regional level. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2005. / March 16, 2005. / Fauna, Zooarchaeology, Late Classic, Terminal Classic, Maya, Grijalva / Includes bibliographical references. / Mary E. D. Pohl, Professor Directing Thesis; Rochelle Marrinan, Committee Member; William A. Parkinson, Committee Member; Kitty Emery, Committee Member.

This thesis explores the ritualistic, artifact, demographic, health, and status differences exhibited in burials throughout Florida over a span of 8,000 years. The study summarizes and examines many of the ritual and biological data available for about 3,500 individuals at 40 sites (43 site contexts), and sites were from Archaic, Swift Creek, St. Johns, Weeden Island, Manasota, Alachua, Fort Walton, Safety Harbor, Mission, and Seminole Period/cultures. The different factors studied include 1) layout of sites and associated features; 2) individual burial type; 3) types of ceramics and grave goods; 4) individuals and associated grave goods, 4) sex and age; 5) dental health; and 6) other health indicators. Throughout the thesis, these factors are used to understand the status of individuals and the sites in which they were buried. In chapter 7, status markers identified in the previous chapters are used to create a system of scoring the different sites by their evidence of status and hierarchy. This methodology allows the analysis of sites in Florida and other areas with similar burial rituals from a wide variety of cultures and time periods. This thesis illustrates how burial rituals and health changed over time and often varied among the different cultures and areas of Florida. It suggests that differences of societal complexity and status were often the main motivator for differences in burial ritual, and that health cannot be used to evaluate status in Florida. The size, layers, the use of particular burial types, and presence of different grave goods were more often affected by the levels of hierarchy in society than the environment or culture of its people. At the same time, some common presumptions about health are flawed. The highest status people at some sites often suffered the worst health, and pathological conditions such as porotic hyperostosis may be caused by factors that are not often associated with them. In conclusion, this paper attempts to bring together much of what we know about burial in Florida and verifies or disproves many of the cultural and temporal association given to different sites. The thesis also includes comprehensive site summaries for all 43 site contexts in the study. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts. / Spring Semester 2006. / February 24, 2006. / Bioarchaeological Analysis, Ritual Analysis, Mortuary Studies, Precolumbian Florida, Archaeology, Burials / Includes bibliographical references. / Glen H. Doran, Professor Directing Thesis; Rochelle A. Marrinan, Committee Member; William Parkinson, Committee Member.

This thesis examines archaeological materials recovered from the Lewis Camp Mound (8Je182), located in Jefferson County, Florida. Evidence recovered from the site indicates that it has been frequented since the Late Archaic Period (4000–1000 B.C.) and continues to be used by the present-day culture. Previous archaeological investigations in the local area are discussed as well as a general cultural chronology for the Florida Gulf Coast region. Several settlement models are examined, in an attempt to define the function of the site and how it fits into the regional chronology. The focus of this thesis is a presentation of materials recovered during formal archaeological excavations, demonstrating the Precolumbian utilization of this site. The classes of materials recovered from this site include ceramics, lithics, some floral remains, and faunal materials. Conclusions are presented and recommendations for future research are made. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Fall Semester, 2005. / November 1, 2005. / Florida, Jefferson County, Wacissa River, Lewis Camp Mound, Zooarchaeology, Archaeology, Subsistence, Norwood, Deptford, Swift Creek, Weeden Island, Settlement models, Screen Bias, Petrocalcic, Lithics, Ceramics, Faunal Remains / Includes bibliographical references. / Rochelle A. Marrinan, Professor Directing Thesis; Glen H. Doran, Committee Member; Michael Russo, Committee Member.

The dissertation investigates how patterns of consumption reflect internal patterns of social hierarchy among the enslaved plantation community and what were the degrees of resistance and accommodation of those enslaved and their structure in relation to white plantation owners. Family, community, customs and practices, religion, and settlement patterns are the factors used to interpret the African American presence at Charles Pinckney's Snee Farm in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina and to perform a regional comparison with similar plantations of the period. This study utilizes ethnological, archaeological, historical, and physical resources to determine status differences within this slave community. Its strength is the use of a holistic and interdisciplinary approach along with the integration of anthropological and archaeological agency and consumer theories. To determine how enslaved Africans defined their community and daily lives utilizing a comprehensive, multidisciplinary method is necessary. Analysis of consumption patterns through archaeological evidence reveals interactions between slaves and other peoples defining the ranges and boundaries of the enslaved community and its elements of resistance. Agency and consumer theories provide an explanation of how individuals possess the ownership of choice and the ability of anthropologists to characterize populations in terms of their own community through the factors deemed most important by the members' own standards in the face of outside pressures. This research provides the ability to compare this community with others in the United States aiding in the development of a theory of modern African American ethnicity formation. Ultimately, this study will contribute to African Diaspora research as more investigations are undertaken with Atlantic populations and large cultural patterns of the African Diaspora are described. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2007. / December 14, 2006. / Plantation Studies, Family and Marriage, Ceramics, Agency Theory, Consumer Theory, Historic Archaeology / Includes bibliographical references. / Glen H. Doran, Professor Directing Dissertation; Dennis Moore, Outside Committee Member; Joseph Hellweg, Committee Member; Bennie C. Keel, Committee Member.

Although there is an extensive literature discussing the origins of the Japanese we still lack strong hypotheses or theories which are widely agreed upon. While many argue that most of cultural elements in ancient Japan were influenced by Chinese culture, in this paper the cultural history of Korea is seen as pivotal in the development of Japanese traditions. Major sources for these inferences include linguistic, historical, archaeological and bioanthropological studies. This strategy attempts to interweave large-scale phenomenon and small-scale events from the Korean peninsula, based on historic and archaeological investigations of Korean, and how these features influenced the people of the Japanese archipelago. While there are still unanswered questions it seems clear from this overview that there were extensive and intensive contacts between Japan and Korea and these relations must be taken into consideration when looking at the development of the Japanese peoples. It is likely that these connections extend into the pre- and proto-historic periods. It also seems likely that there were large and small migrations from Korea to Japan even into the end of Kofun period (A.D. 7th). This thesis argues that the origins of both Japanese and Korean are very closely linked and deserves a more objective interpretive effort than has been previously formulated. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Fall Semester, 2004. / July 21, 2004. / Origin Of Japanese, Origin Of Korean, Migration, Yayoi, Jomon, Yamatai, Wa, East Asia, Ancient Korea, Ancient Japan / Includes bibliographical references. / Glen H. Doran, Professor Directing Thesis; Bruce T. Grindal, Committee Member; John T. J. Ho, Committee Member.

David S. Phelps, of Florida State University, excavated the Refuge Fire Tower Site between 1968 and 1970 during a regional study of prehistoric settlement patterning on Florida's northern Gulf Coast. A preliminary report of these excavations and subsequent citations characterized the site as a seasonally occupied special-use site for the procurement of fish and shellfish. A number of large, articulated fish recovered from the midden led Phelps to further speculate that particular species of fish were targeted and filleted at the site, possibly for trade inland. This remains unverified, however, as in-depth analysis of fauna from the Refuge Fire Tower Site has not been reported to date. The purpose of this thesis was to test Phelps' characterization of the Refuge Fire Tower Site through zooarchaeological analysis of fauna from the midden. I proposed that use of the Refuge Fire Tower Site for fish and shellfish procurement and processing during the spring, summer, and fall months would be reflected in the modal class sizes of fish remains from the midden, and that specialization would be evidenced by large numbers of particular fish species and/or repeated size ranges of fishes. I also suggested that, if indeed a special-use procurement site, patterns of vertebrate exploitation at the Refuge Fire Tower Site would differ from those of contemporaneous coastal village sites in the region, and instead resemble subsistence patterning of coastal campsites. Vertebrate fauna from ten midden samples and one feature were analyzed. Problems encountered in this study included limited excavation data, an incomplete artifact assemblage, and biased archaeological recovery techniques. Results of the analysis indicate the Refuge Fire Tower Site was not a specialized resource procurement site, but rather a small habitation site occupied nearly year-round during the Late Deptford and Early Swift Creek periods. Quantified analysis of vertebrate fauna the site indicates resource exploitation focused on marine resources, mainly fish, and, to a much smaller degree, terrestrial and freshwater fauna. Though several large fish were identified in the samples analyzed, a wide range of fish sizes was present in each sample, suggesting a broad pattern of marine fish exploitation in the estuary, bay, and offshore. Articulated fish vertebral columns suggest overabundance, possibly associated with feasting. Subsequent comparison of the data with contemporaneous sites in the Deptford/Swift Creek culture region revealed a relatively uniform pattern of coastal subsistence throughout, with minor differences reflecting local environmental resource variability. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science. / Fall Semester, 2005. / August 19, 2005. / Deptford, Subsistence, Woodland, Fauna, Archaeology, Midden, Swift Creek / Includes bibliographical references. / Rochelle Marrinan, Professor Directing Thesis; Glen Doran, Committee Member; Michael Russo, Committee Member.

LCMs (landing craft, mechanized) played a number of important roles in World War II. Despite their significance, they have rarely been analyzed in the archaeological record. This thesis presents a model used to help identify and evaluate a shipwreck site (8FR892) in Franklin County, Florida, home to Camp Gordon Johnston, a World War II Amphibious Training Center. The data on which the model is based was useful in assessing site 8FR892 and was successful in demonstrating that 8FR892 is not a LCM. The model considers pre-depositional, depositional, and post-depositional processes that may affect the condition of submerged steel-hulled vessels in a number of environments and therefore has applications to identify submerged LCM sites around the world. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Fall Semester, 2004. / November 4, 2004. / World War II Archaeology, 8FR892, Franklin County, Florida, LCM, Landing Craft / Includes bibliographical references. / Cheryl Ward, Professor Directing Thesis; Rochelle Marrinan, Committee Member; Glen Doran, Committee Member.

In this study the combined data from a geophysical survey, surface collection, and subsurface testing of the French Dwelling Site (22AD557) was presented to describe the archaeologically tested structural features at the site. The site is located in Natchez, Mississippi and contains evidence for both a prehistoric and early French Colonial component, but is dominated by a late eighteenth through early nineteenth century British/American homesite. Testing at the site was conducted in 2001 and included a geophysical survey using a gradiometer and conductivity meter; followed by surface collection and limited excavation of features. Only the largest five of over 50 geophysical anomalies were tested by way of exploratory excavation. Three of the five tested anomalies were identified as significant site features, all of which were associated with the eighteenth through nineteenth century occupation. An attempt was made to produce a model for untested geophysical anomalies based upon surface collected artifacts, but the homogeneity of the collection at the surface of the site precluded this. Instead, statistical analysis of the archaeologically tested features was undertaken in an attempt to determine age, function, and relationship of these features to one another at the site. This project represents the most in-depth study of the French Dwelling Site to date. All previous examinations of the site have focused on the possibility of an early French occupation, but this study incorporated all of the historic material from the site in order to fairly document both the limited evidence for French Colonial use of the site and the overwhelming evidence of the later British/American homesite. The results of the geophysical survey were used in conjunction with the artifact collection to illuminate the fact that no known features have been found at the French Dwelling Site that actually date to the French occupation of Natchez. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science. / Spring Semester, 2004. / March 23, 2004. / Eighteenth Century, Natchez, Archaeology / Includes bibliographical references. / Glen Doran, Professor Directing Thesis; Bruce Grindal, Committee Member; David Anderson, Committee Member.

This research examines Archaic Period (~9500-2500 RCYBP) bone tool use and production strategies in the St. Johns River Basin, Florida. Bone artifacts (n=509) from six sites form the composite assemblage studied. Microwear and manufacture patterns are analyzed to answer three questions about bone technology: 1) Are archaeologically imposed morphological tool "types" functionally relevant? 2) What aspects of tool shape influenced prehistoric tool use? 3) Did Archaic groups in the St. Johns River Basin have a consistent bone tool production strategy? Results from statistical analysis of microwear patterns indicate that morphological tool "types" are functionally relevant. Furthermore, statistical tests indicate that bone tool use varies according to specific tool tip forms, base forms, shaft forms, and cross-sections. Buttressed by replication experiments, this research provides quantitative evidence for consistent Archaic bone tool manufacture strategies in the St. Johns River Basin. Overall, this thesis provides comparative use and manufacture data for bone tools in the region, grounded in statistically significant patterns. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2011. / March 17, 2011. / Osseous Technology, Archaic Period Southeast, Bone Tool / Includes bibliographical references. / Glen H. Doran, Professor Directing Thesis; Rochelle A. Marrinan, Committee Member; Lynne A. Schepartz, Committee Member.