The nature of social organization at an archaeological site can be interpreted from many types of material remains. Exotic goods are particularly useful for making inferences about social organization because of their scarcity, utilitarian demand, and symbolic characteristics. Obsidian artifacts are some of the most abundant exotic goods among the Lowland Maya. The acquisition of these artifacts was the result of a wide net of commerce from the highlands of Guatemala and central Mexico into the Maya lowlands. The patterns of consumption and distribution of obsidian artifacts vary according the time and location. This variation is seen as the result of complex dynamics of trade and social interactions among the ancient Maya. Therefore, I argue that there is variability perceptible in the patterns of consumption and local distribution of obsidian between the elite residential groups at the site of Holtun. This study presents a descriptive and comparative analysis of the patterns of obsidian consumption observed in the samples from the excavations performed by the Holtun Archaeological Project from 2011 through 2016. The analysis contributes to the understanding of local processes in association with regional socioeconomic and political dynamics in the Maya Lowlands. Previous research has suggested that obsidian distribution in some times and places was centralized and controlled by powerful Maya polities. In addition, research performed on obsidian artifacts reveals a change in the consumption of different obsidian sources at other sites in the Yaxhá basin, the geographic location of Holtun. The data collected by Holtun Archaeological Project provide information that correlates with the broader trends of obsidian preferences in the area. Our findings suggest that during the Preclassic period (c. 600 BC to AD 250) the frequency of obsidian artifacts from San Martin Jilotepeque was higher than other sources and the artifacts from El Chayal were restricted to households especially associated with the first ritual and monumental construction at the site. Then, during the Classic Period (AD 250 to 950), the frequency of artifacts from San Martin Jilotepeque experienced a decrease in quantity and the artifacts from El Chayal were more accessible across the site. The process of excavation and mapping, and the subsequent laboratory analyses have allowed for the documentation of this variability in accessibility and consumption preferences within different elite residential groups. To facilitate these interpretations, a map of Holtun was created using Geographic Information Systems. It allows the inclusion of layers of information obtained during this research, constituting a point of reference for the understanding of socioeconomic and political changes experienced within the site during the intriguing transition from the Preclassic to the Classic period.

Migration to Italy has drastically increased, with thousands of refugees traveling by sea to Sicily every month. International refugee policy is largely managed through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and although it attempts to regulate refugee assistance, immigration policy within the European Union is complex and continuously fluctuating. Upon arrival in Sicily, authorities send refugees to first reception centers, and then transfer them to second reception centers operated by local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The implementation of Italian immigration policy varies among regions; resettlement agencies often transfer refugees among centers where they receive different economic assistance, thus creating further harm to this marginalized population. While there is abundant scholarship regarding refugee resettlement, there is little anthropological research concerning the conditions of second reception centers for refugees in the specific geopolitical region of Siracusa, Sicily. Further, little is known about centers for unaccompanied minors, and due to the increasing number of minors arriving in Italy, additional anthropological research is critical in understanding the conditions of second reception centers for children in Sicily. I conducted ethnographic research in 2015 and 2016 at six refugee centers in Siracusa: three for unaccompanied minors, two for adults, and one for men, women, and children. In this thesis, I explore the perceptions of refugees concerning the treatment and services that they receive at second reception centers after arriving in Italy. I examine how resettlement policies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) shape refugees' experiences in transitioning within Sicilian society, arguing that certain policies and NGO practices restrict refugees' socioeconomic mobility. Specifically, this project aims to answer the following research questions: •What challenges do refugees face after arriving at reception and resettlement centers in Sicily? •How do current migration policies affect newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers? I argue that current policies, and their implementation, place refugees in circumstances that restrict their socioeconomic mobility, keeping them in impoverished conditions. The effectiveness of humanitarian aid is important to understand, not only within anthropology, but also concerning refugee policy to identify ineffective practices, as well as successful non-governmental practices for assisting refugees. Through ethnographic analysis, this research will deepen the understanding of the effects refugee policy creates in the lives of refugees in Sicily; therefore, contributing to the scholarship of how policy can prevent future harm to refugees after they arrive in Italy.

Stable isotopic analyses of faunal remains are used as a proxy for reconstructing the ancient Chachapoya dietary environment of the northeastern highlands in Peru. Archaeologists have excavated animal remains from refuse piles at the monumental center of Kuelap (AD 900-1535). This archaeological site is located at 3000 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l.), where C3 plants dominate the region. The study presented here is one of the few in the Central Andes that uses faunal remains to develop local isotopic baselines, reconstruct resource exploitation, and provide insight into dietary variation. Bone collagen stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes are used to investigate animal diets of nine local fauna (Camelidae, Cervidae, Caviidae, Chinchillidae, Cuniculidae, Leporidae, Felidae, Canidae, and Aves). Different taxonomic families were evaluated to explore the range of isotopic variation within and between these animals. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic values of both the wild and domesticated Kuelap faunal samples suggest a diet of both C3 and C4 plant foods. Significant dietary differences were identified between domesticated and wild animals (specifically camelid and cervid), suggesting ecological differences or strategic provisioning from possible domestic C4 crops (maize) by humans. The domesticated camelids displayed a large isotopic variation similar to other highland archaeological studies in Peru, with an average δ13C value of –14.13 ‰ and a standard deviation of 2.96. The cervids displayed lower variation than the camelids and had an average carbon value of –19.13 ‰ with a standard deviation of 2.38. These are the first faunal isotopic data for the eastern montane region of Chachapoyas and serve as an essential baseline in the evaluation of human subsistence strategies and animal management strategies in the northern Peruvian highlands.

This study involves the investigation of diet and mobility among people living in the lower Río Verde Valley, Oaxaca, Mexico, during the Late Classic (AD 500-800) and Early Postclassic (AD 800-1200) periods. Specifically, this research focuses on how political and social collapse affected subsistence practices and diet, particularly maize agriculture and consumption, as well as human migration. Archaeological evidence suggests that Río Viejo, the region's largest urban center before AD 800, experienced multiple periods of political fragmentation and instability during its long history, specifically during the Early Classic (AD 250 - 500) and Early Postclassic periods, making it an ideal place to test these relationships. Stable carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotopic analyses of human bone and tooth samples were used to reconstruct diet and create a life history for sampled individuals. Samples were extracted from the skeletal remains of individuals dating to the Late Classic (n=11) and Early Postclassic (n=11) periods. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values provide insight into maize consumption; in addition stable nitrogen isotope values also indicate the extent that aquatic resources were being exploited. Stable oxygen isotope values are used to determine if any of the individuals were foreigners and had migrated to the valley during their lifetime. Results demonstrate collapse following the Classic period led to a slight dietary shift that included a wider variety of resources, possibly aquatic. Human mobility also increased during this time as oxygen values display a wider range and indicate movement within the valley and along the coast.

More rigorous methodological protocols are needed to document outdoor forensic scenes containing skeletal remains. However, law enforcement protocols rarely provide specific guidelines for processing these scenes. Regardless, the need to preserve contextual information at crime scenes is of paramount importance and it is worth exploring new technological applications that will allow for better documentation. Close-range photogrammetry (CRP) is one option for outdoor scene documentation, more prominently utilized in archaeological contexts, that may provide forensic archaeologists with a tool to better document these scenarios via 3D modeling. To test the efficacy of CRP as documentation tool three mock scenarios representing common outdoor scenes were created using faux osteological material: a close scatter of osteological remains in a pine flatwood setting, a wide scatter of osteological remains in the same setting, and the partial excavation of skeletonized remains. Images were collected using a digital camera and processed using Agisoft Photoscan Professional. A series of variables were tested in successive iterations of data capture for each scenario to determine best practices for overall accuracy: camera images captured by hand versus fixed to a tripod, scale bar positioning, and number of images captured. Accuracy was determined via final root mean square error values and through a comparison between real-world to virtual measurements. Results show that CRP is a cost and time-effective method of documenting contextual data at a scene via the creation of 3D models and scaled orthomosaic images. This method is most useful for the documentation of excavations owing to the controlled and contrasted sub-surface in comparison to the subject material. The two scatter scenarios offered additional challenges due to the complexity of the ground covering, however models nonetheless provided accurate contextual detail and errors may be mitigated through proper data capture. There was little difference in the variables for image capture, scale bar placement, or number of images. Instead, the quality of images, image capture method, and post-processing operations proved to be more important. Due to the ease of use and the ability to convey best practices for data capture, the utilization of CRP for outdoor scene documentation is recommended as a valuable addition to current forensic documentation protocols. Future research should focus on the utilization of actual osteological material as a proxy for forensic scenarios as well as study the applicability of CRP to assist in documenting taphonomic modifications.

Implementing effective health interventions in recent epidemics has been difficult due to the potentially global nature of their spread and sociocultural dynamics, raising questions concerning how to develop culturally-appropriate preventive measures, and how these health threats are understood locally. In Belize, health policy makers have only been marginally effective in managing infections and mosquito vectors, and Zika has been declared endemic in multiple regions of the country, particularly on the island of Caye Caulker. With one locally confirmed case of microcephaly on this small island already, this disease has the potential to severely impact the health and wellness of pregnant women and future generations. Based on ethnographic and Geographic Information Systems research conducted primarily in 2017, I examine how perspectives of Zika-related health risk are shaped, and how state interventions to manage Zika are understood. I argue that despite its declared endemic status, Zika is not perceived as a true health concern for community members due to numerous neoliberal structural challenges. Moreover, the state's restrictive form of reproductive governance which limits family planning services is forcing individuals to weigh conflicting conceptions of health consequences. This also contributes to an ambiguous healthcare environment for health practitioners, giving them an unclear picture of the scope of Zika as a public health concern and limiting their ability to treat patients. This thesis also considers how critical medical anthropology and feminist analytical approaches are useful in exploring these questions and contributing to understandings of the health impacts of Zika.

The Maya believed there were multiple worlds in addition to the human world. Portals connected these worlds and allowed active engagement between the Maya and their gods. Without portals and the ability to communicate between the worlds the Maya belief system could not function. Evidence suggests the Maya believed reflective surfaces – mirrors and water surfaces – were portals to spiritual worlds. In this thesis, I examine the portrayal of mirrors as portals in Maya art, focusing on mirrors in scenes painted on ceramics. Combining archaeological, iconographical, and linguistic data I argue that mirrors functioned in service to ritual as an essential gateway between humans and the gods and were two-way portals between earthly and spiritual worlds. I specifically examine fifty-one scenes on painted ceramic vessels involving mirrors to interpret and document their function as portals between worlds, how they were used in courtly life and what they may have meant to the people who used them. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between the Maya, their gods, and a particular aspect of material culture – mirrors – and how the elite used mirrors and their relationship with the gods as a source of power. I conclude that the gods are not omnipresent and that mirrors portals are always active and strategically placed for the gods to have the best view of the world of humans.

During the Terminal Classic period (9th-10th centuries A.D.), the ancient Maya at Lamanai, Belize, began to practice pre-inhumation breakage of ceramics in mortuary contexts. Previously, the custom had been to bury whole vessels with the deceased. This conspicuous shift in behavior suggests important changes in beliefs regarding the role of ceramics in death and interment at a pivotal moment in ancient Maya culture history. Despite this significant change, there has been no published research conducted specifically on these vessels. In fact, there has been no clearly delineated set of characteristics for what qualifies as a pre-inhumation breakage vessel (PBV). This study offers a working definition for PBVs and converts the original Lamanai grave descriptions of those that contain PBVs to a classification system for ease of future comparative analyses. Finally, the sex and age of individuals buried with PBVs are considered. The result is a conjunctive analysis that provides data not only on PBV forms and quantities, grave types, and the sex and age of those interred with PBVs, but also several statistically significant correlations among these variables. I argue that the conjoined data suggest that one of the primary purposes for the pre-inhumation breakage of ceramics in mortuary contexts was a strategic one, a method selected by Lamanai leadership, and enacted community-wide, as a way to protect the community from potentially harmful energies and to maintain communal confidence at a time of great uncertainty in the southern Maya lowlands.

Hair has become an invaluable resource in forensic, clinical, and bioarchaeological research. The unique interaction between the growing hair fiber, the hair follicle, and the endocrine system inundates the growing hair fiber with an incremental record of many of the discreet physiological processes of the body. Recently, a novel study by Webb et al. (2010) demonstrated that endogenous records of cortisol, the "stress hormone", are capable of being extracted from archaeological human hair through a modified enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique, thus providing insight into the "invisible" stress experiences of an individual that would otherwise not be detectable through skeletal analysis. The present study seeks to apply this novel ELISA technique to archaeological hair to determine whether endogenous patterns of secretion are detectable for the steroid reproductive hormones estradiol and testosterone. Here, hair from 10 individuals from the Kellis 2 cemetery in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt is analyzed for endogenous concentrations of the steroid hormones cortisol, estradiol, and testosterone. A control sample consisting of hair from 10 modern cadavers is also assessed for each hormone to ensure method efficacy. Cortisol, estradiol, and testosterone were successfully identified in all 10 archaeological individuals and in each of the 10 individuals in the modern control group. Results revealed that archaeological preservation of each hormone was favorable, and incremental patterning of each hormone seem to reflect endogenous hormone secretion in life. Values for cortisol, estradiol in pre-menopausal females, and testosterone extracted from the archaeological and modern control samples fall within reference values taken from archaeological and clinical research; however, estradiol values for males and postmenopausal females exceeded projected reference values. Explorations for variables which could contribute to discrepancies between reported and observed estradiol values are provided, along with two case studies on female individuals from the archaeological sample. The results of this study demonstrate that steroid reproductive hormones can be preserved in archaeological human hair, and that these hormones can be analyzed to create additional lines of inquiry into bioarcheological studies of ancient health and fertility.

Analysis of unique mortuary patterns is often used to evaluate the social lives of the deceased and also those of the living who placed them there. The Ventrally Placed, Legs Flexed (VPLF) burials at the site of Lamanai in Belize, dating to the Postclassic period (1000 - 1544), have been recorded as a Maya mortuary pattern since the late 1970's. While many researchers have analyzed these skeletal remains, comprehensive and cumulative individual analysis of the VPLF individuals from Lamanai has not been conducted. In this study, I will argue that the VPLF individuals in this study were local to Lamanai, or the surrounding region. To do this, the characteristics of 20 VPLF burials are defined and discussed in context with previously published bone and tooth stable oxygen isotope values. All data was collected from field notes and previously published resources, and then compiled in both a narrative and quantitative fashion. Specifically, the variables of arm position, leg position, head position, body orientation, presence of cranial modification, presence of dental modification, and associated artifacts were statistically tested using a chi-square test of association for correlations. While the correlation results were not statistically significant, the descriptive data did yield the identification of leg and arm positions that are characteristic of VPLF burials. This thesis specifically contributes to the future identification of VPLF burial burials by outlining commonly encountered characteristics operationalization of this unique mortuary practice. More broadly, however, this thesis highlights a general lack of consistency in bioarchaeological and mortuary data recording. Thus, this study is the first to compile VPLF mortuary information into one format, and therefore contributes to the study of bioarchaeology and anthropology by providing a foundation for comparison of future burials.