Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Anthropology, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

M.A. (Anthropology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

O presente trabalho tem o intuito de identificar e compreender as cadeias operatórias dos vestígios, cerâmicos e líticos, coletados nas escavações realizadas nos sítios Inhazinha e Rodrigues Furtado, localizados no município de Perdizes, região do Triângulo Mineiro, oeste do Estado de Minas Gerais, para se inferir sobre a manutenção de uma continuidade cultural, ou a ocorrência de mudança. Ambos os sítios são integrantes do Projeto Quebra Anzol, sendo que o sítio Inhazinha foi escavado na campanha de julho/agosto do ano de 1988, e apresenta datação de 1095±186 anos AP (TL FATEC/SP). O sítio Rodrigues Furtado: escavado em julho/agosto de 1992 e em julho de 2006, e apresenta datação de 500±50 anos AP (TL-FATEC/SP). A análise foi direcionada pela identificação das cadeias operatórias dos vestígios líticos e cerâmicos dos dois sítios, e dessa forma, compreender os processos tecnológicos da manufatura desses vestígios, do processo de procura, captação e transporte da matéria-prima ao descarte, que resultou no processo de formação do registro arqueológico. Para tal todas as etapas técnicas da manufatura desses materiais foram minuciosamente analisadas e comparadas de forma que possamos empreender um estudo sistemático capaz de clarificar os propósitos das sociedades pré-históricas. Este estudo tem o propósito de colaborar para a compreensão da ocupação pré-histórica do vale do alto Paranaíba, uma das regiões alvo do projeto Quebra-Anzol. / This present work\'s goal consists on the identification and comprehension of the operational chains of the vestiges, both ceramic and lithic, collected throughout the excavations conducted at the Inhazinha and Rodrigues Furtado archaeological sites in order to build inferences regarding the maintenance of a cultural continuity or the change occurrance. The sites are located at the municipal district of Perdizes, within the Triângulo Mineiro region, west from the Minas Gerais State and both figure as part of the Quebra-Anzol Project. The Inhazinha site\'s excavation was held throughout the July/August campaign during the year of 1988 and its dating is stated upon 1095±186 years BP (TL FATEC/SP). The Rodrigues Furtado site\'s excavation period consisted on July/August of 1992 and also July 2006; and the site\'s dating is set upon 500±50 years BP (TL FATEC/SP). The analysis is conducted by the identification of the lithic and ceramic vestiges\' operational chains from both sites. Furthermore, it is our intent to, in this manner, comprehend the technological processes of these vestiges\' manufacture along with its search process, gathering, transportation and, last, discard of raw material - resulting on the formation process of the archaeological register. Therefore, all technical stages of these materials\' manufacture are to be scrupulously analysed and compared in a way to enable a systematic study able to clarify the purposes of the pre-hystorical societies. This study\'s purpose lies upon the collaboration for the comprehension of the Vale do Alto Paranaíba pre-hystorical occupation, which consists as one of the target areas of the \"Quebra-Anzol\" Project.

Material culture is an understudied aspect of social life in Appalachian Studies, the multi- disciplinary investigation of social life in the Appalachian region. Historically, material culture in the region has been largely studied for its semiotic properties, decoded as a tangible symbol of “a region apart,” lagging behind the rest of America in terms of moral, mental, economic, and social development. Critical material studies from archaeology and other disciplines paint a different picture, however, and construct a region as American as any other. This study utilizes discourse analysis of material rhetoric about Appalachia and archaeological and oral historical data from two twentieth-century company- owned coal mining towns in Letcher County, Kentucky. It argues that contrary to persistent stereotypes about Appalachia as a backwards place, residents were firmly embedded in the market economy and enacted modern identities through their engagement with fellow citizens and material objects. This intersectional study uses theories of practice to explore how entanglement with mass-produced goods, notably home furnishing and wellness products, constituted residents’ identities as modern consumers along with the rest of the nation during the golden age of Appalachia’s industrialism. Appalachian women and their families embraced consumer goods, whose influx intensified during the Industrial Age, entangling their constitution as modern householders with these everyday goods through daily practice. Contrary to stereotypes about Appalachian atavism and isolation, Appalachian consumers eagerly engaged with mass-produced goods and new ideals about scientific health and house-holding along with their counterparts across the progressive United States.

O presente trabalho tem o intuito de identificar e compreender as cadeias operatórias dos vestígios, cerâmicos e líticos, coletados nas escavações realizadas nos sítios Inhazinha e Rodrigues Furtado, localizados no município de Perdizes, região do Triângulo Mineiro, oeste do Estado de Minas Gerais, para se inferir sobre a manutenção de uma continuidade cultural, ou a ocorrência de mudança. Ambos os sítios são integrantes do Projeto Quebra Anzol, sendo que o sítio Inhazinha foi escavado na campanha de julho/agosto do ano de 1988, e apresenta datação de 1095±186 anos AP (TL FATEC/SP). O sítio Rodrigues Furtado: escavado em julho/agosto de 1992 e em julho de 2006, e apresenta datação de 500±50 anos AP (TL-FATEC/SP). A análise foi direcionada pela identificação das cadeias operatórias dos vestígios líticos e cerâmicos dos dois sítios, e dessa forma, compreender os processos tecnológicos da manufatura desses vestígios, do processo de procura, captação e transporte da matéria-prima ao descarte, que resultou no processo de formação do registro arqueológico. Para tal todas as etapas técnicas da manufatura desses materiais foram minuciosamente analisadas e comparadas de forma que possamos empreender um estudo sistemático capaz de clarificar os propósitos das sociedades pré-históricas. Este estudo tem o propósito de colaborar para a compreensão da ocupação pré-histórica do vale do alto Paranaíba, uma das regiões alvo do projeto Quebra-Anzol. / This present work\'s goal consists on the identification and comprehension of the operational chains of the vestiges, both ceramic and lithic, collected throughout the excavations conducted at the Inhazinha and Rodrigues Furtado archaeological sites in order to build inferences regarding the maintenance of a cultural continuity or the change occurrance. The sites are located at the municipal district of Perdizes, within the Triângulo Mineiro region, west from the Minas Gerais State and both figure as part of the Quebra-Anzol Project. The Inhazinha site\'s excavation was held throughout the July/August campaign during the year of 1988 and its dating is stated upon 1095±186 years BP (TL FATEC/SP). The Rodrigues Furtado site\'s excavation period consisted on July/August of 1992 and also July 2006; and the site\'s dating is set upon 500±50 years BP (TL FATEC/SP). The analysis is conducted by the identification of the lithic and ceramic vestiges\' operational chains from both sites. Furthermore, it is our intent to, in this manner, comprehend the technological processes of these vestiges\' manufacture along with its search process, gathering, transportation and, last, discard of raw material - resulting on the formation process of the archaeological register. Therefore, all technical stages of these materials\' manufacture are to be scrupulously analysed and compared in a way to enable a systematic study able to clarify the purposes of the pre-hystorical societies. This study\'s purpose lies upon the collaboration for the comprehension of the Vale do Alto Paranaíba pre-hystorical occupation, which consists as one of the target areas of the \"Quebra-Anzol\" Project.

The materials of war, defined as what soldiers carry into battle and off the battlefield, have much to offer as a means of identifying and analyzing the culture of those combatants. The Vietnam War is extremely rich in culture when considered against the changing political and social climate of the United States during the 1960s and 70s. Determining the meaning of the materials carried by Vietnam War soldiers can help identify why a soldier is fighting, what the soldier’s fears are, explain certain actions or inactions in a given situation, or describe the values and moral beliefs that governed that soldier’s conduct. “Carry,” as a word, often refers to something physical that can be seen, touched, smelled, or heard, but there is also the mental material, which does not exist in the physical space, that soldiers collect in their experiences prior to, during, and after battle. War changes the individual soldier, and by analyzing what he or she took (both physical and mental), attempts at self-preservation or defense mechanisms to harden the body and mind from the harsh realities of war are revealed. In the same respect, what the soldiers brought home is also a means of preservation; preserving those memories of their experiences adds validity and meaning to their experiences. An approach employing aspects of psychology, sociology, and cultural theory demonstrates that any cookie-cutter answer or characterization of Vietnam veterans is unstable at best, and that a much more complex picture develops from a multidisciplinary analysis of the soldiers who fought the war in Vietnam.

This study examines the object biographies of musical instruments and the function of age in the cultural and material history of the lute. It follows the central question of why old instruments were valued more greatly than new ones and what measures had to be executed to adapt the objects to the ever-changing musical style. It traces the lute in its several cultural functions from the 17th to the 19th century: as a musical instrument, as a symbol, as a commodity, and as an object that had to be adapted, repaired, and altered by several generations of lute makers. This interdisciplinary approach uses a broad spectrum of sources from treatises, lute manuals, forewords in printed lute music, and depictions of lutes in literature, poetry, and visual arts to construct a narrative of the appreciation of old musical instruments. It investigates the material changes that were necessary to ensure their continued use by a profound study of more than 100 instruments in public and private collections. The different business models and prices in the trade of lutes are compared and connected to the common knowledge about old instruments and their brand characteristics among lute players. This study employs methods from musicology, organology, material culture studies, acoustics, economics, art history, technology, and digital humanities. This multivalent approach enhances the understanding of the general dynamics of commodities as status symbols, object biographies, and functional objects and connects them to the material and cultural history of objects using the lute as a case study. / Die Studie untersucht die Objektbiografien von Musikinstrumenten und die Funktion des Alters für die kulturelle und materielle Geschichte von Lauteninstrumenten. Sie geht der zentralen Frage nach, warum alte Instrumente höher geschätzt wurden als neue und welche Maßnahmen ergriffen werden mussten, um die Objekte an den sich ständig verändernden Musikstil anzupassen. Sie verfolgt die Laute in ihren verschiedenen kulturellen Funktionen vom 17. bis zum 19. Jahrhundert: als Musikinstrument, als Symbol, als Gebrauchsgegenstand und als Objekt, das von mehreren Generationen von Lautenbauern angepasst, repariert und verändert werden musste. Der interdisziplinäre Ansatz nutzt ein breites Spektrum von Quellen wie Traktate, Lautenhandbücher, Vorworte in gedruckter Lautenmusik und Darstellungen von Lauten in Literatur, Poesie und bildender Kunst, um die Geschichte der Wertschätzung alter Musikinstrumente nachzuverfolgen. Anhand einer eingehenden Untersuchung von mehr als 100 Instrumenten in öffentlichen und privaten Sammlungen werden die Eingriffe untersucht, die notwendig waren, um ihre weitere Nutzung zu gewährleisten. Die unterschiedlichen Geschäftsmodelle und Preise im Handel mit Lauten werden verglichen und mit dem Wissensvorrat unter Lautenisten über alte Instrumente und deren Markencharakteristiken in Verbindung gebracht. Die Studie verwendet Methoden aus der Musikwissenschaft, der Organologie, der materiellen Kulturwissenschaft, der Akustik, der Ökonomie, der Kunstgeschichte, der Instrumentenbautechnologie und der Digital Humanities. Der multivalente Ansatz verbessert das Verständnis der allgemeinen Dynamik von Waren als Statussymbole, von Objektbiografien funktionaler Objekte und verbindet sie mit der materiellen und kulturellen Geschichte der Objekte am Beispiel der Laute.

Sexually themed objects from ancient Greece and Rome have been present in debates about our relationship with the past and with sexuality since they were first brought to modern attention in large numbers in the Enlightenment period. However, modern engagement with this type of material has very often been characterised as problematic. This thesis pushes beyond the story of reactionary censorship of ancient depictions of sex to demonstrate how these images were meaningfully engaged with across intellectual life in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Britain and America. It makes a significant and timely contribution to our existing knowledge of a key historical period for the development of the modern understanding of sexuality and cultural representations of it, and the central role that antiquity played in negotiating this fundamental aspect of modernity. Crucially, this work demonstrates how sexual antiquities functioned as symbols of pre-Christian sexual, social and political mores, with which to think through, and to challenge, contemporary cultural constructions around sexuality, religion, gender roles and the development of culture itself. It presents evidence of the widespread and prolific acquisition of sexually themed artefacts throughout private and institutional collecting culture. This deliberate seeking out of ancient images of sex is shown to have been motivated by debates on the universal human connection between sex and religion, as part of wider constructions of notions such as ‘culture’ and ‘primitivism’, with Classical material maintaining a central position in these ideas, despite research into increasingly diverse cultures, past and present. The purposeful engagement with sexual imagery from antiquity is also revealed as having acted as a valuable new source of knowledge about ancient sexual life between men which gave new impetus to the negotiation, defence, celebration and promotion of homoerotic desire in contemporary turn of the twentieth century, Western society.

This thesis examines how the lifestyles of the middling sorts evolved during the period 1660 and 1760 as reflected in their relationship to material goods in three contrasting, but geographically near towns. The towns are similar to the degree that their history and circumstances led to them being viewed as backwaters, and this may have influenced consumption practices. Ludlow had lost its importance as the Capital of Wales; it stagnated until its fortunes began to be revived by achieving leisure town status. Hereford was a cathedral city and a county town, but was mainly poorly built and congested. It was locally, rather than nationally important. Tewkesbury was an inland port and a manufacturing centre, but it had been eclipsed by the larger and more successful cities of Bristol and Gloucester. This study of household goods in the middling interiors of Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury between 1660 and 1760 set out first to investigate the extent to which the possessions of the middling ranks reflected their social status. The second aspect is to analyse the geographical spread of new goods in the three towns to determine the extent to which economic circumstances and location influenced consumption. Thirdly, the intention is to determine how status and politeness was expressed in the early modern home. Finally, this study aimed to ascertain what these factors could tell us about early modern consumers in the three towns. A sample of the domestic goods of the middling ranks from Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury is examined and compared. The material culture of the three towns has previously attracted little academic interest. It is my intention that this thesis on the three towns complements and contributes to the existing bodies of work on early modern regional culture studies.

This thesis examines Andrea Mantegna's painting of Judith and Holofernes in the context of attitudes towards women, material culture, and the Middle East during the Italian Renaissance.