This study examines the morphological variation present in prehistoric and early historic aboriginal dogs recovered from sites in the southeastern United States. Over 200 dogs from 40 archaeological sites in the southeastern United States were examined using 141 measurements. These sites range in age between 7450 BP to 220 BP. Additionally, 26 prehistoric dogs from the West Indies and 27 prehistoric dogs from the northern United States were compared to the southeastern samples. Univariate and bivariate analysis shows both homogeneity and variation in the morphology of the dogs in the southeastern region. In the Archaic dogs no morphological differences were present, indicating a single morphological type. This same type of dog was also the most common in the Woodland through early Historic period. However, two additional, morphologically distinct, types of dogs were also present by the Woodland period. This indicates that by the Woodland period three distinct dogs were present in the southeastern region. Shoulder height estimates do indicate both smaller and larger dogs in the later cultural periods. No significant differences were seen between dogs from different cultural periods. Dogs from the West Indies and dogs from the northern United States show similar morphology to most of the southeastern dogs. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2008. / Date of Defense: June 3, 2008. / Archaeology, Morphology, Osteometric, Domestic Dogs / Includes bibliographical references. / Glen H. Doran, Professor Directing Thesis; Rochelle A. Marrinan, Committee Member; William Parkinson, Committee Member.

This thesis examines prehistoric watercraft documented in the region now inhabited by the Wabanaki, an indigenous maritime society living in New England and the Canadian Maritimes, from archaeological and oral traditions perspectives. Archaeological research has been slow to accept oral traditions as valid, independent sources of evidence. The paucity of prehistoric watercraft and associated tool kits in this study requires exploring Wabanaki prehistory through alternative sources. I gathered oral traditions from a St. Francis Abenaki elder, a Wabanaki oral historian and storyteller, and a traditional Wabanaki canoe artist to tie together historical and archaeological data using maritime socio-cultural relations in the form of oral traditions and histories. Watercraft remains have not been preserved in the archaeological record, requiring an alternative approach, defined within the parameters of this thesis as an oral traditions methodology, to study the maritime technological adaptations of the Wabanaki. This methodology may serve as a template for similar archaeological studies, historic and prehistoric, within societies that value the accurate transmission of oral traditions in the absence, as well as presence, of material remains. In particular, I aim to facilitate a better understanding of Wabanaki technology within the maritime environment of New England and the Canadian Maritimes. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropologyin partial fulfillment of therequirements for the degree ofMaster of Arts. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2007. / Date of Defense: February 28, 2007. / New England, Oral Traditions, Archaeology, Maritime Society, Watercraft, Wabanaki / Includes bibliographical references. / Cheryl Ward, Professor Directing Thesis; Ormond Loomis, Committee Member; Michael Uzendoski, Committee Member.

This thesis explores the ways in which identity and culture can be expressed through tourist art, using a Seminole doll as an example of the connectivity of art. The Seminole doll, a quintessential Florida souvenir, is not just layered with trim and beads, but with meaning and significance for both the doll-maker, and the doll consumer. This meaning is not easily measured in terms of "value," but it is transferred during the exchange of Seminole dolls for sale, for gifts, and for display. The binding of Seminole identity to Seminole dolls impresses upon the tourist consumer and Seminole producer a sense of reflecting, knowing and understanding about Seminole lifeways. Each participant in the exchange is left with a glimmer of what it means to be Seminole. The Seminole in Florida have punctuated their survival in Florida with a fierce resistance to outside control of their daily lives. They remain "unconquered" and this status is a deeply held Seminole core value. The Seminole doll, because of its form and place in the Seminole participation in tourism stands as a link between the "unconquered" Seminole of Florida and the tourists who crave the exotic. This thesis examines how the Seminole doll can reinforce values greater than just its surface level souvenir worth; it is a cultural icon that conveys messages of tribal autonomy to both tourist and tribal member, and as such is a symbolic representation of the tribe's historical pathways. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2005. / Date of Defense: April 14, 2005. / Seminole Dolls, Culture, Identity, Tourist Art, Seminole Tribe of Florida / Includes bibliographical references. / Michael A. Uzendoski, Professor Directing Thesis; Bruce T. Grindal, Committee Member; J. Kathryn Josserand, Committee Member.

Molecular analysis of absorbed organic residues from Middle Formative period feasting ceramics from the Olmec site of San Andrés in Tabasco, Mexico, demonstrates the use of traditional Mesoamerican special feasting foods and beverages as display of elite status. Three types of molecular analysis were used, including bulk stable carbon isotope analysis to look for maize, electrospray ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF MS) to look for cacao, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to look for other organic materials. These use of bulk stable carbon isotope analysis and ESI-TOF MS analyses in this context represent new applications of these technologies to archaeological materials. Results suggest that maize was used more significantly as a feasting beverage, such as a beer, than as an everyday dietary staple. Other results pointed to possible evidence of the inclusion of cacao as a feasting beverage. Theoretical perspectives on feasting, along with ethnographic and ethnohistoric evidence, indicate that the Olmec used special foods and beverages, such maize beers and cacao, during feasts as a way to draw in participants and increase the prestige of the event. Feasting with special foods and beverages provided a setting for individuals to perform elite identities and negotiate social relationships. Intoxication using alcoholic beverages offered another display of status whereby individuals could demonstrate their proximity to the supernatural, a pattern mirrored in Olmec iconography. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2007. / Date of Defense: April 24, 2007. / Mesoamerica, Maize, Olmec, Cacao, Molecular Archaeology, San Andrés, Feasting / Includes bibliographical references. / Mary E. D. Pohl, Professor Directing Thesis; Michael A. Uzendoski, Committee Member; Yang Wang, Committee Member.

Santa Rita B (SRB) is a settlement in the Mid-Chao Valley on the northern coast of Peru. Over ten years of excavations by El Proyecto Arqueológico Santa Rita B (Proyecto Arqueológico Santa Rita – PASAR), material culture has been found from the Moche and Recuay societies, which existed contemporaneously from approximately 200-700 CE. Material culture from other societies has also been recovered. Using Recuay ceramics excavated at SRB, this research investigates the relationship between the Recuay people and the archaeological complex of SRB. X-ray fluorescence testing was conducted on Recuay ceramics. These ceramics were compared to clays from three distinct regions: the Chao Valley, the district of Ancash, and the town of Huamachuco. Analysis of the results determined that the Chao Valley was the most likely source location for the clays used to construct the Recuay ceramics. The information presented here adds to a growing body of data about coastal highland relations at the end of the Early Intermediate and beginning of the Middle Horizon periods in Northern Peru. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2010. / Date of Defense: October 13, 2008. / Ceramics, Recuay, Moche, Peru, Archaeology, Kaolin / Includes bibliographical references. / Cheryl Ward, Professor Co-Directing Thesis; Glen Doran, Professor Co-Directing Thesis; Mary Pohl, Committee Member; Michael Uzendoski, Committee Member; Jonathan Kent, Committee Member.

The development of agriculture and complex sociopolitical systems are two of the most significant changes in human history. Longstanding theories suggest that emergent elites gained power through managing agricultural resources. This dissertation explores the relationship between agricultural consumption and the development of sociopolitical complexity among the ancient Maya. I applied an innovative combination of paleobotanical and isotopic analyses to materials from San Estevan, northern Belize. My study focused on artifacts dating to the early Middle (900–600 B.C.), late Middle (600–300 B.C.), and Late Formative (300 B.C.–A.D. 300) periods. During this time, San Estevan developed from a largely egalitarian village in the Middle Formative period into a sociopolitically complex center during the Late Formative period. My work demonstrated consistency in agricultural consumption throughout this key time. I argue that San Estevan's natural environment facilitated a decentralized agricultural system that was largely unchanged by sociopolitical developments. Earlier archaeological studies on subsistence and iconographic evidence suggest that maize has been a vital part of Mesoamerican diet and ideology at least since the Formative period. Nevertheless, the precise role of maize in prehistory remains unclear. Changes in maize-use patterns concurrent with the development of sociopolitical complexity during the Late Formative period might suggest that emergent elites were involved in agricultural management. Maize could have been used to feed growing populations because of its nutritional potential. Interpretations of iconography indicate that emergent elites used maize imagery to promote associations with a maize deity. I tracked maize (Zea mays) consumption in paleobotanical macroremains, two forms of analyses of absorbed residues in ceramics, and carbon isotopes in fauna. I also examined iconography related to maize. Results from paleobotanical and isotopic analyses demonstrated consistent maize use throughout the Formative period Carbon isotope analysis of dog (Canis familiaris) and deer (Odocoileus virginianus) provided supplemental information on maize-use practices and animal husbandry. Analysis showed that dogs were eating substantial quantities of maize as far back as the early Middle Formative period. One dog was fed a high proportion of maize, providing information on animal husbandry practices. On the other hand, deer ate little maize and were likely wild at these times. These results were consistent with similar analyses from nearby sites. Paleobotanical analysis also uncovered evidence for land clearance within the site and possible forestry management. The construction of monumental architecture and paved surfaces with the beginnings of sociopolitical complexity during the Late Formative period was reflected in a decline in weedy plants. The prevalence of charred Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea) demonstrates that it was the preferred wood for domestic purposes such as firewood. The consistency in maize use found at San Estevan matches results from isotopic studies of human remains from nearby sites. Work on agricultural production in the San Estevan area also found a lack of radical changes during the Late Formative period. This consistency in agricultural consumption and production suggests that the emergence of sociopolitical complexity during the Late Formative had little effect on longstanding agricultural practices. These data provide evidence for a decentralized, heterarchical model of ancient Maya agricultural management. Architectural, ritual, and mortuary evidence suggests that emergent Late Formative period rulers gained power through means such as public ceremony rather than through controlling agricultural resources. There may have been substantial variability in the relationship between agriculture and sociopolitical developments because of geographic and hydrological diversity in the Maya region. The San Estevan area's stable, spring-fed rivers and wetlands afforded it excellent agricultural land that needed little maintenance. Other areas, such as the Peten, Guatemala, might have required a higher degree of centralized, intensive agriculture. These differences might have affected the trajectory of sociopolitical developments in these different regions. My findings at San Estevan contradict models for the centrality of elite-sponsored maize agriculture in the development of sociopolitical complexity in Mesoamerica based on iconography. I argue that these models may have overstated the ubiquity of maize iconography in the Formative period. I argue that maize was likely most significant to early elites as a feasting food, based on earlier work at the Olmec site of San Andrés. On a broader, theoretical scale, this dissertation contributes to a growing body of research demonstrating how sociopolitical complexity can emerge independent from agricultural management by an elite. It shows how a decentralized agricultural base can support emergent sociopolitical complexity. My work also demonstrates how the local environment and existing cultural systems influence the form of the political economy of early sociopolitically complex groups. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2011. / Date of Defense: December 9, 2010. / Maya, Mesoamerica, Maize, Carbon Isotope Analysis, Residue Analysis, Agriculture, Paleobotany Sociopolitical Complexity / Includes bibliographical references. / Mary D. Pohl, Professor Directing Dissertation; Daniel J. Pullen, Outside Committee Member; Rochelle Marrinan, Committee Member; Michael D. Carrasco, Committee Member; Robert M. Rosenswig, Committee Member.

Over the last forty years American Indians have challenged the usage of their symbols and culture as mascots or emblems used by schools, universities, pro sports teams and businesses across the United States. One word often used is "redskins," a word that many American Indians regard as demeaning. By contrast many schools, and particularly members of booster cultures, that use the word "redskins" feel that the use of these symbols is a way of honoring American Indians and contend that they should be allowed to continue that usage due to the tradition and heritage of the institution to which they belong. This thesis examines one such conflict between the local chapter of Florida AIM and the school board of Leon County, Florida over the use of "redskins" by Rickards High School. The thesis presents the events of this conflict as they transpired, paying particular attention to their interrelation with various court challenges involving the use of "redskins" at the national level; it interprets these events in the context of what is known about conflict behavior and conflict resolution; and finally assesses how the participants are coping with the results of that resolution. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2007. / Date of Defense: September 14, 2007. / mascot / Includes bibliographical references. / Bruce T. Grindal, Professor Directing Thesis; Michael Uzendoski, Committee Member; Joseph Hellweg, Committee Member.

The Windover collection was selected to study the presence of Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) in archaic populations in the New World. A sample of 65 individuals over the age of 18 and from burials which were not commingled was chosen to represent the collection. Visual examination of all major joints showed the presence of DJD in 64 of 65 individuals from the sample. Observations were recorded in two standardized forms. The results showed a higher than expected incidence of degenerative changes in the cervical spine than the lumbar or thoracic spine of the sample, a result that is similar to other studies on prehistoric samples. It was also observed that the shoulders and elbows were the most often affected joint which could be evidence of use of the atlatl in hunting, or of a maritime subsistence base, as atlatl handles and various fishing implements were found in graves. Finally, although most joints showed equal rates of incidence in males and females, the right knee showed statistically significant differences between the amount of DJD in males and that of females, with males being more likely to exhibit changes in this joint. The causes of degenerative changes in this joint are unclear and may simply be due to a combination of biological factors or to unknown cultural practice / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2008. / Date of Defense: March 23, 2004. / Archaic, Florida, Pathology, DJD, Archaeology, Windover / Includes bibliographical references. / Glen Doran, Professor Directing Thesis; Cheryl Ward, Committee Member; Bruce Grindal, Committee Member.

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