<p> The Metropolitan Railroad Company Site in Roxbury (Boston), Massachusetts, was first excavated in the late 1970s by staff of the Museum of Afro American History. Researchers recovered nearly 20,000 artifacts related to the site's life as a horsecar street railway station and carriage manufacturer from 1860 to 1891, its subsequent conversion into an electric street railway until around 1920, and finally its modern use as an automobile garage. Using the framework of behavioral archaeology, this project uses GIS-based spatial methods and newly collected documentary evidence to reexamine the site's assemblage of horse accoutrements and carriage manufacturing byproducts. Artifact distribution maps overlaid on detailed historic maps reveal that carriage manufacturing ceased concurrent with street railway electrification, but horse harness craftsmanship continued on to serve in new capacities, highlighting nuances in the narrative of technological change onsite and connecting the life histories of materials to historical actors involved with these transitions.</p>

<p> Deposits of coal silt are significant because they provide archaeologists a baseline for investigating changes in pre-industrial and post-industrial landscapes in Pennsylvania. Beginning in the 1790s, miners extracted coal from seams near the surface with a pick and shovel. Over the next 120 years, coal mining evolved into a booming industry. In 1917, production peaked at over 100 million tons. By 1950, geologists discovered reserves of crude oil and natural gas, leading to the overall decline of the anthracite coal industry. Today, coal is no longer a dominant part of the local economy. Coal mining generated enormous quantities of waste, including small pieces of unburnt coal and other non-economic materials. Waste from mines entered the Susquehanna River, mixed with naturally occurring sediments, and formed deposits of coal silt along the banks and mid-channel islands of the river. To understand the effect of coal silt on the river, I use processual archaeology to characterize and examine the Anthropocene - an informal geologic era defined by human induced changes to Earth's ecosystems. What led to unburnt coal in the Susquehanna River? When did unburnt coal enter the Susquehanna River? I use data collected during a ten-week internship to answer these questions and define the occurrence and chronology of deposits of coal silt along the river. Archaeologists generally agree deposits of coal silt date to the late nineteenth century, but fine-tuning the date of deposition is not easy (Stinchcomb et al. 2013). To help solve the problem, I investigated two archaeological sites along the river - Fort Halifax and Calver Island. This thesis highlights reasons why archaeologists should take deposits of coal silt seriously. Considering the importance of energy to human economic and social life and the urgency of addressing contemporary energy problems, this thesis draws on evidence from the stratigraphic record to incorporate anthropological and archaeological perspectives for studying the past, present, and future of energy development and industrialization. </p>

<p> While there is a tradition that the population of Rapa Nui was large during prehistory, there is remarkably little evidence used to support to these claims. This study represents an empirically-based estimate of pre-contact agricultural productivity to create a sound evaluation of Rapa Nui&rsquo;s prehistoric population. In this study, I map the spatial distributions of lithic mulching using satellite imagery, RPV aerial photography, <i> in situ</i> spectral reflectance analyses, and supervised and sub-pixel image classification methods. Using the results of these analyses, I estimate the total mapped lithic mulch area and combine this estimate with previously documented distributions of <i>manavai</i>. Together these analyses provide an estimate of the extent of these two important cultivation practices and an upper-limit magnitude of prehistoric food production. The spatial data, when evaluated in conjunction with appropriate agricultural cultivation statistic proxies, are then used to conservatively quantify the island&rsquo;s carrying capacity. In my final analysis, I argue that the prehistoric productivity was insufficient to support the large populations that have been suggested. </p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--The University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / (UMI)AAI3266946. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-05, Section: A, page: 2017. Adviser: Thomas G. Palaima.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of History, Dec. 2002. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Classical Studies, 2005. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 66-08, Section: A, page: 2905. Adviser: Eleanor W. Leach. Title from dissertation home page (viewed Oct. 5, 2006).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of California, San Francisco with the University of California, Berkeley, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-02, Section: A, page: 0611. Adviser: Vincanne Adams.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-07, Section: A, page: 2359. Adviser: Eric Hostetter. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-176) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Anthropology, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-06, Section: A, page: 2211. Advisers: Anya P. Royce; Eduardo Brondizio. "Title from dissertation home page (viewed June 21, 2007)."

<p> With its roots in 1920&rsquo;s and 30&rsquo;s Japan, the term eroguro nansensu (erotic grotesque nonsense) refers to an artistic movement with an aesthetic that focuses on grotesque visuals and bizarre humor. My project is to examine the contemporary form of eroguro nansensu as an avenue for considering how mass culture changes and develops over time. Focusing on how mass culture changes is important because it could potentially illuminate breaks/openings where something can escape the hegemony of the culture industry. The method of change, and potential mode of escape from the culture industry that I identify here is <i>escalation</i>. Escalation both contains and explains mass culture&rsquo;s propensity towards repetition but also allows for a certain amount of change. Eroguro nansensu may also have a unique place to reflect on and potentially critique the manga (comic) industry and what this says about Japanese culture more generally. While eroguro nansensu may be rejected by many due to the intensity of the erotic and grotesque imagery, or ignored as simply meaningless nonsense, there are enough artists and fans interested in this aesthetic that there is hidden potential here that I aim to bring into the light. Nonetheless, no extended scholarly work has yet been done on the contemporary revival of eroguro nansensu as a genre of manga in the last few decades of the 20^th century. I am attempting to fill in some of that gap with my own analysis as well as by presenting information on contemporary eroguro nansensu as a mass culture movement, about which little has been written in English or Japanese to date. In my dissertation I begin with the historical background of eroguro nansensu, and proceed through analysis of its use of humor and aesthetics, all as a means of considering mass culture and its critique.</p><p>