The placement of the dead is important for considering social memory, a source of collective knowledge and experiences that shapes social group identity. Mortuary placement is one form of ritual action that communities undertake to remember the dead. This allows anthropologists to ask questions about how humans engaged socially with each other and the landscape. This thesis utilizes an innovative methodological approach combining geographic information systems (GIS) and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis to investigate mortuary variation and social identity within the Late Intermediate Period site (A.D. 800 – 1535) Kuelap in the northern Peruvian Andes. Spatial, demographic, and isotopic data are both examined to better understand mortuary behavior. Researchers utilizing these methods typically examine environmental variation or human mobility on a large scale. This project's case study involves examining 440 individuals by grouping burials by mortuary types, age-at-death, and osteological sex. Spatial autocorrelation results indicate significant spatial clustering for age-at-death, mortuary types, and carbon stable isotopes. Hotspot analyses suggests significant clustering for all variables. Statistical tests indicate significant differences in carbon stable isotopes and no significant differences for nitrogen stable isotopes. The results suggest that the mortuary landscape at Kuelap is primarily shaped by social memory practices regarding the deceased and was likely not attached to specific ideas regarding age and sex identities. This research successfully utilizes a novel methodological approach to provide a deeper understanding of Chachapoya mortuary practices.

Sharp force trauma (SFT) is a mechanism of traumatic injury in which a tool with a pointed or slanted edge impacts the skin and/or bone, producing a penetrating cut mark. Current assessment of forensic and bioarchaeological contexts typically focuses on evaluating and interpreting traumatic injuries to bone due to cutting and stabbing using small, bladed tools, primarily knives and saws. Minimal research focuses on the damage inflicted by a larger class of chopping/hacking tools. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to experimentally evaluate and analyze macroscopic characteristics of chopping/hacking trauma inflicted on pig bones (Sus scrofa domesticus) to determine if differentiation of chopping/hacking tool type can be made based on the characteristics that occur on bone. Trauma was inflicted to 20 partially fleshed pig limbs utilizing four chopping/hacking tools (i.e., axe, hatchet, machete, and cleaver) as well as a carving knife for comparison. The limbs were macerated and cleaned, then macroscopic evaluation and data analysis of 16 sharp force cut mark characteristics was conducted to assess statistical significance. Interobserver error data was also collected and evaluated. Utilizing a chi-square analysis, three of the 16 sharp force cut mark characteristics demonstrated statistically significant differences in relation to the tool utilized, though Cramer's V correlations indicate weak effect sizes. For interobserver error, the kappa value for the overall measure of agreement concerning characteristics for each tool type and characteristics regardless of tool type indicated substantial agreement for both categories. While similar trends in wall regularity, kerf bisection, and edge chattering have been demonstrated in the current experimental literature, the results relating to the macroscopic differentiation of chopping/hacking tool mark characteristics on bone were not strongly confirmed. Future analysis utilizing both macroscopic and microscopic methods is planned as previous research has noted tool class characteristics may be differentiated microscopically.

Depictions of movement in Late Postclassic and early Colonial Mesoamerican art, maps, and documents show a multi-faceted conception of movement as not only a means of physical travel through the landscape of the mundane world, but also a means to reach the cosmic realms of divine forces. In this thesis, I explored the intersection of movement and ritual in Late Postclassic Oaxaca by modelling a hypothetical ritual circuit around the Manialtepec Lagoon: a bioluminescent lagoon near Oaxaca's Pacific Coast that is significant in oral histories of the Indigenous Chatinos. The Manialtepec Basin lacks the level of continuous occupation or historic documentation that have proven integral in reconstructing prehispanic landscapes in other regions of Oaxaca. In a step towards determining whether sacred landscapes of Late Postclassic Oaxaca can be confirmed or predicted by a Geographic Information System (GIS), this project created a network of Least Cost Paths and natural features to predict ritual circuits and the sanctuaries visited along those circuits. Using a portion of the Nochixtlán Valley and the region of the Valley of Oaxaca containing the city of Mitla as well-studied test regions, the model's predictive capabilities were compared to the findings of archaeological surveys. The model predicted locations that coincided with ceremonial-use archaeological sites slightly better than archaeological sites in general, and twice the rate at which it predicted the locations of a spatially random dataset of polygons. Using the generated paths as well as ones that exist today, I proposed a hypothetical ritual circuit around the Manialtepec Lagoon. The circuit, as well as the predictive model itself, are demonstrative as proof-of-concept. Based on promising initial prediction results, this project will serve as inspiration for improved models and eventual use in recreating Postclassic Oaxacan landscapes and providing spatial focus for non-site archaeological surveys.

The primary goal of a forensic archaeologist is to reconstruct the context of scenes involving skeletal remains using recording and mapping methods. However, the outdoor locations of most forensic archaeology scenes can result in difficulties when recording and mapping scenes. While close-range photogrammetry (CRP) has been considered for documenting context of forensic sciences, this method lacks a sufficient procedural basis to guide data recording when encountering problematic environmental conditions. The purpose of this research is to test how light correction tools, a sheet and artificial lights, could improve harsh lighting conditions. Photographs were taken of controlled scenes with skeletal remains in open, dappled, and shaded lighting environments, and the models were processed using Agisoft® Metashape® Professional. Phase 1 tested three different scenarios with four different iterations while varying the light correction tools: (1) no artificial lighting tool; (2) only a sheet over the scene; (3) artificial lights placed around the scene; and (4) a combination of lights and sheet. The accuracy was assessed quantitatively, using the root-mean square (RMS) reprojection error and total scale bar error, and qualitatively. The results indicated that no significant quantitative accuracy of the model changed between iterations. However, the visual accuracy of the scene did improve with the sheet by decreasing shadows across the scene. Phase 2 tested two larger scenarios using the same four iterations. While the models were all highly accurate quantitatively, the iterations that included the sheet appeared to have fewer qualitative errors. Guidelines are provided to successfully use light correction tools to improve harsh lighting conditions of outdoor scenes.

Trace element analysis of skeletal remains and teeth is a common research technique in biological and forensic anthropology. In particular, LA-ICP-MS has become a widely-accepted tool for analyzing and mapping the distribution of trace elements in teeth. Investigation into the relative spectral intensities and spatial distribution of thirteen trace isotopes (13C, 24Mg, 27Al, 31P, 44Ca, 47Ti, 52Cr, 55Mn, 56Fe, 66Zn, 88Sr, 138Ba, 208Pb) within teeth was undertaken using LA-ICP-MS. The total archaeological sample of teeth (N=26) was comprised of four tooth types (UCI, ULI, UPM1, and UPM2) and 18 individuals from a Postclassic Lamanai site. In preparation for analysis, teeth sectioned down the center using a low-speed saw. Maps were created using the laser ablation system and MATLAB software. The frequency of each isotope detected at low, moderate, and high intensities at each of the six defined tooth locations was calculated. The inner dentine and the outer root border were the two areas that most commonly exhibited the highest intensities of isotopes. Detection of major structural isotopes (44Ca and 31P) was similar in both spatial locations and relative intensity across all teeth. In comparison, detection of more minor isotopes, while similar in spatial locations across all teeth, varied in relative intensity per individual sample. The frequency that each isotope was detected also varied by tooth type. These findings demonstrate the disparities between different types of dental tissue for retaining trace elements and serve to illuminate possible sources of external exposure and internal bioavailability influencing interindividual variation within the Lamanai sample population. Variation in isotope frequency based on tooth type may be due to developmental properties and/or changes in diet during early life. Ultimately, teeth act as storehouses of trace elements, and maps of isotopic distribution in teeth help reveal how individuals are influenced by both biological processes and cultural activities.

During the 2019 field season of the Chan Chich Archaeological Project (CCAP)/Belize Estates Archaeological Survey Team's (BEAST) work in northwestern Belize, excavations commenced at an elite household at the site of Gallon Jug, named Courtyard B-1. Excavations revealed intriguing details about the lives of the inhabitants through the presence of burials, ceramics, architecture, and – as is central to this research – Patolli boards. Patolli, a prehistoric game of chance played throughout Mesoamerican, is a relatively under researched topic within the field of archaeology. In this thesis I argue that the patolli boards at Gallon Jug portray evidence of elite competition and shifts to social dynamics at the site. Through the analysis of setting, symbolism and the available data regarding patolli across the Maya region, this research shows that even something as seemingly mundane as a game of chance can yield valuable insights into the lives of those who played them.

<p>This thesis explores the relationship between landscape and experience in understanding the historical trajectory of cemeteries, their ongoing role in living communities and their contribution to heritage and memory. It constructs a phenomenological history of Hamilton Cemetery, established in 1848 in Hamilton, Ontario, using a combination of material, archival and ethnographic research, in addition to visual media and statistical analyses. In tracing the physical transformations of this cemetery, as a result of fluctuating levels of maintenance, neglect and destruction, it is evident that cemeteries are implicated in the social processes constructing attitudes towards death, the dead, memory and the past.</p> <p>This thesis will explore Hamilton Cemetery’s past to examine the role of commemorative activities, grave visitation, vandalism, recreational activities and heritage. The period from 1848-1950 was one of active use and maintenance of the cemetery landscape, with the frequency and recentness of burial dictating a high level of reverence and maintenance. Between 1950 and 1990, treatment of the cemetery is better characterized by the emergence of vandalism, limited use of the space, and increasing cumulative decay. Finally, from 1990 to the present there has been a resurgence of interest in the cemetery and a transition back into active management and maintenance recognizing its value to local heritage and ecology.</p> <p>From their emergence as pragmatic, formalized social spaces constructed for the dead, to the saturation of the medium and a demographic shift resulting in neglect, to revitalization as a heritage-based collective past, cemeteries represent dynamic components of the landscape.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This study explores the history of Niagara settlement and settlers through the changing patterns of burial and commemoration visible in historical family cemeteries established following Euro-American settlement in the 1790s. Data collected from a combination of site survey and archival research demonstrate three clear phases of: 1) early cemetery creation and use 2) the transition to burial in public cemeteries throughout the late 1800s; and 3) the closure of family cemeteries by the early 1900s followed by periods of neglect and renewal characterized by inactive cemeteries being repurposed by descendants as sites of heritage display.</p> <p>There is incredible variation in burial data and the overall patterns speak to changing identity relating to family, land, community, memory, and history. More specifically, the results of this study demonstrate a shift from an identity created through the experience of family place and burial to a community-based identity that emphasizes the nuclear family and their history within their wider social network. More recent heritage displays have explicitly introduced a narrative of settlement, Loyalist identity, and land ownership that was inherent when cemeteries were in use.</p> <p>This cemetery-based history approach demonstrates the potential of mortuary material culture to address questions of social change within the historical context in which it was created and used. It also highlights the value of variability in cemetery data and the consideration of the circumstances of cemetery creation, use, neglect, and renewal to inform the range of personal and collective histories that are visible over generations.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>This thesis explores social identity and group membership at the Van Besien site by identifying the social patterning in the production and consumption of ceramics. Since potting is a social event involving transmission of knowledge, production exists within social constraints specific to each potter and influences the technological choices he/she makes. Such technological choices culminate in what is regarded as technological style, created by the repetition of activities or choices that create discernible patterns to allow for identification of styles that demarcate social boundaries.</p> <p>By identifying stylistic traditions of production and use of ceramics at Van Besien, I found evidence for both fluidity and rigidity of social boundaries. There are constant technological choices that traditionally would be viewed as evidence of rigid social membership. In contrast, the presence of variability at the Van Besien site indicates that social groups were not rigid. To identify if social membership was spatially represented, variability was explored throughout the site. I found that there were unexpected social divisions visible spatially in the pottery.</p> <p>The results demonstrate that with new theoretical frameworks, new interpretations regarding village social spheres can be discerned. My thesis represents a successful re-evaluation of an extant collection with missing and deficient documentation. This case study shows that extant collections can be revisited, reevaluated, and shed new light on academic debates in Ontario archaeology.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

The Midsouth has long been known to be a locus of Paleoindian (13,200-10,000 yrs B.P.) populations. Paleoindian populations have generally been characterized as highly mobile hunter-gatherers with egalitarian social structure. Utilizing the theoretical lens of diversification and intensification of resource use, the Late Pleistocene adaptations of the region’s populations are examined from both a large scale or coarse grain perspective as well as more fine grain data from the site level. Previous models of Paleoindian adaptations are defined and tested in this study to determine the applicability of these models with new data. Coarse grain data are derived from lithic raw material use in diagnostic artifacts from six Paleoindian archaeological sites concentrated in the lower Tennessee River Valley that are referred to as the Tennessee-Duck River Paleoindian complex. Numerous Paleoindian projectile points have been recovered from these sites that allow for raw material use across the lower Tennessee River to be evaluated. Site specific data are derived from analysis of lithic artifacts and spatial distributions at the Carson-Conn-Short site (40BN190), also situated in the lower Tennessee River Valley. The Carson-Conn-Short site is a large multi-component Paleoindian site located near the confluence of the Duck and Tennessee Rivers. The regional or coarse grain data indicate a pattern of increasing regionalization and intensification of local resource use. The site level data suggest that the Paleoindian occupants of the Carson-Conn-Short site were more sedentary than previously thought. Traditional thought suggests that large, riverine Paleoindian sites are the product of either aggregation of different groups or re-occupation of the same landform over time. Rather than reflecting aggregation or re-occupation by Late Pleistocene populations, these people continuously occupied the site with minimal movement. The site was continuously occupied through the entirety Late Pleistocene into the Early Holocene. The Carson-Conn-Short site was situated at a particular locale that allowed for access to the greatest diversity of resources and also provided a mechanism that allowed for social information to be transferred via riverine mechanisms. This study suggests that Paleoindian populations in the Midsouth exhibited a greater degree of social complexity and sedentism than previously thought that provided the foundation for the development of agriculture and associated social institutions.