Historic-archaeological research on the Alamanni, an early medieval population in the periphery of the Frankish Empire, primarily focuses on themes such as their military character or issues of ethnicity, while the actual functioning of Alamannic societies remains conjectural. Aiming at presenting an integrated approach to the concepts of social organisation and social identities in Alamannic populations, this study examines and defines Alamannic identity and society by creating a dialogue between the disciplines of archaeology, biological anthropology and socio-cultural sciences. A bioarchaeology of identity explores the Alamanni of Pleidelsheim and Neresheim via their funerary and skeletal evidence, allowing for the factor of different environments that influence the interactions of a community. A key theme is the investigation of indicators for biological and social 'status', by direct association of bioanthropological with funerary archaeological data, as well as by evaluation of present interpretations made from material culture in the light of bioanthropological analysis as a paramount focus. The results are interpreted in terms of social status and the perception of certain social parameters, exploring interrelations between factors such as sex and gender, age, status and activity for the entirety of a society. This research offers new perspectives on Alamannic societies and helps to comprehend Alamannic social organisation as a multi-layered phenomenon, emphasizing the importance of a biocultural approach. Beyond common perceptions, this study forms the basis for a new understanding of the Alamanni, as the results reveal a society that was complex and diverse, displaying its own characteristics in the Merovingian world.

The 'never again' slogan to genocide, expressed by the United Nations Organization in 1948, after the Armenian and Jewish genocides has not been a barrier to other genocides whose Holocausts are a product. In 1994 in Rwanda, genocide occurred and the Kigali Memorial Center of Genocide is one of the Memorials (Holocaust) which stands as a reminder of the horror, in order to inform the community to keep watching. This raised the curiosity of the researcher, to analyze how these new symbols can contribute to restore and revitalize social and cultural values in the context of Rwanda. The inside of the house offers on opportunity to visit the displayed history in which the genocide is rooted, including the period of genocide through survivors' experiences represented in short movies and by the material used in the killings. There is a room reserved for displays of the others' genocides in the world. Outside the house, mass graves surrounded by a garden, announce the burial place and a documentary place. The first chapter is the general introduction of the study and outlines the framework of the study. The second chapter offers the syntheses of the literature review that it presents the social and political context in which the genocide took root. The third chapter offers the theoretical framework which deals with the nature of culture and its influence in the understanding of the Kigali Memorial Center of Genocide. The fourth chapter focuses on the fieldwork methodology. This study makes use of the qualitative approach. The primary data was collected through in-depth interviews of twenty one individuals and discussions with four focus groups with ten respondents in each group. Respondents were randomly chosen. The secondary data was used to complete the primary data. The fifth chapter is the presentation of the research findings. The findings reveal that after completing the construction of the Kigali Memorial Center of Genocide in 2004, spontaneous and organized visits to the Kigali Memorial Center of Genocide have taken place. This 'window' of what happened, inspires visitors and communities that there is a need to understand the past which can help in building a hopeful future together, for sustainable peace. The sixth chapter is the conclusion of the study which makes with recommendations and suggests further research. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

The dissertation discusses, in conformity with burial data, the social organisation of the East Lithuanian barrow culture (3/4th–11/12th c.). The research method is the correlation of archaeological record (construction of barrows and graves, grave good assemblages) with the results of osteological analysis (age and sex of the buried individuals). The survey uses the data from 425 burials found at 67 burial sites. Main theoretical premises of the study are the reflection of social status in burial and the connection between mortury variability and complexity of social organisation. Various elements of funerary ritual were defined as indicators of status. A review of the graves of infants, children, adolescents, adult males and females reveals several interrelated dimensions of social status. Status was associated with individual age. Societal position of subadults was lower, while young adults had the highest status. The main category determining status was sex and individual qualities related to it. The principal quality for males was military activity and for females fertility. Inheritance of the position also played a certain role in social organisation. Significance of all the mentioned factors was of different degree in different periods. The discussed society was divided into small communities based on nuclear and extended families. It probably consisted of social elite, freemen, and unfree (and half-free?) classes. The social organisation of East Lithuania is rated as... [to full text] / Disertacijoje, remiantis laidojimo paminklų duomenimis, aptariama Rytų Lietuvos pilkapių kultūros (III/IV–XI/XII a.) socialinė organizacija. Tyrimo metodas yra archeologinių duomenų (pilkapio ir kapo konstrukcijos, įkapių kompleksų) koreliacija su osteologinės analizės rezultatais (palaidotų asmenų amžiumi ir lytimi). Tyrime naudojami 425-ių kapų iš 67-ių laidojimo paminklų duomenys. Pagrindinės darbo teorinės prielaidos yra socialinio statuso atspindys laidojimo paminkle ir laidosenos įvairovės ryšys su socialinės organizacijos kompleksiškumu. Įvairūs laidosenos elementai įvertinti statuso išraiškos požiūriu. Apžvelgus kūdikių, vaikų, paauglių, suaugusių vyrų ir moterų kapus, išryškėja kelios tarpusavyje susijusios socialinio statuso dimensijos. Statusas buvo susijęs su individualiu amžiumi. Nesuaugusiųjų padėtis visuomenėje buvo žemesnė, o aukščiausią statusą turėjo jauni suaugusieji. Pagrindinė statusą lemianti kategorija buvo lytis ir su ja susijusios individualios savybės. Svarbiausia vyro savybė buvo karinis aktyvumas, moters – vaisingumas. Tam tikrą reikšmę socialinėje organizacijoje turėjo padėties paveldimumas. Visų šių veiksnių svarba buvo nevienoda atskirais laikotarpiais. Aptariamoji visuomenė buvo susiskaidžiusi į nedideles bendruomenes, kurių pagrindas buvo porinės ir išplėstinės šeimos. Ją greičiausiai sudarė socialinio elito, eilinių laisvųjų ir nelaisvųjų (bei pusiau laisvųjų?) klasės. Rytų Lietuvos socialinė organizacija laikytina vadyste. Jos evoliucijai... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Disertacijoje, remiantis laidojimo paminklų duomenimis, aptariama Rytų Lietuvos pilkapių kultūros (III/IV–XI/XII a.) socialinė organizacija. Tyrimo metodas yra archeologinių duomenų (pilkapio ir kapo konstrukcijos, įkapių kompleksų) koreliacija su osteologinės analizės rezultatais (palaidotų asmenų amžiumi ir lytimi). Tyrime naudojami 425-ių kapų iš 67-ių laidojimo paminklų duomenys. Pagrindinės darbo teorinės prielaidos yra socialinio statuso atspindys laidojimo paminkle ir laidosenos įvairovės ryšys su socialinės organizacijos kompleksiškumu. Įvairūs laidosenos elementai įvertinti statuso išraiškos požiūriu. Apžvelgus kūdikių, vaikų, paauglių, suaugusių vyrų ir moterų kapus, išryškėja kelios tarpusavyje susijusios socialinio statuso dimensijos. Statusas buvo susijęs su individualiu amžiumi. Nesuaugusiųjų padėtis visuomenėje buvo žemesnė, o aukščiausią statusą turėjo jauni suaugusieji. Pagrindinė statusą lemianti kategorija buvo lytis ir su ja susijusios individualios savybės. Svarbiausia vyro savybė buvo karinis aktyvumas, moters – vaisingumas. Tam tikrą reikšmę socialinėje organizacijoje turėjo padėties paveldimumas. Visų šių veiksnių svarba buvo nevienoda atskirais laikotarpiais. Aptariamoji visuomenė buvo susiskaidžiusi į nedideles bendruomenes, kurių pagrindas buvo porinės ir išplėstinės šeimos. Ją greičiausiai sudarė socialinio elito, eilinių laisvųjų ir nelaisvųjų (bei pusiau laisvųjų?) klasės. Rytų Lietuvos socialinė organizacija laikytina vadyste. Jos evoliucijai... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The dissertation discusses, in conformity with burial data, the social organisation of the East Lithuanian barrow culture (3/4th–11/12th c.). The research method is the correlation of archaeological record (construction of barrows and graves, grave good assemblages) with the results of osteological analysis (age and sex of the buried individuals). The survey uses the data from 425 burials found at 67 burial sites. Main theoretical premises of the study are the reflection of social status in burial and the connection between mortury variability and complexity of social organisation. Various elements of funerary ritual were defined as indicators of status. A review of the graves of infants, children, adolescents, adult males and females reveals several interrelated dimensions of social status. Status was associated with individual age. Societal position of subadults was lower, while young adults had the highest status. The main category determining status was sex and individual qualities related to it. The principal quality for males was military activity and for females fertility. Inheritance of the position also played a certain role in social organisation. Significance of all the mentioned factors was of different degree in different periods. The discussed society was divided into small communities based on nuclear and extended families. It probably consisted of social elite, freemen, and unfree (and half-free?) classes. The social organisation of East Lithuania is rated as... [to full text]

This thesis explores the customs and traditions surrounding death and memorialization in the history of Lethbridge, paying particular attention to the public "face" of the practices as observed in newspaper death notices, obituaries, in-memoriams, undertaker advertisements, gravestones and cemeteries. It places Lethbridge rituals within the context of the general paterns of western culture, and others, as described by anthropology, history, archaeology, and art history. Its intent is to understand the effects of certain external influences on the realms of personal choice and individuality, and to observe the extent to which these influences have had an impact on what was once deeply personal family matter. / viii, 197 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm.

In South Africa, as in many other developing nations, scholars seek to explain the persistence of poverty and inequality, and to find out enduring responses to overcoming poverty. The contemporary interest in the idea of social capital has focused on the role that local level organizations and associational life may play in poverty alleviation. This study examines the extent to which burial societies and church groups in KwaZulu-Natal help households move out of poverty. In the face of widespread poverty and inequality, are organizations a vehicle which disadvantaged households make use of to help them move out of poverty and prevent them from moving into poverty? This study made use of qualitative data from the Socio Economic Study of the Persistence of Poverty and Inequality (SEPPI). One component of this study interviewed 50 households in the province of KwaZulu-Natal (households which had previously been part of the samples of both the SALDRU study and the KIDS study). One of the aims was to investigate the role that non-economic factors play in household poverty movements. The data was analyzed after being entered by SEPPI researchers into Hyper Research (Copyright © 1999 by Research Ware, Inc.). A literature review of the role of organizations, the relationship between organizations and well-being, the gender dynamics within organizations, the barriers to joining organizations, and the motivations for joining organizations led to the identification of four main research questions for investigation. These related to the impact of organizational membership on ability of households to "get ahead", differences between male and female membership in organizations, reasons for joining organizations, and barriers to joining organizations. The findings suggest that burial societies and church groups help households move out of poverty and prevent households from moving into poverty by providing them with skills, resources, and assistance (financial and emotional). Furthermore, these organizations act as a space where women can acquire leadership skills. However, both burial societies and church groups face problems related to poor management, leadership and discrimination, among other matters. These types of problems within organizations can lead to a negative impact on participating households. Moreover, people with few or no financial resources are excluded from joining organizations that can potentially prevent them from moving into poverty and enable them to "get ahead". Thus, the study indicates that participating in local community organizations can have both positive and negative impacts on households' ability to "get ahead". The limitations of the study relate to sampling limitations, interview conditions, second hand information, authenticity of household interviews, over-researched communities, and investigating motivation for joining organizations. This study suggests the relevance for policy involves issues such as: the need for addressing material barriers faced by those wishing to join local burial organizations, the need to enable poorer people to access legitimate financial institutions, and the need to address the role of women within and outside their communities. The study strongly suggests that studies of social capital should investigate both the way that organizational life can promote well-being as well as the way that poverty itself acts as a barrier to an individual's access to organizations. Both the positive and negative impacts should be explored. Moreover, future research would benefit from exploring men's participation in organizations, combining quantitative and qualitative methods, investigating motivations for joining, and exploring the sustainability of burial societies in the face of HIV/AIDS. / Thesis (M.Dev. Studies)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

This thesis is the result of a decision to extend the approach used by me when examining Irish burial practices, to a review of the archaeological and documentary record for burial practices and associated phenomena in the transitional period from late/post-Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England. The study considers burial rites; the method of disposal of physical remains, the position and orientation of bodies, and burial structures and enclosures: grave-goods are only referred to when they are pertinent to a particular line of argument. My intention is to draw together the various aspects of burial of the Iron Age, Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon periods in order to look at the overall picture. Occasionally this may mean stating the obvious, but by noting and plotting distributions of various burial traits first in the Iron Age and Romano-British periods, and then comparing these traits with the Anglo-Saxon period some revealing results can be obtained. It was important to begin with the Iron Age since some minority practices current in the early Anglo-Saxon period had a continuous history from the pre-Roman period. They are of importance in demonstrating the continuities that existed alongside major changes. [continued in text ...]

This thesis aims to investigate the social structure of Neolithic Period. To do this, both physical anthropological and archaeological data are used, and it is sought after whether burial customs and skeleton biology can be a parameter to understand social organization of a concerned area in a given time period. For this thesis the data comes from Abu Hureyra and &Ccedil / ay&ouml / n&uuml / . Quantified data of burial types and grave goods are used in order to create descriptive statistical graphics. Then, correspondence analysis is employed to detect statistical significance in data sets, if exists. Anthropological data is stemmed from previous researchers. On the other hand, they were still used to investigate sex and age distributions with the same tools employed before. As a final study two settlements are compared within and with each other to chase the clues for social differentiation.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2007. / Title from title page screen (viewed on June 20, 2008). Thesis advisor: Murry K. Marks. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--University of Göteborg, 1993. / Added t.p. with thesis statement and abstract inserted. Includes bibliographical references (p. 8-17).