Bibliography: p. 207-227. / The broad theoretical concern of the thesis is to elucidate the relationship between material culture and social relations, and to counter the analytical separation of cultural form and social practice, which is a pervasive problem in archaeology and material culture studies in general. This problem is addressed with reference to museum practice, focusing in particular on the social role of artefacts in two contextual domains - that of everyday life, as interpreted in ethnographic fieldwork, and that of a museum, which is in itself a complex cultural artefact. These two contexts are linked by the concept of recontextualization, which I suggest is a pivotal process in both museum practice and archaeology. The theory of 'structuration', as formulated by Anthony Giddens, is drawn on to overcome the problematic separation of cultural objects from social subjects. This leads to the conceptualization of meaning in material culture as being socially constituted and context-related, and the relationship of material culture to social relations as being one of mediation rather than objective reflection. Emphasis is thereby given to material culture as a resource that is actively implicated in the construction of social relations and identity. This theoretical approach is applied in two field studies and two museum studies. The former, undertaken in Transkei and the Transvaal Lowveld, investigate material culture in the social matrix of everyday use; the latter, undertaken with reference to the Ethnography section of the South African Museum, illustrate the process of recontextualization, which I regard as operating at both physical and cognitive levels. It is argued that processes of recontextualization, inherent in museum practice, inevitably change both context and the object-subject relationship, and therefore alter the range of meanings that objects evoke once located in a museum. Despite the apparent authenticity of exhibited artefacts, I argue that museum representations are composite artefacts of museum practice, rather than objective reflections of reality. I suggest that reflexive awareness of professional practice as social practice should be built into both archaeological texts and museum representations, through which knowledge of the social past is conveyed to the general public. This is consistent with the argument throughout the dissertation for an integration of object and subject, and a recognition of human agency, past and present. In conclusion, I argue for a more sensitive, reflexive approach to museum practice that would encourage an awareness of social context, and invite a more active participation by viewers in the generation of meaning. The dissertation is a contribution to this end.

This thesis provides an analysis of Manteño site abandonment in the cloud forest of Manabí, Ecuador. First, the types, frequency, and distribution of artifacts at site C4-044 were recorded, mapped, and compared to levels of phosphate in the soil to determine activity areas. The obtained evidence allowed me to make general approximations of the site’s pre-abandonment behavior. Then, the archaeological data together with environmental and bioarchaeological information from the region were assessed to propose the mode of departure from site C4-044. Through ethnography and ethnoarchaeology, a recent historical account of abandonment in the cloud forest was obtained as well, providing additional insight regarding adaptive strategies and behavioral choices to changing contextual circumstances. The culmination of this evidence shows a gradual mode of abandonment from site C4-044 in the cloud forest that was planned and executed accordingly. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Obsidian was a prized tool stone heavily exploited in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem throughout the pre-contact period. Fifteen geochemically distinct sources in this area were utilized on a regular basis consistently through time. A large dataset of sourced obsidian artifacts currently exists but has rarely been applied to specific archaeological problems for Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.<p> This thesis provides a comprehensive list of obsidian sources important to the archaeology of Yellowstone and analyzes spatial and temporal trends of obsidian source selection. This study examines diagnostic tools produced by people during the Archaic period, focusing on the McKean complex (~5500-3000 BP) and Pelican Lake phase (3000-1600 BP). The potential for a cultural preference for obsidian source selection is discussed by applying landscape theory and ethnographic evidence to the examination of archaeological data.<p> A pattern of obsidian source exploitation as seen at the Osprey Beach site (representing the Cody Complex) has led to the development of a proposed annual round, typically applied to the entire pre-contact period in the Park. This large annual round, however, is determined to be unlikely and unnecessary by this author. Alternative local rounds to this model are proposed and supported by the evidence.<p> A clear preference for the Obsidian Cliff source (a National Historic Landmark) located in the northern end of the Park is shown in these results. This preference can be interpreted in both economic and cultural terms. Otherwise, no purely cultural preference for an obsidian source is supported. The exploitation of certain obsidian sources did not change significantly between the McKean and Pelican Lake cultures. However, a significantly different pattern of exploitation is seen when analyzed by geographical area. The results of this research suggest a more localized pattern of obsidian exploitation than previously thought, impacting interpretations of seasonality and travel routes in the Yellowstone area.

Thesis (B.A.)--University of Wisconsin -- La Crosse, 2009. / Also available online. Includes bibliographical references (p. 62-64).

Thesis (M.A. in anthropology)--Washington State University, 2004. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Nov. 6, 2005). Includes bibliographical references (p. 126-140).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2000. / Vita. Accompanied by CD-ROM of data and programs used in analyses. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [437]-474).

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 200-263).

Ethnoarchaeological research of indigenous iron-working in Africa and, more recently, in parts of Asia, has attempted to interpret past technology through the lives and memories of blacksmiths and smelters. In India, recent archaeological and historical research of iron-working and other forms of craft production has examined the social position of specialized craft producers within regional caste-structures. This thesis incorporates both these approaches to study traditional iron-working communities in northern Telangana, a region in south-central India. Anthropological theories of craft production and power are employed to provide a nuanced interpretation of the archaeometallurgical and ethnographic data from the study area. Medieval travelogues and colonial documents attest the presence of a thriving preindustrial iron and crucible steel-manufacturing tradition in northern Telangana. Initial archaeological and historical investigations in the region by Lowe (1989) and Jaikishan (2009) identified a significant number of sites related to early iron and crucible steel production. The Pioneering Metallurgy project of 2010 (Juleff et al., 2011) surveyed within the four districts of northern Telangana to investigate the origin and development of these technologies. Besides locating and recording archaeometallurgical evidence, the project also conducted ethno-metallurgical enquiries to record the members of rural blacksmith communities at work. This highlighted the potential for an in-depth ethnoarchaeological study to understand the socio-cultural context of these indigenous technologies by unraveling the lives of the descendants of iron-smelters and steelmakers of northern Telangana. This was the starting point of the present research project. My research investigates a dynamic set of relationships between craft, people and space—physical and social. The ethnographic data for this research is collected through 63 formal and numerous informal interactions with the iron-workers of the region. These interactions and other collected data are presented in appendices. The lives of five practitioners with different specialized skills provide the entry point into this research which is presented in two-parts. After setting the background, Part A investigates the intricate relationship between indigenous smelting technologies, smelters and place. Based on interactions with older members of the Mudda Kammari (smelter) community, this study attempts to reconstruct the practices of iron-smelting from their individual and collective memory. Where possible, elderly smelters led me to the rivulets where ore was mined and showed the surviving pits for preparing charcoal, while explaining technological details. The spatial locations of these were recorded and analyzed in relation to the smelting sites and present habitations of the Mudda Kammari (smelter) communities. Apart from technological detail, their memory also provided insight into the social and economic networks in which indigenous iron-smelting operated. The demise of indigenous iron-smelting in the first half of 20th century compelled the Mudda Kammari to adopt blacksmithing on a full-time basis. As a result they lost their distinct smelter-identity. A host of specialist iron-working groups like the scissors-smiths, sword-smiths and firearm makers in the area also lost their specialized skills and distinct identities faced with competition from industrial products and government prohibition onthe domestic weapon manufacturing industries from the 1950s. All of these groups were obliged to take up manufacturing agricultural products, and therefore, became homogenized as Kammari (blacksmiths). Lopsided agrarian development, marketization of harvests and recent mechanization of agriculture have ruptured the traditional relations of exchange between the Kammari and the agrarian community. This has significantly reduced the demand for their services, and resulted in displacement of their craft and lives. Consequently, the identity and position that the Kammari enjoyed in rural social space and reinforced through cult performance has degenerated. This led to a further homogenization of artisan identities, supported by a new eclectic identity narrative, which replaced the older, individual craft-community focused identities. Part B of this research deals with this homogenization process in detail. It interrogates the relationship between the decline in craft and the evolution of artisan identity. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and archival studies, this section examines how identities of ironworking communities in northern Telangana are reconstituted and articulated over time with the enfeeblement of their craft. In the final section of the thesis I bring the diverse data together to form a nuanced understanding of the social, cultural and economic context of iron working in northern Telangana. Based on the complexity of iron-worker identity in northern Telangana, this section cautions against drawing straightforward ethnographic analogies to study the archaeological record. I conclude by proposing how this research can benefit future ethnoarchaeological research of craft production and in studying traditional craft and craftsmen in a growing market economy.

abstract: Anthropological attention to landscapes has revealed them to be more than where people subsist: landscapes are inherently social entities. People create landscapes in their interactions with the environment and each other. People conceptualize, or imbue the landscape with meaning such that given places serve to impart cultural knowledge, identity, and social order. The link between people and their landscape thus underscores the importance of a landscape focus in the attempt to understand people. Furthermore, as a product of cultural behavior, the landscape constitutes a form of material culture that may be marked in ways that are consistent with how it is conceptualized. The material dimension of people's relationship with their landscape renders it a fruitful focus of archaeological inquiry. The main goal of this study is to identify how the Wixárika of Jalisco, Mexico, conceptualize the landscape, and to assess its relevance to understanding the ancient past. As adherents of a Mesoamerican tradition, the Wixárika offer a distinctive perspective on the landscape, and one with potential to elucidate the ancient past. Given that a major share of a society's culturally significant cognitive features is expressed most productively by means of language, in this study I rely on aspects of language to ascertain Wixárika landscape conceptualization and materialization. Through the linguistic analysis of placenames and place-talk, I determine the meanings with which the Wixárika landscape is imbued. Through the analysis of the utterance of placenames, I provide examples of how the landscape is instilled with meaning. Utilizing native terminology, I characterize the content of the Wixárika landscape, and describe the process, in terms of movements, whereby the landscape is actualized. Results indicate that the Wixárika conceptualize their landscape in diverse ways, including as a dwelling, a repository of memories, and a source of identity. The process and manifestation of Wixárika landscape conceptualization yield insights pertinent to understanding ancient landscapes, especially with regard to content and scope. This study is significant in that it represents the landscape from an indigenous perspective. It also sheds light on the construction of a living landscape, and thus is a useful framework for contemplating the past. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2015