Thesis (M.A.)--University of Florida, 1991. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-102).

Thesis (Ph. D)--UCLA, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (Doctoral)--University of Utrecht, 1967. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record.

Thesis (Doctoral)--University of Utrecht, 1967. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record.

Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Anthropology, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Freie Universiẗat, Habil--Berlin, 2005.

The use of three dimensional modelling techniques with reference to the study of archaeological material is one that is gaining popularity in hominid studies and is already being extensively used globally. This research delves deep into the Acheulean period and takes a refreshed look at the symmetry of handaxes from two sites, namely Rietputs 15 (1.4 ma) which is an early Acheulean site, and the Cave of Hearths, which is estimated to ca 450/500 000 years old and forms the later Acheulean aspect of this sample. This research focuses on creating effective methods for studying symmetry in relation to various variables specific to each site, and it aims to gather data using 3D methods that more traditional 2D techniques struggle to capture. Ultimately this data provided me with a quantified measure of symmetry for handaxes from the two sites. For the Cave of Hearths, statistical evaluation of the measures of left versus right volumes showed strong, statistically significant correlations (r = 0.870, p < 0.05), as did measures of left versus right surface areas (r = 0.960, p < 0.05). Rietputs provided comparable results of: r = 0.859, p <0.05 for volume, and r = 0.954, p <0.05 for area, thus suggesting that good symmetry exists. By using sectoral analysis, this study shows that the tip is the most variable sector of the tools for both sites. This result supports the assumption that handaxes were designed for varied functions (e.g., cutting, skinning, digging roots, or working wood) but ones which required a strong distal end. The medial and proximal sectors are both relatively less variable, and their properties may have been more constrained by the convergent shape of the tool. Values for the later Acheulean sample show only slightly less variability than for the early Acheulean, but this is nevertheless an interesting trend which relates to hominid and cultural evolution over ca 1 million years of time.

The importance of marine versus terrestrial foods in prehistoric Pacific and New Zealand diets, and the adaptation of the Polynesian diet to new enviroments, is examined through the analysis of the ratios in human bone of the stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur. In particular, this study seeks to obtain quantitative information which could provide answers to five main questions, relating to the subsistence focus of the early Lapita colonists in the Pacific, the significance of suger cane in the diets of early Pacific populations, the proportions of reef versus open ocean and terrestrial versus marine foods in these diets, and the identification of populations with pronounced marine or pronounced terrestrial diets. One hundred and nineteen samples of human bone from 13 sites throughtout the Pacific and New Zealand were processed. Nitrogen values were obtained directly from bone powder, while carbon values were determined from collagen produced by digesting bone powder in phosphoric acid. Sulphur evaluations were determined from a BaSo⁴ precipitate, produced after combustion of the collagen samples in a Parr bomb. Interpretation of results is approached from a comparative point of view, which enables the proportions of marine and terrestrial foods in the diets of each study group to be assessed in relation to the diets of all the other groups. Additional information on the composition of the diets is gained by comparing the stable isotope values obtained in this study with published values of other human populations, and of marine and terrrestrial plants and animals. The potential of stable isotope analysis to identify the composition of prehistoric New Zealand and Pacific diets is confirmed. A unique marine adaptation is revealed from the analysis of the Chatham Islands Moriori who appear to have focused almost exclusively on marine resources. In contrast, a highly terrestrial diet is suggested for groups from Nebira in Papua New Guinea and Lake Rotoiti in New Zealand.