No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This report contains the results of the archaeological investigations performed at the Airport Rings Site in the Montana portion of Yellowstone National Park. During the 2007-2008 Montana Yellowstone Archaeology Project (MYAP) Field school, University of Montana Students excavated three stone circles or tipi rings. The crew uncovered three hearths and collected several hundred lithic artifacts, including stone tools, and faunal remains. The Airport Rings Site was the first stone circle site to be excavated inside Yellowstone National Park.

Forensic anthropologists are often asked to analyze and interpret human remains that have been modified or damaged by predators and/or scavengers (White 2000; James et al. 2005; Dupras et al. 2006). The goal of this study is to determine whether it is possible to distinguish carnivore tooth mark characteristics from other carnivore tooth mark characteristics through two separate analyses: first by examination of tooth pitting and second from carnivore tooth and jaw measurements. This is accomplished by visual analysis and measurements of tooth pits left on faunal bones processed by an experimental wolf group as well as carnivore tooth and jaw measurements from a study done by Murmann et al. (2006) and measurements done by the author from samples located in the Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum. In the first analysis, independent t-tests demonstrate that pit lengths found on long bone epiphyses that are less than 4mm are likely to be made by carnivores the same size or smaller than a jackal. If pit lengths found on long bone epiphyses are between 4mm and 6mm, they are likely to have been made by carnivores roughly the same size as baboons, bears, dogs, and wolves and if the pit lengths found on long bone epiphyses measure greater than 6mm, they are likely made by carnivores about the same size as hyenas and lions. Pit breadths between 2mm and 4mm found on long bone epiphyses are associated with carnivores in the size bracket of baboons, jackals, bears and dogs. Pit breadths larger than 4mm found on long bone epiphyses are associated with larger carnivores such as hyenas, lions and wolves. The second analysis, a discriminant function analysis using tooth and jaw measurements distinguishes carnivore tooth mark characteristics from other carnivore tooth mark characteristics left on scavenged remains through the use of the Murmann et al. (2006) measurements with an accuracy of between 75.5% based on leave one out cross-validation and 78.3% based on the accuracy of classification of a test sample.

The relationship between hominids in the middle and late Pleistocene has been a heated subject of debate since Neanderthals were first recognized. Neanderthals are either a distinctly separate species from Homo sapiens that were replaced by Homo sapiens without any genetic interaction, which supports the taxonomical title for Neanderthals as Homo neanderthalensis, or there was at least a minimal genetic interaction between contemporaneous Neanderthals and early humans, designating Neanderthals as a subspecies with a taxonomic title of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis. The purpose of this research was to further explore this issue by conducting a quantitative analysis on several aspects of morphological variation evident in crania of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. Cranial landmarks were digitized on the cranial vault (cranial vault analysis) and midfacial area (alpha triangulation analysis) of the specimens. Digitizing cranial landmarks preserves the information inherent in those landmarks relative to other landmarks in three dimensions. The data was fitted using generalized procrustes analysis, a geometric morphometric technique that is a statistically powerful mathematical superimposition method that essentially eliminates size as a variable, while preserving the variables present in shapes. This method breaks down complexities inherent in three dimensional data and allows the landmark data collected by the digitizer to be compatible with statistical analyses. The fitted data was then analyzed using multivariate statistical methods that included principal component analysis and canonical variates analysis. The results of the cranial vault analysis distinguished Neanderthals from both modern humans as well as early modern humans. The alpha triangulation analysis produced relatively ambiguous results. In the discriminant analysis of the cranial vault data set, several individual specimens were misclassified into the Neanderthal group through resubstitution and cross-validation using linear discriminant functions. It is clear that these individual specimens have a unique morphology compared to their associated groups, and that they are closer in morphology to Neanderthals than their associated group means. The morphological degree of variation cannot conclusively define the taxonomic position of Neanderthals because morphologically based research is limited to explaining the differences and similarities inherent in forms, but cannot accurately define a species.

One of the most significant challenges facing Native Americans and their indigenous identity is a greater understanding of the historical complexity of relationships that interconnected ethnically diverse populations across geographic landscapes. This thesis examines the range of Blackfoot political, social, economic structures, spiritual beliefs, and practices that were in place at the time of Euro-American contact. I use historically documented evidence of transformations that took place from the beginning of the fur trade era through the reservation era. Through the theoretical lens of ethnogenesis I use a case study of the Small Robe (Inucksiks) band of the South Piegan of Montana to elucidate their responses to conditions of change. I conclude that all divisions of the Blackfoot Confederacy changed in response to catastrophic conditions of disease, warfare, other natural phenomena. Inclusion of Indians and non-Indians from other cultures ensured the continuity and survival of the tribe.

Physical anthropologists study the patterns of human morphology to observe the influence of genetics and environment on cranial form. The following study compares cephalic and nasal index means from four Native American populations using modern statistical methods, including one-way ANOVA tests and Games-Howell comparison tests. The individuals used were of only Native American ancestry, over the age of seventeen when the data was collected, and were divided into male and female samples. The climatic conditions of each of the regions are compared to examine the relationship between the mean cranial and nasal indices and the environments in which the populations lived. Previous research suggests that larger cephalic indices should be found in populations from colder climates and larger nasal indices should be found in populations from warmer climates. Some cases in which a significant difference in means was found between populations it followed the pattern predicted from the environmental differences, though one population (the Miwok) provided an exception.