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In order to determine if there is a shared biological lineage among four east central Indiana skeletal populations, the remains have been subjected to nonmetric trait analysis. This technique examines the directly observable manifestations of the genome on the skeleton in order to determine if two or more groups have a shared genetic background beyond the genes that all humans share. This information supplements the archaeological information already available from the cultural remains of these groups, in addition to the metrical data. / Department of Anthropology

This thesis focuses on 12 Glacial Kame sandal-sole shell gorgets in the Fort Recovery (OH) State Museum. The Glacial Kame culture was comprised of Late Archaic people who inhabited northwestern Ohio, neighboring states, and southern Ontario from 3000 to 500 B.C. Research centered on four questions:  How were sandal-sole shell gorgets made?  What was the purpose of sandal-sole shell gorgets?  What was the distribution pattern within the Midwest of sandal-sole shell gorgets?  How can we best interpret and portray the story of sandal-sole shell gorgets to the public? The primary methods used include a comprehensive literature review, detailed metrical and morphological analyses of regional sandal-sole gorget collections, discussion with others researching Glacial Kame culture, personal museum visits, and local research to determine context of the museum’s collection. Research from this thesis contributes to the Glacial Kame literature that is currently available. / Department of Anthropology

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The study of prehistoric Maya settlements has been hampered by simplistic views of cultural ecology, over generalized ethnographic analogy, and a lack of attention to both natural and cultural site formation processes. As a result, Mayanists have tended to expect very little variety in archaeological features and have assumed cultural uniformity over wide ranges of time and space. Traditional research designs support these assumptions. Current knowledge of Maya social organization suggests that more structural variety may occur in Maya archaeological sites than is ordinarily discovered. Some of this variation is evidenced by features not currently visible on the ground-surface. The Nohmul Settlement pattern project employed a "purposive" sampling design to search for settlement variation over time and space. Several assumptions about surface-subsurface relationships were tested. Surface indications were not found to outline subsurface variety. Excavating at intervals from site center in both visible and "invisible" features, showed that the Nohmul community was affected by both centralizing and decentralizing influences and grouped into residential clusters resembling neighborhoods. The degree of centralization and the location of the clusters, as well as some of their characteristics, changed notably over Nohmul's 2500 year occupation.

Preacher's Cave, an archaeological site in North Eleuthera, Bahamas, is arguably one of the most important historical places in that country. This large cave, isolated in a natural setting, has long been associated in the popular imagination with the first English colonists who shipwrecked in the Bahamas in 1648 and laid the foundation for the modern nation. Before the present work, no systematic scientific archaeological work had ever been conducted at this site. While Project Director for the Preacher's Cave archaeological investigations in 1991, 1992, 2005, 2006, and 2007, I acted as liaison between the Bahamian Government, local island constituents, and the team of scholars who accomplished the work, organizing all aspects of the excavations. By analyzing the recovered material assemblage from these excavations, we were able to prove that the seventeenth-century English Puritans not only used Preacher's Cave for shelter in the first period of colonization, but altered the natural rock formations of the cave for use as the first church in the Bahamas. These excavations, in conjunction with the written record, also suggest that the area surrounding the site is the location of the first free black community in the country. Finally the scientific investigation confirmed Preacher's Cave as a prehistoric burial spot for the Lucayan people who lived in the islands before Columbus landed in 1492. These burials are unique because they were recovered with grave goods and one of the five Lucayan burials appears to be a victim of human sacrifice. No where else in the country do these three compelling narratives come together and form the basis for the development of a National Heritage Tourism Site. / But protecting an historic site and interpreting it for visitors in a country where tourism is one of the major industries can be challenging. This study summarizes past strategies that were successful in the development of a small museum on the nearby is Wells using the techniques of the public historian and public archaeologist to proceed with plans for the opening of Preacher's Cave as a national park. Discussions concerning constituents, park boundaries, access, and political realities in the twenty-first century Bahamas are considered while examining the larger concept of heritage and tourism as collaborative industries. / by Jane S. Day. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

This preliminary typology of Aztec formal chipped stone tools was created taking into account the context in which the lithics were recovered, their morphology, and manufacturing processes. The typology defines six categories of stone tools: ornately decorated bifaces (this includes ceremonial lithic artifacts), projectile points, scrapers, perforators, denticulates, and other. The thesis also includes an analysis of 10 previously unanalyzed Aztec lithic assemblages. When taken together the typology and lithic analysis provide a summary description of the Aztec lithic industry. / by Timothy J. Guyah. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2012. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

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