Minimal research has been conducted on the human skeletal remains from this site, and this research is aimed toward adding knowledge of the Nubian culture for the period between the 1st c. AD to the 4th c. AD, particularly focusing on answering the following questions: 1) Was intra- individual variation present in dietary consumption or cultural behaviors based on elements found within an individual's multiple molars after analysis; 2) Was an inter-individual variation apparent, based on developmental age through permanent molars, that indicated a distinction between dietary consumption against all individuals; and 3) Based on known medicinal and cosmetic use of kohl in neighboring societies, as well as archaeological evidence found at Sedeinga, if individuals will have used kohl based on observed increased levels of lead or antimony? A trace element analysis was performed on an archaeological sample from 13 individuals consisting of 21 first, second, and third permanent molars excavated from the elite Nubian Meroitic Cemetery of Sedeinga, located in northern Sudan. Elemental analysis was performed using Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma- Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). A total of 13 trace elements including Ca44 and P31; minor elements Mg24, S32, C13, and Sr88; metals Fe56, Cu63, Zn66, Sb121, and Pb208; and La139 and U238 were analyzed for each sample with concentration values mapped and analyzed. The data collected during laser ablation was utilized to create two-dimensional detection and concentration maps of each tooth using MATLAB® software. Analysis of concentration values confirmed dietary change from early childhood to late adolescence across the population. Probable use of antimony and lead-based kohl was determined from high concentration values mapped in dentition. Two-dimensional mapping of trace elements within teeth have revealed cultural and dietary changes across the population.

Ceramic stamps are a rare, yet widely distributed, artifact class within ancient Mexico. However, there has only been limited scholarly research on these objects and much current research is minimally supported. Depicting a wide range of iconography, including metaphysical, floral, and faunal designs, the function and meaning of these stamps, also known as estampias, pintaderas, and sellos, in ancient Mexican life remain an archaeological mystery. This paper examines the contextual, chronological, and iconographic characteristics of ancient Mexican ceramic stamps as well as the distributional trends of those characteristics. This study is comprised of 83 stamps of varying design that date to between 1600 B.C.E. and 1520 C.E.: 19 found by the Rio Verde Project in Southern Oaxaca, Mexico, 5 found by Michael Coe in San Lorenzo, and 59 central Mexican stamps with credible, detailed provenience residing in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History and Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology. Examined through the lens of culture history, processual, and postprocessual theory, comparative statistical analysis was conducted to assist the identification of significant trends. These analyses have revealed that stamp use shifted from mainly public to household spaces over time and that stamps predominantly depict nature and metaphysical themed motifs. I have also found that stamps were likely multipurpose artifacts whose use transcended social status. This research greatly expands on the limited literature about Mesoamerican ceramic stamps and provides valuable insight into ancient Mexican household, identity, and possibly religious, practices.

The research conducted for this thesis utilized stable isotope analysis to reconstruct the diet of 35 individuals from an elite Meroitic (350 BC – 300 AD) cemetery (site 8.B.5A) located on Sai Island, Sudan, with a focus on adult age categories and biological sex, to understand intraclass variation in diet. Stable carbon and nitrogen values from human bone collagen were used to understand elite social organization, social practice, and gender roles in the Meroitic period through the lens of social identity and post-processual theories. The samples were grouped based on biological sex, median age, and assigned age categories (young, middle, and old adult). The isotopic values of each group were compared to determine if any differences could be identified to create social identity profiles. Carbon-13 and nitrogen-15 stable isotope values indicate that the elite class was relatively homogenous in their diet, but there were some statistically significant differences. The percentage of C4 plants in the diet showed that the majority of females had a diet of approximately 25% C4 plants, while the majority of the males had a diet of 25-50% C4 plants. These values suggest females were eating a more homogeneous diet possibly based on lower status foods, which are primarily in the C3 plant category. The different ranges of nitrogen and carbon isotope values in the male (-18.05‰ to -12.66‰ δ13C and 8.62‰ to 11.94‰ δ15N) and female (-17.92‰ to -16.43‰ δ13C and 11.05‰ to 14.59‰ δ15N) samples may indicate a much broader diet in males and/or differential geographic origins and residency patterns between males and females. The isotopic values may indicate particular Meroitic and Nubian cultural practices such as the production and consumption of a C4 plant based beer. Lastly, this research demonstrates the ability to ascertain intra-class differences from isotope values derived from human bone collagen.

Understanding human response to natural disasters is a core problem for environmental archaeologists. Hurricanes are often devastating to coastal populations, and recognizing behavioral change in response to these major storm events provides context for the resilience and adaptability of ancient coastal people. This research project focuses on retrodicting periods of increased storm frequency and intensity for regions of the Florida coast and comparing those storm periods to the existing archaeological record in order to determine if there are correlations between increased storminess and periods of site abandonment and/or changes in subsistence strategy. These potential correlations may aid in our understanding of human cultural response to dramatic environmental change. Particle size analysis was performed on sediment cores collected from 5 coastal Florida lakes in order to determine periods of increased storm occurrence dating back as far as 9000 B.P. After comparing these storm chronologies to dated materials from the existing archaeological record of the regions surrounding each of the coastal lakes, preliminary analysis shows the potential for correlation between periods of increased storminess and site abandonment. At the regional level and in several intra-site comparisons, there are some noticeable staggering effects between the periods of storminess and the radiocarbon dates of archaeological materials. Further investigation is needed to more fully understand the relationship between these two datasets, which may further our understanding of cultural resilience to environmental stressors and the catalyzing forces of site abandonment and subsistence change in coastal Florida.

To the Maya, plant-based foods were not just important for sustenance but also had ritual meaning that was especially emphasized when placed in graves and caches. Food offered during ritual performances created a reciprocal relationship between living individuals, their ancestors, and the gods. The following thesis examines seven ceramic sherds associated with burial and cache offerings of individuals from the lowland Maya site of Holtun, Guatemala, that were found to have contained food offerings. Starch analysis, a method used to determine plant taxa on a microscopic level was performed on the ceramic vessels along with various experimental molecular spectroscopic procedures. The results gathered from the starch analysis and chemical analysis tested our ability to recover plant remains from archaeological evidence at Holtun and illuminated a possible pattern of grave and offering types, social class, and variety in ritual diet. The identification of manioc, yam, and malanga suggests evidence to the complex ritual diet of the Maya at Holtun not often depicted in iconography from the Middle Preclassic period (800 – 300 B.C.) through the Terminal Classic period (A.D. 550- 900).

During the late 7th to the first half of the 6th century BC a large urban center existed atop the Kerkenes mountain in central Anatolia. After a brief occupation that ended in a fiery blaze, the site saw only minimal activity until being visited by archaeologists first in the 1920s and then again in the 1990s. Archaeological work at Kerkenes has generated impressive digital datasets through remote sensing and traditional excavation that have identified the foundation of this once impressive city. These types of datasets have proven ideal for use with modeling and simulation methods that have successfully been used to understand the social organization of modern urban centers as understood through the spatial organization of their built environments. While using techniques from the modeling and simulation field is often used to understand modern cities, these methods also hold value in understanding ancient cities. This study applies these methods to the extensive Kerkenes dataset to provide insights into social interactions within the city that can be understood through the organization and location of built elements within the urban space. The popular naïve k-means clustering analyses is used to understand how elements within the urban space cluster around specific elements within the built environment. The output from these analyses is used to inform a series of space syntax analyses to elucidate how the arrangement of the city's built elements can be used to understand social interactions within the city. The methods herein used demonstrate the value of engaging in interdisciplinary research to answer questions related to ancient cities that can be used to address challenges within modern urban spaces, as well.

Recent archaeological studies show that pre-Columbian communities began modifying Southwestern Amazonia approximately 3,500 years ago. In lowland Bolivia, a recently mapped network of fish weirs in West Central Llanos de Mojos (WCM) demonstrates how ancient Mojeño groups built artificial earthworks to harness seasonal flooding and catch fish. In the eastern region of Baures, a similar complex of fish weirs has been studied since the 1990s, generating questions about how this system may function in a different hydrological and anthropogenic setting. Similarly, previous research within WCM has focused on the fields and forest islands that pre-Columbian populations built to elevate themselves and their crops from the floodwaters that consume the landscape. However, water is still a necessity for communities, and the dry season beginning in early summer can leave the landscape in a state of drought. This begs the question, were inhabitants also participating in large-scale environmental transformations to domesticate wetlands and increase their duration and scale? This proceeds from the assumption that weirs were not only interacting with water to catch fish but controlling its flow and accumulation to expand wetland habitats and resources more broadly. Using a combination of spatial data and statistical analysis, this study defines potential wetlands within the region, distinguished by two unique patterns of fish weirs, stacks and networks. Results indicate that these wetlands have the capacity to affect water flow and accumulation for over 600 m2 of land but maintain differences in their sizes and relationships to major bodies of water and nearby anthropogenic features.

The use of rapid digital documentation technologies remains in its infancy, although it promises to change the course of future archaeological work. With rising sea levels, the natural deterioration of historic sites and structures, and the lack of proper funding for historic and cultural sites, more of these sites are at risk of destruction. With the implementation of rapid digital documentation methods, researchers can address risks associated with data loss. To date, only a handful of cultural resource management (CRM) firms use these technologies, citing the lack of use as too expensive or difficult to learn. Using rapid digital documentation methods including, three-dimensional (henceforth 3D) modeling, photogrammetry, Geospatial Information Systems (GIS), and HABS/HAER documentation, this project assessed the overall utility of rapid digital documentation in supporting cultural heritage work. This research also explored a new method for HABS/HAER creation that cuts fieldwork time down to two to three days at the most. This research proved that these rapid digital documentation technologies could be helpful to federal agencies, CRM firms, and low-budget archaeological investigations. This project also compared two software used for photogrammetry, Agisoft Metashape and Meshroom, at the site to see the cost/benefit of conducting both methods of 3D modeling on an archaeological and historic site. This comparison determined that Metashape was the better program and worth the expense. This research was illuminated through a case study of the Juniper Springs Recreation Area within the Ocala National Forest and focused on applying these rapid digital documentation methods on a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) site prime for a National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) nomination.

In Brazil, the largest escaped slave community in the Americas incorporated multiple settlements into a united federation. This was Palmares, named for the palm forests where community members sheltered in the Captaincy of Pernambuco. Encompassing nine individual villages at its height in the mid-1600s, only one known settlement has been extensively studied by archaeologists. The remaining eight have not been definitively located. Through historiography, spatial analysis, and remote sensing techniques, the locations of the eight unknown sites of Palmares may be estimated using geographic information science. Introducing spatial analysis into the current body of Palmares literature offers new insights and further assists in the archaeological study of subaltern agency and communities. Incorporating qualitative historical and archaeological documentation into quantitative geographic research methods illuminates the potential for integrative archaeological work to impact the study of escaped slave communities.

The Migration Period (375 to 568 CE) of Central and Eastern Europe was a tumultuous time politically, culturally, and socially. Historical and archaeological evidence provide support for the large-scale movement of multiple tribes and groups, including the Gepids and Avars, although biogeochemical evidence for mobility is currently limited for these populations. Mobility can impact individual and group health and identity, and has socio-political implications for broader regions involved. As such, identifying the extent and scale of mobility within a given population can provide nuanced insights into multiple aspects of life and society in the past. To investigate mobility in a population during and immediately following the Migration Period, bulk stable isotope analysis of stable carbon and oxygen were conducted on skeletal remains of Gepidic and Avar period individuals (n = 24) from the Hungarian site of Berettyóújfalu. Paired tooth enamel and bone bioapatite samples were analyzed, in order to reconstruct both early and later life values. The results of these multi-isotope and multi-tissue analyses indicate that there are statistically significant differences between paired bone (later life) and tooth enamel (earlier life) bioapatite values, providing evidence for change across the life course. Additionally, there is some tentative evidence that the females at the site may have been more mobile than the males, although further research is needed to corroborate this. Broadly, this research provides a meaningful contribution to the growing literature on isotopic variation and mobility in Gepidic and Avar communities, and thus creates a more nuanced image of life in Migration Period Hungary more generally.