Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) research conducted in coastal environments is one area that is lacking in archaeology. Surveys conducted in this type of environment afford the opportunity to evaluate the practical use GPR under field conditions. Coastal environments are effective for this evaluation because they offer a host of conditions that GPR surveys do not normally encounter at one time. The relationship of the land to the coast, sub-surface conditions and reliable survey areas create a "perfect storm" to test how practical the use of GPR is in coastal environments. This research is a study of homestead cemeteries situated within the boundaries of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), using GPR. The research has three main goals. The first is to utilize GPR to identify if there are any unknown burials at CCAFS. The second is to test the practical effectiveness of GPR in coastal environments where high water table, geology and saline conditions can limit the capability of the technique to resolve subsurface features. The third is to correlate data from the GPR survey with ethnographic information to enhance the protection and maintenance with what is already available for the cemeteries. Research methods include field-based geophysical data collection in addition to archival and ethnographic historic research. The field component, to which this research pertains, entailed an on-site GPR survey at the nine sites on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. This was followed by analysis of the information from the survey using standard processing software. Subsequently, a thorough archival search was completed to link historic and ethnographic information with the archaeological data obtained on the cemeteries. The final result of this research was a report that provides a detailed description of the results of the GPR survey of the cemeteries at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Geophysical techniques, such as ground-penetrating radar (GPR), have been successfully used by law enforcement agencies to locate graves and forensic evidence. However, more controlled research is needed to better understand the potential and limitations of this technology in the forensic context. The goal of this study was to determine the potential of GPR using both a 250 MHz and 500 MHz antennae to monitor eight controlled graves with six different burial scenarios using pig carcasses as human proxy cadavers. In addition, a conductivity meter was employed to determine the applicability of using this technology to locate unmarked graves. For the conductivity meter, the data was processed using an EM38 program in conjunction with the SURFER program to display a conductivity contour map of the grid. For the GPR imagery, reflection profile data was processed using the program REFLEXW while horizontal slices were processed using the GPR-SLICE program. Results indicate that the conductivity meter is not a viable option in the detection of clandestine graves when other geophysical tools are available. For the GPR, results indicate that while graves can still be detected after a two-year period, there is a marked decrease in the response, or resolution, of the burial scenarios. Furthermore, burials with grave goods interred along with the carcasses were far more likely to be detected than burials that were interred with no accompanying grave goods. When comparing the performance of the two antennae, the 250 MHz antenna provided increased resolution for large cadavers buried in deep graves.

The study of hieroglyphic texts is vital to the interpretation of the ancient Maya and how their worldview contributed to their daily lives. Hieroglyphic decipherment has been an arduous undertaking and a wide variety of the Late Classic Maya writing styles has also been documented. When specific hieroglyphic phrases are not fully understood it has been necessary to utilize other sources of information to help increase the understanding of these texts. The “lubat” glyphic phrase has been utilized in multiple mediums throughout the Late Classic period and is described as an artist’s signature. This artist signature is directly related to specific iconographic elements and themes that represent a cosmological view of the ancient Maya. This thesis demonstrates the connection between the lu-bat glyphic phrase and iconographic themes indicative of liminal powers exercised by the social elites in terms of the underworld. This connection is strengthened through the evaluation of the associated texts and iconographic analysis. While interpretations of the lu-bat glyphic phrase have suggested that it represented an artist’s signature, a concise articulation of the hieroglyphic values for the lu-bat glyphic phrase has not yet be achieved. The iconographic imagery involved with this glyph demonstrates an interactive level between the conduit being and liminal actions. This interaction depicts the individual involved as a direct medium for the ritual activities of the elites in terms of the underworld.

The use of Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) technology is revolutionizing Maya archaeology, as it penetrates through thick vegetation prevalent in Maya environments, uncovering the structures and features below. At the site of El Mirador in the Petén Department of Guatemala, lidar data has been analyzed using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map features, such as residential buildings and quarries, that other technologies like satellite imagery have missed. El Mirador is a large site dating to the Preclassic through Post Classic periods (1000 BCE to 1500 BCE) and is argued to have the largest monumental architecture built by the Lowland Maya, but the nature of socioeconomic and political coordination at the site is poorly understood. Through analysis of quarry and residential structure volumes outlying areas of El Mirador at various distances from the city center, this research seeks to understand more about the nature of coordination at the site in terms of limestone production. Buffer zones of 150m and 300m were created around a central residence group in each selected area. This research shows that zones closer to the city center produced a greater volume of limestone than those further away; however, the quarries within each buffer zone did not produce enough stone even for the structures within their immediate zone. The total quarry volumes in the 150m buffer zones are greater than the combined volumes in the area between the 150m and 300m buffers, indicating a measure of coordination from each central structure group. Further research of quarrying at residential groups could help uncover the nature of supra-household coordination at Preclassic sites where the exact nature of elite involvement in quarrying is still not completely understood.

Many areas of the world are experiencing the effects of the water crisis. The water crisis is a widespread phenomenon whereby many regions are experiencing a shortage of water, lacking access to clean potable water. This study uses existing literature to examine the ways in which the ecological knowledge of ancient civilizations can be applied to modern water management in attempt to address the current water crisis. The literature reviewed for this study, stemming from notable books and peer reviewed journals, were published between 1882 and the present year. As part of a purposive sample, the following civilizations were chosen: Tenochtitlan (presently Mexico City), Angkor, and Petra. Past and present water management in the three locations are examined, as well as their impact on industry and social systems. Findings within the literature indicate that ancient methods of water management are able to provide water for populations of equal or greater size than their modern counterparts. Similarly, some studies have determined that modern water systems are problematic in their production of waste by-products, and inefficiency in water collection and distribution. The implications determined from the results of this study are discussed, as well as the limitations that arose throughout the review. The study seeks to fill the gap in literature connecting ancient water management techniques to modern practices, helping establish suggestions for reforms to address the current water crisis in the process.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Caribbean island of Tobago was contested by several European powers. Among them was an unlikely colonizer, the small Duchy of Courland, located in the western part of modern-day Latvia, which established the New Courland colony on the west coast of Tobago, in May 1654. The aim of this study was to determine the exact geographic location of this settlement through examination of historical texts, maps, and geographic information systems (GIS) data. Remote sensing and GIS methods were used to map the Courlander Fort Jacob on the site of an earlier Dutch fortification, Nieuw Vlissingen. Subsequently, a predictive model was created in ArcGIS to analyze the probability of a 17th-century animal-powered sugar mill location on the territory of an 18th-century British sugar estate. Several locales were identified as matching the model criteria. The results of this study contribute to the knowledge about the New Courland colony and can be used in the design of a future archaeological fieldwork project.

This thesis reports on the results of research conducted to determine whether technological adaptations to local environmental conditions can be observed through geospatial and artifact analysis of Safety Harbor collections from the Tampa Bay region of Florida. Past artifact and spatial analysis did not take advantage of modern technological advancements when studying how human-environmental interactions can influence certain adaptations to local conditions. In this project, GIS was used to reconstruct local aquatic environmental conditions of waterways adjacent to Safety Harbor sites. New statistical software programs have also proven themselves useful to archaeologists seeking to conduct hypothesis testing of artifact data. The Safety Harbor artifacts used in this analysis were accessed through the Alliance for Weedon Island Archaeological Research and Education (AWIARE) lab on Weedon Island. Fishing artifacts from these sites underwent hypothesis testing to identify any statistically significant morphological differences. Geospatial analysis was also conducted to determine if these differences correlate with differing aquatic environmental conditions. Technological adaptations to local conditions at these three sites were then compared to those previously identified in research on the Calusa. Ultimately, it was found through this research that Safety Harbor peoples did adapt their fishing technology differently depending on the aquatic environment adjacent to their occupation site. Additionally, the adaptations observed in Safety Harbor fishing technology were similar to those identified in research on the Calusa.

This thesis examines the practice of the misrepresentation and manipulation of the archaeological record in Italy as it relates to identity formation through three main case studies. Moving chronologically, it begins by analyzing the Palermo National Exposition and the Mostra Etnografica Siciliana of Giuseppe Pitrè using Edward Said’s Orientalism to reveal the othering of Sicilians at this exposition. The second case study looks at the Mostra Augustea della Romanità of the Fascist era, building on the extensive scholarly discussion regarding Mussolini’s misrepresentation of ancient Roman archaeology to construct a fascist identity around the concept of romanità. Moving into the contemporary scene of Italian politics, the third case study analyzes the invention of Padanian ethnicity by Lega Nord in the 1990s and early 2000s by misrepresenting and obfuscating Celtic archaeology of Northern Italy. The analysis briefly discusses the newer phenomenon of “revenge archaeology,” coined by Alessandro Vanzetti, in the region of Calabria, and its relationship to the other case studies and the history of the NorthSouth divide. This thesis analyzes how the misrepresentation of the archaeological record and material culture have been used in Italy to reorganize and assert racial, ethnic, and national identities, as well as examining how these case studies interact with and build on one another.

As people live in an area, they leave behind an assortment of cultural items they once utilized. Some of these items may include pottery or bones from animals they used as food. Analysis of these bones can give a glimpse into how they managed their resources in the environment around them, including which ecosystems they chose to exploit, and which taxa they prioritized for consumption or cultural purposes. The Indian River Lagoon in Florida is a diverse costal lagoon with many various overlapping ecosystems and ecotones available for prehistoric peoples to utilize. Comparing the frequency of taxa representing different local environments such as the marine, terrestrial, and estuary environments will help us to understand how the people who lived at the Penny site prioritized these many resources. This study intends to analyze turtle remains specifically because different species are present in all three environments. Amongst the four analyzed test units at the Penny site, 1,417 turtle elements were identified. Overall, turtle shell (carapace or plastron) was the most identified element across each analyzed test unit. Results demonstrate that turtles were not only consumed, but their shell was used for cultural purposes as well.

<p>This dissertation contributes to Indigenous archaeology, particularly along the Northwest Coast, the Coast Salish region and the territory of the Squamish Nation. I examine the regional archaeological sequence and provide an Indigenous perspective of time and space of Squamish Nation territory. Closer examination of this region’s archaeological record focuses on the occurrence of suitable igneous tool stone sources and their use over the past 10,000 years. A full understanding of these lithic sources comes from three different perspectives Squamish Nation culture, the archaeological and geological records.</p> <p>I propose that lithic sources are important places of the Squamish Nation cultural landscape and that the distributions of certain material types is linked to Squamish Nation place names and oral histories. Expanding this concept outward, I consider the distribution of the occurrence of these materials from 25 archaeological sites ranging from sea level ocean shore to mountainous alpine contexts. I then examine lithic source materials and artifacts from these sites on a visual and chemical basis (X-Ray Fluorescence) to illustrate the varying importance of certain lithic materials across Squamish Nation territory. Resulting analysis demonstrates that these materials have varying spatial and temporal distributions that relate to predominant themes of Squamish Nation oral history, concepts of Transformation and Mythical Beings. Material distributions, place names, oral history related to the region’s archaeological record are discussed under different theoretical frameworks of the Northwest Coast building from culture history, processual, post processual, and humanist perspectives cumulating at a Indigenous perspective of lithic sources and flaked stone artifact distributions.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)