Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2020, Anthropology

This dissertation considers firewood selectivity at three pre-contact Alaskan sites: Gerstle River, Hungry Fox and Walakpa. These sites differ according to age, environmental setting and cultural affiliation, providing multiple perspectives from which to understand shared and idiosyncratic firewood selection preferences. Using Human Behavioral Ecology (HBE), this dissertation explores the respective influences of energetic output, handling costs and state-specific variables on firewood selectivity. It is hypothesized that when fuel (bone, sea mammal oil and wood) was abundant, selectivity conferred a fitness boost by providing desired combustion outcomes. Selectivity, however, may not have been advantageous under certain conditions, such as short-term occupations without plentiful fuel. Less fuel availability may have necessitated collecting lower-quality fuels, and during short occupations, mobile people likely preferred state-specific properties that lent themselves to expediency. Detecting when and where it was beneficial for pre-contact Alaskans to be selective can grant insight into how they categorized fuel and adapted their fuel selection behaviors to fit particular circumstances.

Committee: Kris Gremillion Dr. (Advisor); Joy McCorriston Dr. (Committee Member); John Hoffecker Dr. (Committee Member); Richard Yerkes Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Ancient Civilizations; Archaeology; Paleobotany; Wood

Master of Environmental Science, Miami University, 2016, Environmental Sciences

Place names are vital to orienting ourselves in the world. In ancient times, people must have had names for places like hunting grounds or berry groves. This act of naming roughly delineates geographic features which can be revisited and described to others, affixing an added cultural meaning to that place. Place naming has since come a long way. Official place names for the United States and its territories are managed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC). This report details my experience working in the Geographic Names Unit. As a Pathways Career Intern, my main duties were to manage the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), a database containing official place names for features outlined on federal topographic maps. Most of the work involved duplicate names; an issue where there are two name records for one feature, often indicating that one record is a copy and should be deleted. Sometimes the two records were not copies, and the correct locations were identified by visually analyzing historic and recent maps. The coordinates were then updated respectively in the GNIS. I gained valuable experience reading topographic maps, identifying features and managing a large database of geographic names.

Committee: Robbyn Abbitt MS (Committee Chair); Suzanne Zazycki JD (Committee Member); Mark Allen Peterson PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Cartography; Computer Science; Cultural Anthropology; Earth; Environmental Science; Geographic Information Science; Geography; History; Information Science; Information Technology; Language; Native American Studies