Bachelor of Science (BS), Ohio University, 2018, Biological Sciences

Samples of human remains can serve many valuable purposes, including acting as teaching collections and reference samples. However, in order to serve these purposes, it is important to have record of what the sample contains as well as a detailed analysis of its contents. A sample of real human skeletal remains located at Ohio University was organized, labeled, inventoried, and analyzed in order to establish a record of its contents to serve future students, staff, and researchers. In order to organize and label the sample, a two part labeling system that employed colored tape and written code was utilized. Each bone was counted and labeled to include in an inventory specific to its location as well as the total inventory. In order to analyze each bone, methods from Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains were used. These processes were used to determine biological profile for various boney elements, when applicable. The components of biological profile include age at death, sex determination, ancestry determination, and stature reconstruction. To determine age at death, epiphyseal fusion, dental eruption, and the pubic symphysis were utilized. To determine sex, the skull, pelvis, humerus, and femur were used. The skull and pelvis were analyzed morphologically, and the humerus and femur were measured using sliding digital calipers. In order to determine ancestry, small skull measurements were taken to input into ForDisc to determine the most statistically likely ancestry. For determining stature, each long bone was measured and input into regression equations to determine the height of that person during their lifetime. All of this data was compiled into a total inventory to be kept on record for future reference and utilization.

Committee: Nancy Tatarek PhD (Advisor); Soichi Tanda PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Archaeology; Biology

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2023, English (Rhetoric and Writing) PhD

This dissertation examined media rhetoric in the Los Angeles Times about 51 murdered marginalized women in the “Southside Slayer” serial killer cases. The “Southside Slayer” was five different Black men who did not fit the profile of a serial killer and were able to continue murdering women from 1983 to 2007. The victims and/or killers were all associated at one point with the “Southside Slayer” moniker and/or task force, even though some of the killers were later given different nicknames in the press. The goal of this study was to identify harmful narratives against marginalized women victims, and how they were perpetuated through the Los Angeles Times. Through qualitative archival research and a feminist social constructionist lens, language and word/phrase choices in 126 articles from the Los Angeles Times dating from 1985 to 2020 were examined for the use of synecdoche, derogatory language, and negatively connotative language when referring to the fifty-one women. In addition, use of the victims' names, use of the killers' names, and use of killer-friendly language were examined. Using critical discourse analysis and grounded theory, harmful narratives and dehumanization of the women were perpetuated through the underuse of victims' names combined with overused combinations of synecdoche, derogatory, and/or negatively connotative words/phrases. Digital media of today was also examined, and perpetuation or disruption of the harmful narratives and dehumanization varied.

Committee: Lee Nickoson Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Christopher Ward Ph.D. (Other); Radhika Gajjala Ph.D. (Committee Member); Chad Iwertz-Duffy Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Composition; Journalism; Mass Communications; Mass Media; Rhetoric; Social Structure; Womens Studies

MA, Kent State University, 2023, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Anthropology

Death is a salient and inevitable fact of life and as such, human cultural practices frequently interact with this subject in some way. Death also creates a complex form of material that is often referred to as a corpse, dead body, cadaver, or human remains. In his book “Religion Explained,” Pascal Boyer (2001) discusses how the perception of human remains is driven by several cognitive systems that produce complex and conflicting intuitions about human remains. Human remains possess cues that intuitively suggest that they share certain capabilities and mental states with the living while simultaneously possessing other cues that suggest that certain capabilities and mental states are no longer present. The dissonance created by the inherent qualities of human remains causes them to be perceived differently than currently living things or non-living inanimate objects. This thesis argues that the quality of cues present within human remains, i.e., the condition or preservation of human remains is one factor that impacts how the remains are perceived. I hypothesized that human remains that show a higher degree of preservation would be perceived to possess mental states more frequently than remains that have a lesser degree of preservation. Preservation is an important factor in the perception of human remains as it increases the recognizable characteristics that link the remains to a living state while the lack of preservation and the reduced number of recognizable characteristics highlight the fact that the individual is no longer alive. This thesis employed a survey-based experiment to examine the impact that preservation has on the perceived mental state capabilities of “well preserved” and “less preserved” remains. The results of this study support the hypothesis that remains that have a high degree of preservation are perceived to possess mental states more frequently than remains that have a lower degree of preservation.

Committee: Linda Spurlock Dr (Advisor); Aldo Cimino Dr (Committee Member); Richard Meindl Dr (Committee Member) Subjects: Cultural Anthropology

MA, Kent State University, 2021, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Anthropology

Researchers have examined the potential physical and behavioral effects in individuals diagnosed with alcoholism, a chronic disease in which an individual experiences intense cravings for alcohol, an inability to limit consumption, and a continuation of consumption despite negative legal, professional, interpersonal, or physical consequences (Michael and Bengston, 2018). This study aims to determine whether there are common indicators of pathology and associated morbidity in individuals with a cause of death reported as alcoholism verses those with a cause of death reported as pneumonia, by the presence of fractures, their states of healing, and also dental disease. We use this comparison of samples to assess whether there exists a difference between chronic stressors that affect morbidity verses the swift, fast-acting effects of infectious disease in a skeletal collection predating the advent of antibiotics and vitamin supplementation. This study was conducted using the Hamann-Todd Human Osteological Collection housed at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the largest historical aggregation of modern human skeletons, comprised of individuals who likely lived through the 1918 Influenza pandemic, national Prohibition, rapid industrialization, and the start of the Great Depression. The results of this study have predominantly corresponded to previous research that examined the association between chronic alcohol consumption and fracture incidence: That chronic alcoholics are more likely to exhibit fractures than the control group, and these fractures are observed most often in the craniofacial region, ribs, upper limb, and vertebrae. There was a statistically significant association between cause of death and fracture incidence (individuals in the alcoholism group were over twice as likely to exhibit a fracture than individuals in the pneumonia group) and the association between ancestry and fracture incidence was also statistically significant (European-derived (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Linda Spurlock (Advisor); Richard Meindl (Committee Member); Evgenia Fotiou (Committee Member) Subjects: Human Remains; Pathology; Physical Anthropology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2002, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

BS, Kent State University, 2015, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Anthropology

Artificial cranial deformation and trephination are two cranial modification practices that leave behind evidence on the skull. These practices were prominent in ancient South American societies. This study begins by detailing the process and results of a craniofacial reconstruction on a skull cast of a male individual from the Inca Empire who exhibits signs of these cranial modifications. Based on this inspiration, this study also provides discussions from the previous literature on artificial cranial deformation and trephination in both South America, and elsewhere throughout the world. This study explores the ritualistic or cultural, and medical significance these cranial modification practices may have held in ancient societies, in an attempt to support bioarchaeological analysis of human remains. Highlighting individual stories of past individuals through the artistic reconstruction of the face, or through analysis of health conditions that occurred during life, can ultimately serve to answer a variety of research questions, and provide a meaningful outlet for honoring the unique identities of the dead.

Committee: Linda B. Spurlock (Advisor); Evgenia Fotiou (Committee Member); Mary Ann Raghanti (Committee Member); Paul Sampson (Committee Member) Subjects: Archaeology; Human Remains; Pathology; Physical Anthropology

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2015, Anthropology

Armelagos and colleagues (2001) have hypothesized that beer is a conduit for in vivo tetracycline consumption by ancient Nubians. Streptomycetes bacteria has a high prevalence in Sudanese-Nubian soil (60 -70%) and secretes the antibiotic under harsh conditions such as fermentation. At the site of Kulubnarti, 21-S-46 cemetery (716 CE) skeletons likely represent a working underclass contemporaneous with the 21-R-2 cemetery (752 CE) containing the remains of a land-owning class. Interpretations of archaeological and osteological evidence suggest that poorer health and higher mortality occurred in the S population. To test whether an anticipated difference in tetracycline ingestion between S and R cemetery populations existed, the amount of tetracycline-labeled bone was quantified under ultra violet light using image analysis software. Amount of tetracycline labeling was expressed in terms of the total area of labeled bone tissue in square micrometers, number of labeled osteons, and number of grid intersections over labeled bone. No significant differences in percent tetracycline-labeled bone tissue, or percent labeled osteons was observed between cemeteries. These results suggest that tetracycline ingestion was similar for S and R group members, class differences were not mediating tetracycline ingestion, and both sub-groups had equal access to beer.

Committee: Clark Larsen Dr. (Committee Co-Chair); Sam Stout Dr. (Committee Co-Chair); Douglas Crews Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: African History; Anatomy and Physiology; Ancient Civilizations; Ancient History; Archaeology; Biochemistry; Biology; Biomedical Research; Cellular Biology; Epidemiology; Health; Histology; History; Human Remains; Medical Imaging; Medieval History; Microbiology; Molecular Biology; North African Studies; Nutrition; Pharmacology; Physical Anthropology; Social Structure; World History

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2013, Arts and Sciences: Biological Sciences

The focus of this study was to analyze the paleoethnobotanical remains retrieved from the Late Classic (ranging from approximately A.D. 600-800) Maya polity of Dos Pilas, located in the department of Peten, Guatemala. Paleoethnobotanical macroremains and flotation samples collected during field seasons between 1989 and 1992 were separated using standard paleoethnobotanical field and laboratory methodologies, allowing for analysis and identification of many of the remains. Plant remains recovered from this site include such domesticated cultigens as maize and squash; and an assortment of wood charcoal, including palm, pine, and various dicot woods. Initially unidentified charcoal samples were further analyzed using an FEI XL30 Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) with associated EDX system in order to obtain cellular structure orientations necessary for identifying such unknowns. Wood/non-wood ratios, kernel/cupule ratios, Shannon's Diversity index, absolute counts, absolute weights, and ubiquity were all analytical methods utilized in order to assess the implications of depositional patterns of the remains. These analyses were structured in order to reveal prevailing subsistence strategies, an evaluation of the possible environmental surroundings, and socioeconomic implications across the hierarchical system at Dos Pilas. These implications were based upon differential deposition patterns in regard to the social class of associated structures or households. These results were further compared using analogous measures to the nearby site of Aguateca in order to provide a reference of Dos Pilas' comparability to other Maya sites. This study has concluded that, while Dos Pilas shares many of the characteristics of other Lowland Maya sites, its unique location and history resulted in a distinctive form of subsistence and existence.

Committee: David Lentz Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Susan Dunford Ph.D. (Committee Member); Vernon Scarborough Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2012, Earth and Environmental Sciences

A phosphatic bone-bed occurs along Clapp Creek in Kingstree, South Carolina, within the east-central portion of the coastal plain. The location of the research site is within the Chicora Member of the Williamsburg Formation. The paleoenvironment of this site was most likely a complex estuary with microenvironments that included tidal channels, tidal deltas, tidal flats, marshes and subtidal bays. The high diversity and large time span in the bone-bed is explained by the transgressive environment and storm deposits. The phosphate content of the bone-bed is from the calcium phosphate occurring in the coprolites of carnivores and the higher concentration of phosphate present in estuaries. Additionally, the high concentration of coprolites within the bone-bed resulted from the estuary being a feeding and breeding ground for crocodiles.

Committee: Charles Ciampaglio PhD (Committee Chair); David Dominic PhD (Committee Member); David Schmidt PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Geology; Paleontology

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2011, Earth and Environmental Sciences

A fossiliferous lag layer is exposed, at low water levels, next to Point “A” Dam north of River Falls, Alabama. The location of the research site was a coastal region, during the Middle Eocene, and most likely an estuary with complex depositional systems due to the interaction of fluvial and tidal processes. Most of the vertebrate remains at this locality are well preserved and indicate a low-energy environment. The exposure consists of unconsolidated sands rich with Chondrichthyan and Reptilian remains. Little work has been conducted at this location and the exposure was thought to be conformable. With a thorough lithological investigation and systematic sampling it has become apparent that this is not an unconformable exposure but actually displays a discernable interface between the Tallahatta and Lisbon Formations. Furthermore, this area displays distinct characteristics of a macro-to-mesoscopic bone-bed that is exposed for roughly 600 meters along the Conecuh River.

Committee: Charles Ciampaglio PhD (Committee Chair); Ernie Hauser PhD (Committee Member); David Dominic PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Paleontology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2008, Anthropology

The last 10,000 years have witnessed a handful of major adaptive transitions experienced by the human species, the most recent, rapid, and violent of which was contact between Native Americans and Europeans beginning in the fifteenth century A.D. Humanity was irrevocably altered on a global scale as part of a "total biocultural phenomenon." This dissertation presents the first study of the human skeletal remains from a Central Andean historic population in the Lambayeque Valley Complex, north coast of Peru. Synthesizing archaeological, ethnohistoric, and bioarchaeological data, this work tests six linked hypotheses that the indigenous Mochica ethnic group experienced negative social and biological stress but dynamically adapted to the strains of Spanish colonialism through a culturally adaptive response. These hypotheses are tested using multiple lines of archaeological and skeletal biological datasets including 1,041 skeletons from the late pre-Hispanic period and the Colonial-era Chapel of San Pedro de Morrope.Examination of postcontact mortuary behaviors at Morrope reveal their burials reflect ritual patterns that encoded syncretic interplays between the colonial order, Mochica agency and identity, cosmological roles of the dead, and resistance. Skeletal biological evidence at Morrope illustrates an unprecedented increase in systemic biological stress, a shift to a more strenuous lifestyle, and a decline in oral health. Paleodemographic analyses suggest postcontact biological stress led to lowered female fertility. Elevated rates of periosteal infection, porotic hyperostosis, and decreased oral health correlate to increased population density and a shift to a greater consumption of dietary carbohydrates. Elevated prevalence of degenerative joint disease likely stems from Spanish labor extraction. Lowered prevalence of enamel hypoplasias and unchanged terminal adult stature point to surprising nutritional consequences that are only beginning to be understood but m (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Clark Larsen PhD (Committee Chair); Izumi Shimada PhD (Committee Member); Paul Sciulli PhD (Committee Member); Sam Stout PhD (Committee Member); Kenneth Andrien PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Ancient Civilizations; Archaeology; Human Remains; Latin American History; Physical Anthropology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2002, Anthropology

Culturally modified human remains from Hopewell contexts, often referred to as trophy skulls, include skulls, crania, jaws and other skeletal elements that have been drilled, ground, incised or shaped and deposited as funerary objects. Researchers seeking an understanding of the role of these culturally modified human remains in Hopewell ideology focused on the ages and sexes of those individuals from whom the modified bones were derived. Recent debates regarding the accuracy with which age and sex can be estimated from human skeletal remains have led to a better understanding of the limitations of commonly used methods and suggestions for improving accuracy. All available skeletons recovered from the Hopewell Mound Group (33RO27) were examined and described. Eleven methods were used to produce age estimates from which a best estimate was calculated using principal components analysis. Sex estimates were based on seven pelvic and three cranial indicators of sex as well as seriation of cranial robusticity, diameters of humeral and femoral heads, and discriminant functions calculated using dental metrics. Three hypotheses regarding the role of culturally modified human remains in Hopewell culture were tested using age and sex data: trophies of war, revered ancestors, and memento mori/objects for ritual use. The hypotheses that Hopewellian culturally modified human remains represent trophies of war or memento mori/objects for ritual use are tentatively rejected. Regardless of the purpose culturally modified human remains served in Hopewellian mortuary behavior, adults of either sex were used as donors of raw material or as posthumous recipients of culturally modified human remains. Future researchers should consider the possibility that multiple stimuli led to the production, use, and deposition of Hopewellian culturally modified human remains.

Committee: Paul Sciulli (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Arts, Oberlin College, 1979, Sociology

The question of where to place the dead is a universal problem for mankind. The body of the deceased is not regarded as ordinary carrion. It must be cared for in a correct manner and disposed of in an appropriate place, not simply for hygienic reasons, "but out of moral obligation" (Hertz 1960:27). Death creates similar psychological and social problems in all human societies. Consequently similar kinds of rites, such as rites of separation, of protection, of reaggregation within a new order, and of commemoration, are very widespread, as is the ritual sequence in which they are found (Hertz 1960; Van Gennep 1960; Malinowski 1925; Goody 1962; Rosenblatt, et al., 1976). At the same time, great variation is found in the specific ways in which mortuary ritual is given concrete form. Disposition of the body may consist of cremation, burial in the dirt, enclosure in a container placed either above or below the ground, exposure, cannibalism, the keeping of relics, or some combination of these procedures. Likewise, the location considered appropriate for the disposition varies widely. The meanings invested in the form and location of the disposition of the dead also differ in different societies. It is my contention that these meanings can be usefully categorized. The variation in meaning does not seem to be random. My research project consists of a cross-cultural study of mortuary ceremonialism in sixty societies, the purpose of which is to investigate the influence of sociological and economic variables on certain aspects of mortuary ritual. The aim of this thesis is to examine the extent to which predictable variation occurs in the way social affiliation is symbolized by the location of the disposition of the dead. This work is built upon studies of both the relationships between ritual and socio-cultural organization and also the social and psychological functions of funerary ritual. It entails study of ecological adaptation in its widest sense, involving the intersecti (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Linda Grimm (Advisor); Jack Glazier (Advisor); Steve Cutler (Other); Jerry Bruner (Other) Subjects: Families and Family Life; Forensic Anthropology; Sociology

BA, Oberlin College, 1978, Anthropology

The research project upon which this paper is based actually has been centered upon two separate though related foci: the first, laboratory analysis conducted by the author of the faunal remains collected during the summer 1977 season of evacuations at the Eiden site (33 ln 14), a late Woodlands occupation in Sheffield, Ohio; the second, work with fourteen of the burials located during that season at that site. These two areas of investigation have an underlying relationship, centering upon my interest in determining the implications of the results of both for attempting a reconstruction of the probable subsistence patterns of the Eiden people. The faithfulness of such a reconstruction has been affected in no slight degree by my inexperience in osteological work – whether on animal or human specimens; nevertheless, the process of deriving conclusions from this research has been both instructional and challenging.

Committee: Linda Grimm (Advisor) Subjects: Ancient Civilizations; Animals; Archaeology; History; Native American Studies; Native Americans; Sociology

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2011, English

The Animal Remains is a collection containing three sections: straddling the shoulder, poems that utilize mixed media and lyric forms to interrogate the boundaries of gender; Telling Stories in the Window, poems that explore domestic spaces with autobiographical narratives, both linear and nonlinear; and Twins Talking, narrative prose poems concerning the feminine body in adolescence and the forming of identity through the disjointed retrieval of memory.

Committee: Keith Tuma Dr (Committee Chair); Christopher Cheek Dr (Committee Member); Catherine Wagner Dr (Other) Subjects: Animals

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2013, German/History (dual)

The purpose of this thesis is to contextualize Christa Wolf's works Der geteilte Himmel, Nachdenken uber Christa T., Medea, and Stadt der Engel oder The Overcoat of Dr. Freud in their historical setting, and to discuss their contemporary impact on society. Wolf's writings follow a pattern of her own influence within East German society and history, as she first acts on history, with Der geteilte Himmel, then becomes acted upon in Nachdenken uber Christa T., and finally, she reflects on her personal history through Medea and Stadt der Engel. Contrasting these specific works with other novels and diaries of hers provides background information essential to those four novels. Then, placing these works in their greater historical context shows Wolf's impact on the society around her. Wolf consistently provides a dual analysis of events through use of flashback and memory in her texts, giving the reader a unique frame of reference in reflecting on the works. Expanding on one of Wolf's own terms, I call this literary use of multiple time frames and memories dual subjective authenticity. This literary device is significant in Wolf's writings because through these dual perspectives, Wolf is able to address problems in East German society, while still showing support for the GDR government. Using primarily historical sources that reflect on the German Democratic Republic since the fall of the Berlin Wall, this thesis discusses contemporary approaches to Wolf's literature and its complicated reception in both East Germany and the West.

Committee: Kristie Foell Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Beth Griech-Polelle Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Douglas Forsyth Ph.D. (Committee Member); Christina Guenther Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: East European Studies; European History; European Studies; Germanic Literature; History; Language; Literature