This dissertation reports on findings from three seasons of archaeological fieldwork at Pataraya, a mid-elevation site located on the western slope of the Andes in southern Peru, and its environs. These investigations began with large-scale excavations at Pataraya that were undertaken in 2007. While small, the site is an excellent example of the planned architectural style associated with the imperial expansion of the Wari state that emerged near modern-day Ayacucho during the Middle Horizon AD 750 – 1000). Intensive archaeological survey in the upland headwater valleys of the Nasca drainage was undertaken in 2008 and 2009. Two Middle Horizon sites, including another Wari compound known as Incawasi, were documented in the upper Aja river valley during these efforts and subsequent test excavations were undertaken at each of them in 2009. These surveys also collected data on a prehispanic road that connects the Nasca valley to the sierra. The road has been found to enter the Nasca drainage near modern-day Uchuymarca and travel past Incawasi and Pataraya on its route to the coastal plain below. These data strongly suggest that construction of the road dates to the Middle Horizon and that linkage of important Wari political installations was its primary function. Evidence from the excavations at Pataraya, especially when considered in light of this wider regional system, illuminate the organization and political economy of the Wari empire specifically, as well as the archaeological study of empires more broadly. The evidence from Pataraya suggests that activities related to textile manufacturing was a major part of daily life at the site. Given the importance of cotton in Wari textile technology and the Nasca valleys suitability for cultivation of the fiber, these data suggest that acquisition of coastal cotton and transshipment of the product to the sierra may have been one of the goals of the Wari state in establishing a colony at Pataraya. Wari control of the connection between the south coast and the sierra evidenced by both Pataraya and the newly discovered site of Incawasi also illuminates our understanding of the factors that direct investment in infrastructure by empires generally by demonstrating that many factors, some of which remain unknown, drove such heavy Wari investment in building a secure route to Nasca. Why empires invest heavily in one area and little or not at all in another is thus always an empirical question, one that must be evaluated and explained by real economic, environmental, political, and cultural conditions in the past.
Archive for the ‘Anthropology’ Category:
An ethnography of human rights at the World Bank
Established on July 1, 1944, the World Bank has become the largest lender to developing countries and operates under a goal of poverty reduction. The institution may be implicated in human rights in at least three possible activities: the Banks lending of money to governments that violate human rights； its direct or indirect violation of human rights e.g., the forcible displacement of indigenous peoples resulting from a Bank-financed dam project)； and the Banks promotion of human rights e.g., designing projects with specific human rights objectives). Yet while the Bank has adopted a number of social and environmental policies, it has not adopted any overarching policy or framework on human rights. Despite the Banks rhetoric in support of these concerns, its employees do not systematically incorporate human rights into their everyday decision making or consistently take them into consideration in lending. I argue that legal and political constraints do not fully explain the marginality of this issue in the Banks operations. What has been missing from existing explanations is an anthropological account of the bureaucracy that uncovers internal obstacles to the adoption of human rights norms. This dissertation offers an ethnographic analysis of the Banks organizational culture based on 24 months of extensive field research at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. over the 2002-2006 period. The dilemma of human rights at the Bank represents a clash of normative rationalities: economics versus human rights, or more broadly, the market versus social democratic liberalism. In this study, I demonstrate how the bureaucratization of human rights imbues them with a technocratic rationality through a process of delegalization and depoliticization. Internal conflict among experts uncovers the multiple logics that encompass human rights, including their regulatory and sovereignty dimensions. By analyzing the culture of an international economic institution through the lens of a universal discourse, I analyze the technologies of neoliberal governmentality, the dynamics of global normmaking, and the negotiation of competing values that underlie global governance.
Zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of the faunal assemblage from Tangzigou, southwestern China
This dissertation research is a zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of the faunal assemblage from Tangzigou, an Early Holocene open-air site in Yunnan Province, southwest China. The goal of this study was to reconstruct the foraging behavior of Tangzigou people in order to investigate whether there were archaeological signs of resource stress and/or intensification in post-Pleistocene southwestern China. This research contributes to our current understanding of the timing and process of the subsistence shift from foraging to agriculture during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. No evidence of resource intensification was found in the Tangzigou assemblage. Data used to evaluate the resource stress hypothesis were derived from the analysis of the skeletal element representations, mortality profiles, bone breakage patterns, and bone surface modifications of &sim；9000 mammalian bone fragments. Large-scale comparative datasets were produced from observations of modern antlers and experimental studies on modern cervid/bovid phalanges to accurately document the various types of modifications. This was done in order to confirm or dispute the existence of antler tools at Tangzigou, and to explain the meaning of intensively broken phalanges in the Tangzigou assemblage. The interpretation here is still a hypothesis based on just one site from a single time period that requires further testing. A larger sample is essential for inter-site and diachronic comparisons to understand the timing and process of subsistence shift. Only then, can an accurate portrait of the human subsistence strategies from Tangzigou emerge. This research is a step toward fulfilling that goal.
Comparing social cognitive, non-social cognitive, and resting brain activity in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
The evolution of the human brain and cognition represents a long-standing question of biological anthropology. Skillful interaction with others has been proposed as a primary mover behind increased intelligence in primates Dunbar 1998). This study explores the origins of the neural bases of social cognition in humans, asking whether human patterns of social cognitive brain function are unique to our species, or shared with chimpanzees Pan troglodytes). Using [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography, chimpanzee brain function was assessed during a social cognition task, a non-social cognition task, and at rest. Two primary aims are to assess the degree to which social cognitive brain function is similar to resting brain function in chimpanzees, and to examine the neural correlates of chimpanzee social cognition. Similar patterns of function to those of humans would suggest that these social cognitive networks were present in our last common ancestor. Conversely, if patterns of activation differ, these species may have diverged in this regard. Chimpanzees performed a match-to-sample task with videos depicting conspecific behaviors with varying social complexity. Functional neuroimaging data obtained during these task conditions were compared with data from a non-social condition and a resting condition. These conditions were compared both qualitatively and on a voxel-by-voxel basis using paired t-tests. Like the resting state, social cognition in chimpanzees activates cortical midline structures, including the precuneus, posterior cingulate, and medial prefrontal cortex. Social cognition also activates the insula and amygdala； higher levels of social complexity activate the ventral striatum. At rest, these areas are active to a greater degree. Whole brain averages of each condition examined independently show the same cortical midline areas of greatest activation across all conditions. Rest, however, produces a higher maximum activation and a wider spread of intensity. This study bolsters previous findings that the resting state in chimpanzees is characterized by similar patterns of brain activity as that of humans, with cortical midline structures highly active, and shows that these areas consistently deactivate in a variety of task conditions much like the human default network. Further, these data demonstrate similarity in brain function during social cognition and at rest in chimpanzees.
Sense of Place in the Coastscape: The Social Construction of Coastal Space and Place On the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay
In this research I explore the social construction of a particular category of space. The space in question is the coastscape, consisting of shoreline land, the shoreline itself, and the adjacent tidal waters. At the center of the research are shoreline residents living on the water in the rural setting of Dorchester County, Maryland, on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Of interest is how they see themselves connected to the coastscape, how they know and act in it. I explore in two ways how they develop their sense of place. The first is to consider how various structural factors associated with the residential place on the water – the land, house, shoreline, tidal waters, boat and pier – shape perceptions about place. The second is to review what practices shoreline residents engage in and how these practices shape perceptions about place. I also review the role of the state in the social construction of the coastscape because the legal and regulatory framework affects shoreline residents in many ways. In addition I look at the role transitional spaces such as thresholds, edges in space, in time, and in being, and hybrid spaces play in the social construction of the coastscape, adding a theoretical element to the research. The methodology is based on open-ended conversations with shoreline residents, participant observation of crabbing and farming and archival research. The research contributes to the body of anthropological research on place and space, reflecting recent trends in the social sciences where place is seen as an active element in cultural processes. I conclude that the natural environment of the coastscape and the everyday practices of shoreline residents are the key constituent parts of sense of place rather than community discourse. Furthermore, the coastscape is legally complex and heavily regulated by all levels of government. From a theoretical perspective I conclude that the coastscape is linked in significant ways to transitional spaces both in the way the shoreline residents construct it and in the way the state constructs it.
A cross cultural study of disability in the United States and Brazil
Disability is not only a biological issue, it is an inherently social one. People are only as disabled as their society allows them to be. Enhancing our understanding of the social processes affecting the disabled will allow for their increased participation within society. The researcher employed qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews and participant observation to perform case studies at fieldwork sites providing care to the disabled in Chicago, IL, USA and Santarem, Para, Brazil. The researcher spent two consecutive weeks in each location. The former location is a residential facility for people with developmental disabilities and the latter is a school for people with mental and physical disabilities. The results showed that cultural phenomena such as social inequalities, gender roles, and intolerance for difference affected the experience of those living with disabilities. Social inequalities account for many disabilities found in Brazil such as those caused by preventable infectious diseases or by inadequate living conditions. The results suggest that the greatest obstacle for the disabled is the strained social interaction they have with the able-bodied. The prevalence of stigma against the disabled is a product of human discomfort with liminality and ambiguous status. People with disabilities are viewed as not fully human. Exposure and increased education, especially among children, can reduce discrimination allow people with disabilities to function within society and develop an identity therein.
A culinary apothecary: Home remedy use among Hispanics of Northwest Arkansas
For Hispanic residents of Northwest Arkansas, folk medical wisdom and its practice provide the front line of health care. This study examines the ethnobotanical component of Hispanic folk medicine and what it reveals about health and healing among a marginalized ethnic subpopulation. Using a chain referral technique, interviews with healers revealed a core of edible cultivars widely believed to allay symptoms, cure or forestall infections, and provide acute relief to the suffering patient. The remedies include common kitchen ingredients that are widely found in other folk medical healing systems. A broad range of illnesses emerged in the study, alongside a successive inventory of corresponding botanical remedies. The results further indicated a shared and cohesive perspective among Hispanics on the bifurcated nature of what is considered ‘natural’ versus ‘chemical’ medicine. Analysis suggest cultural consensus within this healing paradigm, specifically with list length of remedies as well as chronic ailments.
The Cajun ideology: Negotiating identity in southern Louisiana
The Cajuns are an American ethnic group founded primarily on the ideology of a shared history and language. Their history begins with the expulsion of the Acadian peoples from Nova Scotia in 1755 and continues into modernity with the Cajuns of Louisiana. The goals of this paper are to present an updated ethnographic account of Cajuns in Louisiana, as well as to present an example of how ideology and rhetoric may be utilized in the social sciences to explore and present ethnographic research. The data presented are based on first-hand observations and interviews conducted in the field in and around Lafayette, Louisiana, during a 2008-2009 field season. I argue that identity is based in a cognition-social-discourse model of ideology. Cognition encompasses shared memories, such as history； social refers to the elements of culture； and discourse aids in the negotiation and maintenance of ideology and identity, in large part due to rhetoric. Participant interviews are utilized to explore the ways in which individuals express their personal identities and their cultural ideologies. An Acadian ancestry and the Cajun French language appear to be the primary boundaries under negotiation in the Cajun ideology. Other cultural elements, such as food, music, and personality traits, are also part of the Cajun ideology and identity, and are used as symbolic rhetoric to validate membership in the Cajun culture. While the overall Cajun ideology has not changed substantially since published accounts in the 1980s, the extremes of the negotiated boundaries, as well as the mechanisms of reproduction and maintenance, have changed. Academia, tourism, and the Internet are offered as contemporary mechanisms through which the Cajun ideology is negotiated, reproduced, and maintained. This project adds a renewed perspective to the Cajun academic literature by presenting data collected through first hand interviews and observations, as well as addressing contemporary ways in which individuals navigate and maintain their identities within a Cajun ideology. Furthermore, this project explores the ways in which a theory of ideology may be utilized in anthropology to present ethnographic data for a multidisciplinary approach to culture, identity, and ethnicity.
Archaeological Investigations of Early Trade and Urbanism at Gao Saney (Mali)
Excavations at the mound site of Gao Saney, located near the historic town of Gao eastern Niger Bend, Mali, revealed over six meters of domestic deposits and debris from secondary processing of glass and copper dating to the period 700-1100 A.D. This is 200-300 years earlier than anticipated and points to the early development of long distance trade networks. Lead isotope analysis of copper and glass samples using LA-ICP-MS points to multiple sources areas, including copper ores in Tunisia and glass production areas in the Middle East. Secondary processing of copper and glass took place at the site, and a substantial portion of the sequence comprised mud brick structures and associated domestic trash and wall collapse episodes. The distinctive polychrome pottery assemblage found in the Gao Saney deposits occurs along a 500 km stretch of the Niger Bend between Bentia to the south and Timbucktu to the west, where it appears suddenly and intrusively c. 650-700 A.D. This thesis documents the excavations and the material culture, chronology, subsistence economy and production activities at the site. It argues that the findings support the identification of Gao Saney with the trading town Sarneh mentioned in a tenth century Arab chronicle. The relationship of Gao Saney to Gao Ancien, the putative “royal town” of Kawkaw, is considered through a comparison of material excavated from a massive stone building complex there with the material from Gao Saney. The first millennium pottery at both sites is identical, but elite goods and stone architecture are present in abundance only at Gao Ancien. The evidence supports the identification of a royal town linked to Gao Saney by market and trade relations linked to early long-distance trade.
Rethinking thinking: An ecologically based consideration of contextual diversity in late classic ceramic assemblages from the Upper Belize River Area, Belize
Variability in the production, distribution, consumption, and deposition of pottery is commonly used to identify social, and politico-economic relationships in and between prehistoric populations. Analysis of pottery recovered through archaeological investigations in the Maya Lowlands of Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala typically define these relationships through an identification of spatially or temporally based homogeneities and heterogeneities in ceramic collections. This study uses already established ceramic collections in the Upper Belize River Area of Belize to illustrate the necessity for an objective consideration of ecological and contextual factors in ceramic studies within the Maya Lowlands. The influence that environmental variability may have upon the production, consumption, and deposition of prehistoric pottery is often left unconsidered in current pottery analysis methodology. The effect that ecological factors, such as resource variability, may have on the composition of a ceramic assemblage must be realized in any effort to identify levels of homogeneity and heterogeneity within and between individual ceramic assemblages. Variability in depositional contexts for ceramic assemblage constituents must also be identified and taken into account when efforts are made to determine social or politico-economic relationships from pottery. While landscape diversity may certainly be considered a form of contextual variability, other contextual differences must also be contemplated when analyzing a ceramic assemblage and inferring social or politico-economic relationships. Variability in depositional context such as elite versus non-elite, or architecturally-based versus non-architecturally based contexts must be realized and examined in any investigation of social or politico-economic relationships via a ceramic assemblage. This study will build upon past ceramic research within the Upper Belize River Area and elsewhere to construct and illustrate the use of a pottery analysis methodology that is designed to consider the influence of ecological and contextual variability upon the production, consumption, and deposition of pottery. The methodology outlined in this study is firmly rooted in the theoretical traditions of Ceramic Ecology which has been successfully applied to ceramic collections elsewhere to identify the affect of diversity in the landscape and the ecological relationship upon the production, consumption, and deposition of pottery.