RSS 1.0Anthropology electronic theses and dissertations (MU)
The items in this collection are the theses and dissertations written by students of the Department of Anthropology. Some items may be viewed only by members of the University of Missouri System and/or University of Missouri-Columbia. Click on one of the browse buttons above for a complete listing of the works.
Items in MOspace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
Recent Submissions
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Childhood epidemics and the demographic landscape of the Aland Archipelago
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)Historically, the introduction of childhood diseases such as measles or smallpox resulted in the infection of nearly every susceptible individual in a community. While smallpox has long been considered the deadlier of the ... -
Applied paleozoology and biogeography : four case studies from Missouri
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)Numerous zooarchaeological studies have attempted to connect modern conservation issues to evidence of human � animal interactions in the past. By utilizing a geodatabase based on archaeological and paleontological site ... -
Neutron scattering studies of water diffusion near the interface of model cell membranes
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)Membrane proteins represent a significant frontier in structural biology they are ubiquitous in nature and perform a variety of tasks that help govern cellular activity. Their structure, insertion mechanisms, and function ... -
Fluctuating asymmetry as a measure of developmental instability in Arikara bioarchaeological assemblages
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) has been advanced as a tool for investigating the developmental instability of human populations and has more recently found its way into bioarchaeological investigations. The research presented ... -
Simulating prehistoric population dynamics and adaptive behavioral responses to the environment in Long House Valley and Black Mesa, Arizona
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)This project contributes to our understanding of human adaptability to environmental stress and climate change in Long House Valley and Black Mesa, Arizona from AD 800-1350. This was accomplished through the development ... -
The prevalence of extra-lethal violence across cultures in warfare
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2017)Extra-Lethal Violence, a form of physical aggression that goes beyond the necessity to kill someone, presents a conundrum: it is inefficient and dangerous to produce, especially during warfare. Extra-Lethal Violence, ... -
A geometric morphometric approach to Casas Grandes ceramic specialization
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2016)Recent studies use geometric morphometrics, the quantitative study of shape and its variation, to examine aspects of the archaeological record. This thesis builds on such applications by applying morphometrics to the ... -
The birth and adoption of kinship: Folklore and fakelore in the context of nation-states and world religions
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2015)This dissertation centers upon the premise that human kinship, cooperation, and sociopolitical organization are not fully comprehensible without reference to the influence of stories in shaping them and that stories are ... -
Obsidian source distribution and mercantile hierarchies in Postclassic Aztatlán, West Mexico
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2017)In Precolumbian Mesoamerica, trade was central to social organization, the spread of ideas, and the widespread distribution of goods across the landscape. For the Aztatlán tradition of Postclassic (AD 900- 1350) West Mexico ... -
Femoral angles and their correlates
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2017)This research addresses a central theme in anthropological research focused on the reconstruction of activity patterns from skeletal remains in past populations. In general, my research focuses on the ontogeny and development ... -
Queen Anne's revenge a systems analysis of Blackbeard's flagship
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2017)The goal of this study was to examine the life history of the pirate flagship Queen Anne's Revenge using a functional systems approach to observe how the ship affected and was affected by the macrosystems operating around ... -
Merchant mothers and fishermen fathers : parental investment and subsistence work among the boat-dwelling Shodagor of rural Bangladesh
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2016)This dissertation addresses three general research questions. First, what are the socioecological conditions that lead Shodagor families to employ particular strategies in order to balance subsistence work and childcare? ... -
A geochemical look at obsidian procurement and exchange in the Medio period world: A case study 76 Draw (LA 156980)
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2017)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Geochemical provenance analysis of obsidian is a productive avenue for studying social interaction and lithic raw material procurement strategies in ... -
Evaluating socioeconomic status using food utility indices in historical faunal assemblages
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2017)Evaluating socioeconomic status in complex societies using zooarchaeological data has been the focus of several studies in the past two decades. Taking a novel approach that uses a theoretically informed model and food ... -
Intrinsic properties of bone as predictors of differential survivorship
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2015) -
Using relative dating and seriation to identify trends in Northeastern Missouri Late Woodland period pottery decoration
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2016)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This thesis uses correspondence analysis and vessel wall-thickness time trends to investigate the type and location of decoration on the lips of pottery ... -
Alloparental care in two societies : who helps and in what circumstances
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2016)This dissertation investigated alloparental care in two societies. Most prior research on alloparental care finds that close kin, matrilateral kin (especially grandmothers) are more frequent and more beneficial alloparents ... -
A study of property and knowledge inheritance in 19th Century Scania, Sweden
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2016)Knowledge and property are both inheritable from parents to children, and who receives the inheritance is influential in deciding which children maintain or advance in social class in societies where social mobility exists. ... -
Phylogenetic and morphometric analyses of Eastern fluted-point forms
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2015)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This dissertation constitutes two mutually complementary approaches to the study of Paleoindian material culture in eastern North America, ca. 13,500-10,500 ... -
Documentation of Missouri white-tailed deer chronoclines: implications for archaeology, paleoecology, and conservation biology
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2015)Multiple ecological factors (e.g., Bergmann's rule, competition, food quality and quantity) can be responsible for changes in animal body size over time. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) serve as an ideal candidate ...