Theses and Dissertations

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Open Access
Food and Black livingness in the South Carolina Midlands
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Ross, Reagan A., author; Chennault, Carrie, advisor; Du, Andrew, committee member; Attai, Nikolai, committee member
This thesis explores how food, food spaces, and food sharing practices play a role in the lives of Black women in Newberry County, South Carolina. In particular, it explores how power relations take shape at the intersection of southern foodways and Black geographies via the everyday and intimate practices in the lives of Black women and their communities. Using ethnographic methods informed by Black feminist and community-engaged methodologies, I collaborated with community members in Newberry County over the summer and winter of 2023 to document and examine how plantation histories have impacted intergenerational knowledge sharing and feelings of personal and community empowerment, and how community members rely on themselves and one another, particularly through food sharing practices, to defy ongoing systematic oppressions. Using a critical and Black feminist approach, the first empirical chapter explores the connection between creativity and care work in food sharing practices when examined as an expression of aesthetic labor. Looking to Black geographies and Black feminist scholarship, the second empirical chapter explores how community members employ self-intimacy and spirituality as intimate strategies of resistance and liberatory world-build in and through food spaces. The motivation for this thesis came first and foremost from the desires of community members to document and preserve their knowledges, particularly those related to food and its impact on their lives and communities. This research is also intended to contribute to geographic and critical food literature by calling into question the ways in which much of southern foodways and southern foodways scholarship have sought to erase Black geographies and, even more importantly, by centering Black life, livingness, and sense of place in food spaces.
Open Access
Chronology, spatial organization, and mobility at Flattop Butte (5LO34), a prehistoric lithic quarry in the Central Plains of North America
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Madden, Robert J., author; LaBelle, Jason M., advisor; Orsi, Jared, committee member; Van Buren, Mary, committee member
This thesis reports on the results of an archaeological investigation at Flattop Butte (5LO34), a prehistoric lithic quarry located in northeastern Colorado. The site is an important location in the prehistory of the Central Plains of North America because it is the source of Flattop chalcedony, a cryptocrystalline tool stone used by ancient peoples for over 13,000 years, since the time that humans first entered the region. Sources of high-quality tool stone are uncommon, and separated by vast distances, in the Central Plains. This fact made Flattop Butte an essential destination for ancient, Indigenous Native American groups operating in the region, who visited it again and again for millennia, each time leaving evidence of their presence. Despite this importance, Flattop Butte has been the subject of only cursory archaeological investigation prior to the work reported here. Indeed, the vast majority of what is known about Flattop Butte comes not from the site itself, but rather from distant locations where Flattop chalcedony is found in the archaeological assemblages of ancient groups who used this lithic material for tool making. This thesis then represents an attempt to begin to lift the veil on Flattop Butte, and to explore it as an important archaeological site in its own right. It is a place that has much to say about the ancient peoples of the Central Plains, but only if some sense can be made of the seemingly incomprehensible mass of intermixed cultural materials and byproducts that were deposited on its surface and in its depths over hundreds of generations. With this goal in mind, the archaeological investigation reported here was designed to gather evidence at Flattop Butte relevant to three foundational research questions. The first is the chronology of use of the site, i.e., when was Flattop Butte used as a lithic source, and when were particular locations at the site used for these purposes? The second research question relates to spatial organization, i.e., where at the site did ancient groups carry out their lithic procurement activities, and did they segregate this work into separate, specialized activity areas? The final question relates to the effect, if any, that quarrying tool stone at Flattop Butte had on the mobility patterns of the ancient groups that visited the site for this purpose. Specifically, were these groups engaged in "embedded" procurement incidental to their subsistence rounds, having little impact on their overall mobility patterns, or were they engaged in "direct" procurement, making special trips to the site having significant impacts on their mobility patterns? Evidence relevant to these questions was gathered at Flattop Butte through survey and excavation. In addition, a literature review of the offsite use of Flattop chalcedony through time was conducted. The results of these efforts are reported here. On the question of chronology, it was found that Flattop Butte was continuously exploited as a lithic source in all prehistoric periods, for over 13,000 years. In addition, specific locations were identified at the site with evidence suggesting specific activities that took place at specific times, including a possible Paleoindian period secondary reduction workshop, two possible Archaic period workshops, and a Late Prehistoric period quarry pit. On the question of spatial organization, evidence was gathered suggesting that at various times ancient peoples organized their production of lithic materials at Flattop Butte into distinct task locations – quarry pit areas, secondary reduction workshops, and habitations – that were placed at a distance from each other on the butte. Finally, on the question of mobility, evidence suggests a high level of both logistical organization and labor investment in lithic production at Flattop Butte, as well as frequent long-distance transport of Flattop chalcedony, indicating that some of the groups that acquired Flattop chalcedony at the site were engaged in special-purpose "direct" procurement, around which their mobility patterns had to be arranged.
Open Access
Semillas de concienca | seeds of consciousness: sowing change from the Ecuadorian highlands
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Radford, Hope, author; Kwiatkowski, Lynn, advisor; Souza, Caridad, committee member; Van Buren, Mary, committee member
This thesis is a small part of Pintag Amaru's story, and mine. I met Pintag Amaru – a small Kichwa organization in Ecuador – in 2022, and this work is the fruit of our collaboration. Focusing broadly on sumak kawsay, a Kichwa principle engaged in Ecuador's 2008 constitution, our research explores Pintag Amaru's understanding, and living out, of the concept. Sumak kawsay has gained recent attention in scholarship as a grassroots "alternative" to the paradigm of international development, but this conversation has rarely included the voices of Indigenous communities at the heart of sumak kawsay's conception and practice. Engaging the central analytical lens of post-development theory and a diversity of anthropological qualitative research methods including participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups, I explore sumak kawsay through perspectives of – and relationship with – the people of Pintag Amaru. Built collaboratively from the onset, our work seeks to convey Pintag Amaru's grounded understandings on sumak kawsay, development, and their relation as they navigate today's world. Though they see the state's use of sumak kawsay as a co-option of a profoundly expansive and dynamic principle, I find Pintag Amaru conveys creativity and depth of autonomous efforts towards Indigenous resurgence, and sumak kawsay as part of it. They face challenges within the structures of a dominant development paradigm, but navigate these structures strategically to live sumak kawsay out amidst them. Through this work, too, I've come to understand sumak kawsay is dynamic, and deeply tied to place; it is not a prescription for us to replicate. I do believe, however, it is a view of the possible. We hope that this thesis, if nothing else, can offer such an opening – one seed of many – rooting in the cracks of decaying structures to grow something new.
Open Access
Circles, birds, and soil: experience across the itinerary of Pinson's Eastern Enclosure
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Kitteringham, Lia G., author; Henry, Edward R., advisor; Van Buren, Mary, committee member; Harry, Dennis, committee member
The Eastern Precinct of Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park in Tennessee encompasses Middle Woodland earthworks including the large Eastern Enclosure, Mound 29, and Mound 30. A paucity of investigation in comparison to other parts of the site has left large gaps in our understanding of these features and their relationships to the rest of Pinson and the Middle Woodland Southeast and Midwest. To address these gaps, I apply geophysical and geoarchaeological techniques to reconstruct the itinerary of this landform. Both North American Indigenous and Western perspectives on mnemonic landscapes, places, and experiences in relation to earthworks like the Eastern Enclosure are evaluated to form an interpretive framework for this data. My findings include the assertion that Pinson's Mound 30 is a bird effigy mound, that the Eastern Enclosures itinerary progresses from activities before earthmoving to preparatory removal of A-Horizon soils across its extent, through several phases of construction and continues with meaningful interactions between person and place even after earthworks are completed. This research also enables me to compare this landscape temporally, spatially, and morphologically to other enclosures across the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee River Valleys during the Middle Woodland period.
Open Access
Unpacking the trunk: pelvic-thoracic relationships in modern Homo sapiens
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Shaw, Zoë G., author; Glantz, Michelle, advisor; Du, Andrew, committee member; Throckmorton, Zachary, committee member
It is generally accepted that throughout the history of the genus Homo, shifts in body morphology have aligned with the emergence of distinct hominin populations (Ruff, 1991, 1994, 2010; Schmid et al., 2013; Walker & Leakey, 1993). The human trunk, comprised of the ribcage, pelvis, and spine, contributes the most to overall body shape. However, how the thorax and pelvis are morphologically related in modern humans is not well understood. The fragmented nature of the human fossil record poses challenges in reconstructing the morphology of the trunk. Research on extant nonhuman ape morphology has suggested covariance between the inferior ribcage and upper pelvis, and it has been proposed that this pattern holds for premodern hominin groups (Schmid, 1983; Schmid et al., 2013). This expectation of covariance between the upper and lower portions of the trunk has allowed researchers to infer body shape and size with incomplete remains (Schmid, 1983; Schmid et al., 2013; Jellema et al., 1993). However, recent findings have served to challenge previously accepted trends in hominin body shape, calling into question whether the hominin trunk is integrated as was previously thought (Arsuaga et al., 1999; Day, 1971; Rosenberg, 2007; Simpson et al., 2008). The current study expands on previous work by Torres-Tamayo et al. (2018, 2020). Five linear measurements from a mixed sample of 85 living humans were taken from computed topography scans rendered in 3D. Results suggest a minimal correlation between pelvic dimensions and inferior ribcage width, with some variations observed by sex. Understanding this relationship in modern humans aids in evaluating researchers' expectations when interpreting past hominin body shapes and offers new insights into the origins of modern human and neandertal anatomy. Since evidence of integration is weak, results suggest that the thorax and pelvis may be under different selective pressures in modern H. sapiens.
Open Access
Political dimensions of livelihood transformation of the Indigenous Ata Modo people in Komodo National Park, Indonesia
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Afioma, Gregorius, author; Galvin, Kathleen A., advisor; Kwiatkowski, Lynn, committee member; Stevis, Dimitris, committee member
This paper examines the political dimensions of the livelihood changes of the Indigenous Ata Modo people in Komodo National Park (KNP), Indonesia. Established in 1980, KNP is well-known as the natural habitat of the renowned Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). What is less known is that KNP is also the home of the local communities of Ata Modo. The Ata Modo people have changed their livelihoods from hunting, gathering, and farming to fishing and the tourism economy in response to processes of enclosure, dispossession, and dissolution of the protected area through various interventions from colonial times to recent years. Political economy critique tends to overlook the local dynamic, while the institutional framework of livelihood analysis tends to depoliticize livelihood adaptation as the economic survival mechanism. Using the framework of political ecology, this paper explores the political dimensions of livelihood transformation and the subject-making process of the Ata Modo people. Through livelihood adaptations, I emphasize the individual and collective agency in navigating their access and control over the resources around the park. This research is based on the ethnographic materials I collected during 2016-2022. Through the study of Indigenous Ata Modo's agency and their engagement with various regimes of conservation in KNP, I argue that the Indigenous Ata Modo's livelihood adaptation is an act of positioning in relation to the power dynamics of conservation and neoliberal conservation and ecotourism project. While continuously marginalized by the fortress and neoliberal models of conservation, the Indigenous Ata Modo continue to define and build their livelihoods through everyday and spectacular acts of resistance, occupation, and incorporation. By focusing on the struggle and livelihood adaptations of the Indigenous Ata Modo, this paper contributes to the study of the interlinkage between conservation, ecotourism, and community engagement in development.
Open Access
Unbelievably deep: a chronological assessment of the Hells Midden site (5MF16), Castle Park, Colorado
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Little, Spencer T., author; LaBelle, Jason M., advisor; Van Buren, Mary, committee member; Cooperman, Matthew, committee member
During the 1940s, the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History conducted archaeological investigations of sites in the Castle Park region of the Yampa River. One of these sites, Hells Midden, was recognized early in this work as a significant site for the depth of deposits and their ability to provide a sequence of occupation within this region of the Yampa Canyon where many Fremont sites had been recently described. The cultural stratigraphy at this site, exceeding four meters in depth, was expected to provide a chronological sequence which could be used for relative dating of other sites in the region. Intensive excavation of the site in 1948 and '49, and smaller excavations in 1940 and '47, revealed an intact stratigraphic sequence at the site with relatively high densities of material deposits. Despite recognition of the site's potential, little work has been done with the assemblage since the initial curation and reporting. This thesis summarizes the results of a reanalysis of the Hells Midden assemblage. Research goals for this project were derived from questions the initial archaeologists had about these deposits: how old are they?, and how did settlement strategy expressed at the site change through time? The results of thirteen radiocarbon dates of the assemblage show a deep sequence of occupation, beginning intensively in the early Middle Archaic era (from a depth of 350 cmbs) and continuing through the Fremont occupations; an absence of dates was noted for the Late Archaic era despite contiguity of the stratigraphy. Fremont occupations were shown to agree with the sequence secured through previous radiometric work at nearby sites. For the second question, a comparison of the assemblage collected from each excavated context in 1948 and '49 was conducted by ranking multiple quantifiable metrics derived from artifactual analysis. These data, when compared with notes of the excavators and description of features through much of the site's vertical extent, suggest a relatively intensive use of this site throughout the period represented by the radiocarbon sequence, with a marked increase in the sedentism expressed by inhabitants during the Formative era Fremont occupations. The sum of these results offers insight into the Hells Midden site which makes it ripe for comparison to the regional archaeological record.
Open Access
The Protohistoric period in northcentral Colorado: analysis of the Lykins Valley Site (5LR263)
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Newton, Cody Collins, author; LaBelle, Jason M., advisor
The Lykins Valley Site (5LR263) is a Protohistoric-aged site that contains both items of European manufacture and items such as stone tools associated with precontact indigenous technology. The site is a small group campsite occupied in a single event or multiple annual events possibly by a Cheyenne or Comanche group. Temporal analysis of the site indicates that the site was occupied shortly after A.D. 1800. This analysis of the Lykins Valley site is used as a stepping-off point to address larger questions about native acceptance of European technologies, the degree to which the western-central Great Plains were actually impacted by European intrusion and site types of the Protohistoric Period. This study finds that the region including Lykins Valley was not greatly affected by direct European contact until after the beginning of the 1800's, coinciding with the fur trade era. The Protohistoric occupation of 5LR263 exemplifies a native group that was fully equestrian, had somewhat integrated European technology into their culture via trade good acquisition, but was still reliant on pre-contact technology.
Open Access
Exploring the use and life of Mantle's Cave (5MF1) through spatial analysis
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Brooks, Erika Thiel, author; LaBelle, Jason M., advisor; Van Buren, Mary, committee member; Payne, Sarah, committee member
Rediscovered in the early 1900s, the captivating artifacts from Mantle's Cave (5MF1) caught the attention of enthusiasts and archaeologists alike. Nestled above the banks of the Yampa River in Dinosaur National Monument, the alcove cave was used by the Fremont (A.D. 1-1350) peoples. The site's primary excavation was completed by Charles R. Scoggin and Edison P. Lohr from 1939-1940 who were employed by the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History. Their work generated the primary interpretation of the site as a storage facility and has been supported by subsequent research. This thesis works with the collection and archives related to the work of the University of Colorado to reconstruct how Mantle's Cave was used. Using literature on the markers of habitation, storage, and ritual behavior, this project evaluated how and where these elements were present at the site. This project found several markers of activity beyond storage was present at the site. An assessment of temporal data from the site was another component of this project. The results of this project suggest that Mantle's Cave was a place that Fremont people and some earlier people frequented to store items and complete a variety of everyday tasks.
Open Access
Archaeological investigations of high altitude sites near Monarch Pass, Colorado
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1990) Hutchinson, Lewis A., author; Eighmy, Jeffrey, advisor; Benedict, James B., committee member; Leyendecker, Liston, committee member
The tundra and upper forest border north of Monarch Pass. in the central Colorado Rocky Mountains. contains a cluster of twelve sites. One of the sites. Water Dog Divide Game Drive, is an extensive system of rock alignments and associated hunting blinds. This site and other smaller systems in the Monarch site area are at present the southernmost documented examples of prehistoric timberline game drives along the Continental Divide. Cultural materials include projectile points. other flaked tools, groundstone and a broken ceramic vessel. Temporal periods indicated are 3000 B.C. to the historic. Two hunting blinds were excavated and three radiocarbon dates were obtained with corrected dates ranging from 900 A.D. - 1640 A.O. Four of the rock walls in the largest drive site contain a number of remnant wooden posts or sewels apparently used to help delineate the rock walls. It is hypothesized that the area was utilized on a seasonal basis to camp and communally hunt large game animals (bison, mule deer, elk. and mountain sheep). The sites may have been visited by peoples from the Plains. Great Basin. and Southwestern culture areas.
Open Access
Wildfires and precipitation in the lowlands of Guatemala: an analysis of precipitation and vegetation indices as potential wildfire drivers
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Malaker, Tanmoy, author; Leisz, Stephen J., advisor; Pons, Diego, committee member; Stevens-Rumann, Camille, committee member
Wildfire is an inevitable natural disaster that is considered exclusive to dry and temperate regions. However, the increasing wildfire occurrences in tropical and humid forest regions urge us to investigate the drivers of this natural phenomenon for a humid forest region. Although wildfire is inevitable, it can be managed with proper strategies; thus, identifying the drivers of wildfire in humid and tropical regions is imperative. This thesis focuses on identifying the role of precipitation as a driver for wildfire occurrences and fuel generation for fires in a humid forest ecological system in the lowlands of Guatemala (Petén). Using the data library and cloud computation system of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), INAB (Instituto Nacional de Bosques/Guatemala's Forest Authority) fire records for Guatemala, and geospatial tools like GIS and Google Earth Engine, the thesis identifies the influence of precipitation on vegetation and wildfires in Petén. The findings suggest that precipitation's influence on Petén's wildfires is two-dimensional. Precipitation influences vegetation or total fuel generation and fire occurrences by influencing fuel availability by influencing green-up and the dry down of fuels in a humid forest ecosystem. This two-dimensional influence makes precipitation one of the most critical drivers of wildfire for tropical-humid forest ecology. Besides the seasonal accumulative precipitation, the precipitation pattern and amount at different times within a preceding season of the fire months highly influence vegetation conditions and fire frequencies. The findings also suggest that seasonal precipitation forecasting could potentially be a tool for wildfire management and forecasting.
Open Access
5000 years at Crow's Roost in eastern Colorado
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1992) McDonald, Robert A., author; Jennings, Calvin H., advisor; Leyendecker, Liston, committee member; Zier, Christian, committee member; Theodoratus, Robert, committee member
Many areas on the high Plains of eastern Colorado have had little prehistoric research conducted on them. One of the areas where there is insufficient information about local prehistory is the area between the two major river drainages, the Arkansas and the Platte. Crow's Roost, a large sandstone cliff, located east of Colorado Springs, Colorado, is situated near this dividing line, known as the Palmer Divide. A series of prehistoric sites at Crow's Roost has been investigated over a period of five years by the Anthropology Department, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. These investigations indicate that there has been prehistoric occupation at this locality dating back at least 5400 years. This study presents an interpretation of the culture history, and of recent paleoclimatic fluctuations for this locality.
Open Access
An examination of Middle Woodland pre-mound contexts in the Ohio and southeast regions
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) King, Artemis, author; Henry, Edward, advisor; Hausermann, Heidi, committee member; Riep, David, committee member
Mounds are one of the oldest forms of monumental architecture in North America and have been the fascination of archaeologists and antiquarians for centuries due to their large scale and association with intricate craft goods. However, much research into mounds has focused on their use as repositories for human remains or as potential platforms for elite housing and other architecture. This is true of the Hopewell archaeological culture of the Middle Woodland period, 300 BCE-500 CE, which has been the focus of archaeological inquiry due to its large ceremonial sites and material network of items coming to the Midwest and Southeast from as far as the Rocky Mountains or the Gulf Coast. Using legacy data for 13 sites throughout Ohio and the Southeast, I examine variability in pre-mound contexts to expand on mound research by focusing on this pre-natal stage which represents the activities that people conducted before the construction of the monument itself. Using a binary model of presences and absences, I look at 26 pre-mound attributes found across the 13 sites and 64 mounds in the study and use multivariate analysis in ArcGIS as an exploratory and pattern revealing tool. I argue that these contexts are incredibly varied, and that this lack of homogeneity is material evidence of the decisions made by people to overcome dissonance created by encountering varying cultural values for these important ritual events as well as evidence for a lack of a clear Hopewell model in either the Ohio and Southeast regions, instead arguing that both regions should be included in the larger discussion of Middle Woodland ceremonialism and exchange, rejecting a core and periphery model.
Open Access
Cuidate mija: power in everyday discourses about adolescent pregnancy in urban Ecuador
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Ortega, Cynthia, author; Kwiatkowski, Lynn, advisor; Snodgrass, Jeff, advisor; Souza, Caridad, committee member
Adolescent pregnancy is a phenomenon which is heavily contested by local, national, and international entities. Problematically, the topic is predominantly referred to as a "social problem," a view which is often rooted in pathologized narratives about young people and their sexual and reproductive lives. This critical ethnography challenges these narratives by centering the voices of young people and their experiences with sex, sexuality, and pregnancy in the urban cities of Quito and Cuenca, Ecuador. Drawing upon interviews with young women who have experienced pregnancy and professionals working with pregnant adolescents, as well as a survey distributed to male and female adolescents, I identify several dominant discourses related to adolescent pregnancy in urban Ecuador. I argue that these discourses are informed by raced, classed, gendered, and aged notions about young women and their sexual and reproductive lives. Through the lenses of critical-interpretive medical anthropology, governmentality, and reproductive justice, my findings show that young women negotiate these discourses, reproducing some aspects while rejecting others. I further contend that these discourses work through the lives and bodies of young women through different forms of power. Although these young women could identify their desires, emotions, and frustrations, they were restricted in their social and bodily autonomy during and after pregnancy. I conclude by offering suggestions for advancing sexual and reproductive justice for young people based on the experiences that were shared with me by young women.
Open Access
Public archaeology and geophysics: searching for unmarked human burials in rural Colorado
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Rowe, Donald J., author; Henry, Edward, advisor; Harry, Dennis, committee member; LaBelle, Jason, committee member
Rural communities in Colorado are often left in control of lands that potentially contain unmarked burials. Two such communities in Colorado, Gould and Wray, are interested in examining the possible existence of unmarked burials on public lands. The land near the Gould Community Center was used to house prisoners of war during the final year of World War 2 and the community believes mostly fallen concrete markers (one still stands) found at the site may be related to burials from that time. Wray, CO in Yuma County is home of the East Yuma County Cemetery Board (EYCCB), which manages the Kingston and Evangelical Lutheran Cemeteries. The EYCCB took over management of these properties after periods of abandonment and the burial records are lost, this has the left them with potential unmarked burials at each of these sites. The expense and ethical concerns related to accidental disinterment provide rural communities an incentive to locate any unmarked burials on land they manage. I combined four geophysical methods with historical information provided by community partners to determine what areas at the respective sites were most likely to contain unmarked burials. The four methods I employed include: ground-penetrating radar (GPR), electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), electromagnetic induction (EMI), and magnetometry. Using these methods, I was able to locate numerous geophysical anomalies and geolocate them in the mapping software of ArcGIS Pro. In Gould I was unable to determine the source of the geophysical anomalies found due to the wide variety of uses the site has had in the past as well as the lack of historical evidence for burials. Historical evidence of previous burials at the Kingston and Evangelical Lutheran Cemeteries allowed me to make the argument that these anomalies were potentially related to burials. At Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery I concluded the cemetery is likely to contain unmarked burials throughout the southern half of the site. However, the lack of geophysical markers suggests that the soil in the northern quarter of the site is largely undisturbed and likely does not have burials. I concluded that Kingston Cemetery is expected to contain burials in the south and west of the site. Additionally, the part of Kingston Cemetery that is least likely to contain unmarked burials is the northeastern corner of the site, with a strip along the northern boundary that possibly contains burials.
Open Access
Happiness in Gielinor: modelling social play and well-being in online third places
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Nixon, William Cody, author; Snodgrass, Jeffrey G., advisor; Kwiatkowski, Lynn, committee member; Steger, Michael, committee member
As the world slowed during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, many remained in their homes and avoided social contact outside of performing essential activities. In lieu of everyday social connections with friends and family, people turned to online worlds to satisfy basic needs like that for social belonging. Internet-based social interactions allowed for the expansion of many online social spaces, particularly those facilitating leisure activities (such as online video games) and social connection (social media outlets, messaging applications, etc.). To examine the effects of a pandemic-related "online social migration," ethnographic fieldwork and psychological anthropological interviews (including free list and pile sort elicitations) were conducted within the world of Gielinor, home to the players of the MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) Old School Runescape, with a focus on how players interacted with others and the impact of the game environment's normative "culture" (in the sense of socially learned understandings about the proper and best way to enjoy this game). By inhabiting this competitive, supportive, and encouraging virtual world environment, players placed significant value on their in-game social connections, and these relationships were found to be crucial not only within the game world but also in players' real-world lives. Further, this game environment allowed for gamers to foster a sense of well-being and happiness in the absence of real-world third places (such as bars and coffeehouses) and in-person social interactions, suggesting the emerging importance during this health crisis of online third places.
Open Access
Surveillance, social control, and state integration: a GIS visibility analysis at the ancient Purépecha city of Angamuco, Michoacán, Mexico
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Guttman, Morgan, author; Fisher, Chris, advisor; Tulanowski, Elizabeth, committee member; Leisz, Stephen, committee member
The Purépecha Empire was a pre-Hispanic civilization that consolidated in the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin (LPB) of Mexico during the Mesoamerican Middle Postclassic Period (1100 – 1350 CE). The specifics of how the Purépecha Empire developed are poorly understood. This thesis focuses on visibility, and how it's manipulation in the built environment may have contributed to processes of social control and state integration in the LPB. At the ancient city of Angamuco, this study investigates whether Purépecha rulers may have used an ancient form of Panopticism (i.e., surveillance as a form of social control) to establish power and authority over pre-existing populations and integrate them into the emergent state. This study focuses on high-status structures at Angamuco (pyramids, elite complexes, ballcourt) and examines if they were made to be highly visible on the landscape in a way that would have been favourable for Panoptic surveillance. The visibility of the high-status structures was modelled in a GIS using LiDAR visualizations and several archaeological datasets. Viewsheds were generated from the high-status structures, then various attributes were recorded for the viewsheds within two independent study areas. The viewshed attribute data was then statistically compared to equivalent viewshed data from multiple samples of random points. The results show that high-status viewsheds were larger and encompassed greater areas of occupation and activity than we would expect from random chance. This suggests that visibility was important in determining the location of these structures, which fits with the idea of Panoptic planning. The results also show that intervisibility was important in the placement of high-status structures. More fieldwork is needed to ground-truth existing data and extend its coverage over larger areas of the site.
Open Access
Quantitatively distinguishing between bone surface modifications using confocal microscopy and scale–sensitive fractal analysis
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Campbell, Ross M., author; Pante, Michael C., advisor; Du, Andrew, advisor; Krapf, Diego, committee member
The damage found on fossilized bone surfaces resulting from the feeding behavior of various prehistoric taphonomic actors (hominins, carnivores, raptors, etc.) in archaeological assemblages is a crucial piece of evidence that provides an inferential framework within which archaeologists can reconstruct the ecological and behavioral contexts of our hominins ancestors. However, these reconstructions are only useful if the bone surface modifications (BSM) can be inferentially linked to the specific taphonomic actor which created the mark. The inability to do so in a standardized and replicable manner has sparked multidecade-long debates over the actors responsible for individual marks and has resulted in drastically different interpretations of site formation processes and hominin behavioral ecology. Therefore, the goal of this study is to determine whether variations in within-mark fractal variables, paired with the micromorphological variables presented in Pante et al. (2017), can aid in quantitatively distinguishing between four different taphonomic agents (cut, trample, tooth, and percussion marks). To achieve this goal, a sample of 100 experimentally - produced BSM were sampled from the existing collection in the 3D imaging and analysis laboratory at Colorado State University. Scans of individual marks were acquired using Sensofar's S-neox 3D scanner, while 3D models of the marks were analyzed with the Digital Surf® software. Quadratic discriminant and complimentary random forest models were created to identify relationships between the measured fractal variables and the taphonomic agents creating BSM. The results of the quadratic discriminant and random forest models classifying all 4 BSM agents result in low classification accuracies between 52% - 58%, thereby indicating the micromorphological and fractal variables could not be used to accurately identify taphonomic agents by their within-mark surface complexity/roughness measurements. However, sub - grouping the dataset into models discriminating between only pairs of BSM types (i.e., cutmark vs trample mark) increases the classification accuracy of the QDA and random forest models to the 60% - 86% range, thereby indicating the micromorphological variables presented in Pante et al. (2017), when paired with the fractal variables Smooth – Rough Crossover (SRC), Area Scale Fractal Complexity (Asfc) and the Scale of Max Fractal Complexity (Smfc), can discriminate between the known taphonomic agents in the sample with relative accuracy. This study is beneficial to the study of archaeological BSM as it aids in our understanding of hominin subsistence behavior in prehistoric contexts by continuing the development of an objective and standardized method of differentiating feeding traces which provides a platform for more scientific, i.e. testable inferences about hominin behavior in archeological sites.
Open Access
Cut it out: a novel, quantifiable approach to kerf mark analysis using 3D confocal microscopy and machine learning
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Benson, Wyatt H., author; Pante, Michael C., advisor; Du, Andrew, committee member; Jackson, Jessica, committee member
Forensic methods must adhere to the Daubert standard to be deemed as admissible evidence in court. Current critiques regarding how well this standard is upheld have also challenged whether current forensic practices truly meet the Daubert standard. For example, kerf mark analyses can reveal trace evidence in sharp force trauma cases but a lack of quantitative studies and standardized analytical methods leave the field open to potential scrutiny. While previous research frequently classifies marks as either the product of serrated or non-serrated blades, further identifications are rarely made confidently. The goal of this project is to determine whether variations in 3D micromorphological variables can be used to quantitatively discriminate between kerf marks made by different knife types and blade classes. Here, kerf marks were produced using five different knives on bovid diaphyses, 3D scanned using profilometric microscopy, measured for both volumetric and profile variables, then analyzed using quadratic discriminant analysis. Results show individual knives were classified correctly in only 52% of attempts. However, blade class – serrated vs. non-serrated vs. partially serrated – was successfully identified in 97% of attempts. Significantly, our results differentiate between kerfs produced by serrated blades, non-serrated blades, and partially serrated blades, not only allowing for more specific blade identifications but also producing a quantifiable and replicable method meeting the Daubert criteria.
Open Access
Gaming culture, motivation, and cathartic experience: an ethnographic study of tabletop roleplaying streamers
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Sagstetter, Seth, author; Snodgrass, Jeffrey G., advisor; Cohen, Adrienne J., committee member; Diffrient, David Scott, committee member
With the rise of online, streamed entertainment and the resurgence of tabletop roleplaying games in popular media, it has become essential to examine participation motivations in the tabletop streaming space. To investigate play and community participation motivations I have drawn from my own decade long experiences in the tabletop space and initial observations of tabletop roleplay streams to inform interviews of seventeen active streamers. Interviews were further enhanced by both participating in a tabletop stream and observing streams online over the live streaming platform Twitch. Player relations to character and a desire to engage in game play emerged as motivations to initially participate in streaming roleplaying games. Once engaged in the broader tabletop community, players found themselves better able to express their ideal selves and, building upon psychological anthropological theories on cultural norm congruence, better fit into a community with new, alternative cultural norms that more closely aligned with players of marginalized identity. Player character relationship and the safety brought about by alternative cultural norms also allowed for the emergence of therapeutic benefits of play, through cathartic experience. The safety to express ideal selves, the comfort brought on by more closely aligning with the community's norms, and the relief of emergent cathartic experiences best explain player motivations to return to online streaming groups.