Anthropology

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/handle/10012/9870

This is the collection for the University of Waterloo's Department of Anthropology.

Research outputs are organized by type (eg. Master Thesis, Article, Conference Paper).

Waterloo faculty, students, and staff can contact us or visit the UWSpace guide to learn more about depositing their research.

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Now showing 1 - 8 of 8

4150 Cousins: What 7 DNA Ancestry Tests Can Tell You About Your Kin
(University of Waterloo, 2016-01-12) Nadeau, Danielle; Park, Robert
This thesis presents the results of seven commercialized DNA ancestry tests that are all available to the public, for under $400 Canadian dollars each. This research is conducted to explore the use of commercialized DNA ancestry tests. The results from each test are compared in order to determine what they are able to tell a customer. The tests used are not the only tests available, but are chosen because of their popularity, price, and what they claim to be able to report to their customer. I find the databases that the tests include online to ‘find relatives’, who are other customers having the same Haplogroup or another matching genetic identifier, to be the most troublesome aspect of the results. Specifically, it is important for the public to clearly understand that these tests are not as conclusive as they are advertised to be, so that they are not misled in thinking that the tests have the potential to show things with certainty that they cannot.
Bird Monitoring and New Media: An Anthropological Exploration
(University of Waterloo, 2019-01-25) Moscovitch, Mallory; Hoeppe, Götz
As the diversity of new media increases, people have more choices than ever before to select between various media for specific uses. In this thesis, I draw from my own research to look at the ways that bird monitors associated with the rare Charitable Research Reserve in Cambridge, Ontario, share or keep their observation records of birds in the digital age. I conducted participant observations, semi-structured interviews, and survey fieldwork from May – September 2018. In chapter one, I highlight how the proliferation of digital media provides users with novel choices of which medium to select for specific uses. In the following chapter, I unravel this further to reveal that bird monitors choose to use a diversity of media and I explore how this accords with the expectations of the rare Charitable Research Reserve. I suggest that while some bird monitors share their observation records in accordance with expectations, some share in other ways, or choose not to share at all, keeping their records without sharing. In the discussion of chapter two, I emphasize the joint role that media and exchange play in the context of eBird. I argue that eBird produces a kind of fame, or at least recognition, that may increase one’s credibility as a bird monitor or discredit them through instances of bird species misidentification. It is my hope that this research and the insights that might be gleaned from this study have practical applications for the rare Charitable Research Reserve and other organizations that engage the public in the digital age. Furthermore, I hope that this research might meaningfully contribute to the growing body of literature on the interaction between humans and technology.
The Effects of Collagen Rehydration on Postmortem Fracture Morphology: Implications for the Perimortem Interval
(University of Waterloo, 2017-08-29) King, Amy; Liston, Maria
The purpose of this thesis was to explore the effect of water saturation on the fracture morphology of dry bones – specifically, this research sought to determine if rehydrating dry bones would cause skeletal material to fracture in a manner similar to fresh bones. This question has important implications for the interpretation of bone trauma, yet no previous studies have explored this topic. To answer this question, samples of dry faunal bones were soaked in water until they reached maximum saturation and then they were broken with a bone fracture apparatus. The fractures produced on these rehydrated bones were later compared to those produced on both dry bone and fresh bone samples to determine if there was any significant change in the biomechanical behaviour of the rehydrated group. The results of the analysis showed that the rehydrated flat bones were more likely to fracture in a manner consistent with the fresh bone group for some fracture traits (e.g. number of fragments produced, fracture angle, incomplete fracturing). Among the sample groups that consisted of highly-weathered remains, there was very little significant difference between bones that were broken while dry and bones that were broken after being rehydrated. These results suggest that water saturation may affect fracture morphology in dry bones provided at least some of the bone’s organic components (i.e. collagen) have been preserved. The significant degree of overlap between the sample groups underscores the problem of estimating the timing of traumatic events on skeletal elements based on discreet categories such as “perimortem” and “postmortem”. Anthropologists should consider adopting a system that describes bone trauma with regard to the state of the material at the traumatic event (i.e. wet or dry) and within the context of the depositional environment.
Health and Disease in Byzantine Greece: A Dental Analysis of the Temple of Ismenion Apollo, Thebes
(University of Waterloo, 2024-04-05) Wood, Robyn; Dolphin, Alexis
Through a dental analysis, this study aimed to develop an understanding of the demography and health of the population at the archaeological site of Ismenion Hill, Thebes, Greece, dating to the early years of the Byzantine period (416-537 AD). Population demography was examined by determining the number of individuals present and their ages-at-death. It was suggested that 210 people were buried at Ismenion Hill and 60% of the population were nonadults. Further, diet was evaluated through the prevalence of dental calculus and caries, which suggested the population relied more heavily on plant food than meat, and that they possibly practiced a mix subsistence custom of both hunter-gatherer and agriculturalism. Overall health was explored through the presence of linear enamel hypoplasia, which indicated a possible stress period during weaning. Additionally, this study aimed to investigate any signs of leprosy on the dental remains, as previous assessments have indicated multiple individuals suffered from the disease (Liston 2017). It was proposed that four individuals had dental traits characteristic of leprosy. Ultimately, this research demonstrated the wealth of information generated from a dental analysis and deepened our understanding of the lifeways of the population at Ismenion Hill.
Printing the Past: 3D Printing and Archaeology
(University of Waterloo, 2016-01-15) Rickert, Jennifer; Park, Robert
3D Printing and 3D imaging technologies are frequent topics of global discussion. We see countless news media posts and academic articles devoted to what the technology is capable of and how it is currently being used. Some authors focus on how the technology can be implemented into existing archaeological frameworks, whereas others focus on breaking down what the technology is capable of producing at this time. Very few are looking into how this technology and its products are affecting global understandings of objects and material culture. In archaeology, this is particularly relevant for how we see, use, and interpret 3D printed replicas of original artifacts, as well as the original archaeological artifacts themselves. Through a review of current discourse on the subject as well as background anthropological, material culture studies, and archaeological theory, this thesis will explore some of the ways in which archaeology as a discipline needs to begin to think about how using such technology will change our relationships with artifacts, and that indeed it already has. By focusing on one of three potential archaeological sub-foci, research and education, this paper argues the need for archaeologists to consider what 3D imaging will do for the future of archaeological material digitization and questions of information accessibility.
Reconstructing the Life Histories of the Individuals Buried in the Rock-cut Cave Church of St. Georges, in Gurat, France
(University of Waterloo, 2019-01-25) Seymour, Gillian; Liston, Maria
In the 1960s and 1970s, eighteen individuals were excavated from the cave church of St. Georges, located in Gurat, France. This thesis develops osteobiographies for these individuals to build on previous studies relating them to the cave church in which they were found providing further contextual analysis. By incorporating the data from previous studies with the osteobiographies, it is possible to suggest who these individuals were, where they came from, and how they may have ended up in Gurat. These theories include these individuals being monks, pilgrims, peasants or some combination thereof. In addition, special attention is given to the life threatening fractures some individuals suffered and other pathological conditions that provide information about their lives and the circumstances that led to their burial at Gurat.
View from a Body: Situating the Lived Experience of Painful Obsessions and Compulsions
(University of Waterloo, 2017-01-18) Van Der Meulen, Erin; Liu, Jennifer
Painful obsessions and compulsions have been traditionally consigned to the realm of mental illness. However, an investigation into the lived experience of these tendencies demonstrates that they constitute embodied forms of suffering. Using anthropological and phenomenological insights, I demonstrate how painful obsessions and compulsions exceed categorization as a mental disorder. As someone who lives with obsessive-compulsive tendencies, I use my autoethnographic authority, partnered with ethnographic data, to emphasize the ways in which painful obsessions and compulsions are embodied within the lifeworlds of sufferers. Thus, I argue for a re-conceptualization of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and I insist upon a radical transformation of best-practice treatments to more adequately and compassionately account for these embodied forms of suffering. Importantly, this approach provides a means to alter the role of the sufferer from being a mere object of research, to an active and engaged agent of research.
The Volunteering Self: Ethnographic Reflections on “The Field”
(University of Waterloo, 2010-04-28T18:21:49Z) O'Farrell, Juliet
This thesis explores the author’s experience of fieldwork in Western Ghana while volunteering to promote gender equality at an elementary school. Analyzing the stages of preparation for fieldwork, situating the self in the field, conducting fieldwork, and returning from the field, illustrate some of the strengths and weaknesses of NGO and volunteer involvement for the combined purposes of conducting ethnographic fieldwork. Reflecting on these processes and the presence of the researcher allows for a critical understanding of issues in the field; such as children’s responsibility and ethnic discrimination. The complex of the researcher’s multiple identities in the field, including volunteer, researcher, and white woman, affect the experience and results of the fieldwork; the significance of which is reflected upon through autoethnography.

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Browsing Anthropology by Subject "Anthropology"