ANTH Theses
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Item “Deeds of a man”: Seth as a trickster figure in the contendings of Horus and Seth(Wichita State University, 2024-07) Moss, Sophia; Kreinath, Jens, 1967-This essay explores the role of the Egyptian god Seth as a trickster figure in the mythological narrative of The Contendings of Horus and Seth. By analyzing Seth’s subversive actions, ambiguous identity, and fluid sexuality, the essay analyzes how Seth embodies the archetypal traits of the trickster—cunning, boundary-crossing, and transformation—while also shedding light on the symbols and significance of Ancient Egyptian cosmological order. Seth’s deceitful tactics, shape-shifting abilities, and boundary-crossing behavior disrupt the established order and challenge the legitimacy of Horus's claim to the throne. Through a detailed examination of key episodes, the essay reveals how Seth’s role as a trickster serves to underscore themes of chaos versus order, the fluidity of power, and the complexity of divine justice in Ancient Egyptian mythology. Additionally, the essay situates Seth within the context of queer theory, arguing that his actions and characteristics serve as a symbolic critique of rigid gender and sexual binaries. By situating Seth within the broader context of trickster figures in world mythology, the essay provides a nuanced understanding of his significance and the enduring appeal of the trickster archetype in explaining and negotiating cultural and cosmic dualities.Item Awl’s well that ends well: Chaîne Opératoire approach to Great Bend Aspect stone awls and pipe drills(Wichita State University, 2024-05) Lynch, Síofra Thomas; Dozier, Crystal A.According to ethnographic sources, the hide-preparation sequence for indigenous groups on the Plains was left up to the purview of women; when bison-oriented trade came to dominate the Plains during the pericolonial period, craftswomen began utilizing new hide-processing technology. One such development occurs in awls, in previous periods these tools were made from faunal material but as bison overtakes all other game on the Great Plains, lithic versions are created to better handle thicker hides. This study defines stone awls as puncturing tools made up of a bit, that is less than a centimeter wide, attached to an expanded base that is held between the thumb and forefinger. Stone awls were manufactured exclusively for the bison hide-processing sequence. These tools differ from thicker pipe tools like drills, gouges, and reamers, that were used to perforate stone. Despite their differences many archaeologists use the term drill and awl interchangeably, as such these tools are frequently confused with one another. In order to recognize a lithic tools dynamic lifecycle, this research utilized the chaîne opératoire (operational chain theory) which centers the cultural transformations that raw material underwent to become something technological. indigenous Plains women followed a standard sequence while making their tools and also show great flexibility in making stone awls from a variety of material. Results show that men and women appear to share materials and possibly techniques in making their tools, despite having a clear division of labor based on gender.Item Buried archives: Developing a geospatial database of maple grove cemetery(Wichita State University, 2023-07) Rue, Sara Evelyn; Moore-Jansen, Peer H.Cemeteries across the world provide a vast amount of information about the regional communities they were built within. While this information can be gathered and analyzed as is, adding in the geospatial element provides further information for both a researcher and a layperson about the communities that developed these places of rest. As cemeteries have changed form throughout human existence, having this additional geospatial information gives a new perspective on burials. Maple Grove Cemetery in Wichita, Kansas is of the Victorian style Rural Landscape cemetery. It is designed, organized and landscaped with the intention of providing the living with a place of beauty and repose as they grief for and visit their dead. While ultimately the place is for the burial of a community’s dead, it is also a place highly used by the living and the spatial design of such reflects that. Furthermore, rural cemeteries are highly reflective of the traditions, values and perspectives of the regional communities that have built them. This work is an effort to begin a fully realized geospatial database of the over twenty-four thousand graves currently on forty of the sixty available acres at Maple Grove Cemetery. GPS data, interment records, lot sale receipts, and images of headstones have been gathered and curated with the objective of merging all of it into a searchable open access geospatial database. ArcGIS Pro as well as ArcGIS Online and Storymaps have been used towards this end.Item Morphological variation in the bicondylar angle of the human femur(Wichita State University, 2022-05) Fant, Carly Janelle; Moore-Jansen, Peer H.The bicondylar angle is the angle between the intercondylar plane that is perpendicular to the femoral shaft. The formation of the angle is influenced by biological factors, behavioral patterns, and how one interacts with their environment during ontogenesis. The bicondylar angle is theorized to be sexually dimorphic in some populations and can be slightly altered after ossification by significant changes in behavior through bone remodeling, but few studies exist attempting to measure the degree of change. This thesis presents a different tool and methodology for measuring the bicondylar angle on dry femora of a modern Southwestern sample from the STAFS collection at Sam Houston State University.Item Lithic variability at the emergence of the Great Bend Aspect: Bison hunting and processing toolkits from Southern Kansas(Wichita State University, 2022-05) Banks, Jennifer M.; Dozier, Crystal A.Recent investigations have identified campsites and village sites that were occupied right before the emergence of the Great Bend Aspect, an ancestral Wichita complex in central and southern Kansas, with clear associations with bison hunting and lithic procurement. How these closely distributed campsites and their village components are related is not yet understood. Lithic material acquisition and use patterns show a specialized economy centered around bison hunting and processing tool production. The presented research attempts to associate three campsites in southern Kansas (14BU402-3, 14CO419, and 14CO423) and one village site (14SR501) with the emergence of the Great Bend Aspect based frequencies of projectile points, beveled knives, and raw material use. This thesis looks at the intra- and inter-site variability of projectile points, beveled knives, and scrapers of three campsites and one village site occupation. These sites show heavy use of local and non-local raw materials to produce formal stone tools that show standardization in morphology across sites.