Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Molica-Lazzaro, Olivia Rosina Velma, Thesis advisor (ths): Newton, Jennifer, Thesis advisor (ths): Haines, Helen R., Degree committee member (dgc): Iannone, Gyles, Degree committee member (dgc): Williams, Jocelyn, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Mortuary archaeology presents a unique opportunity to compare cultural and biological factors within burial assemblages. This study expands upon the previous bioarchaeological research in the eastern portion of the Southern Maya Lowlands through a comparative mortuary analysis that highlights burial trends between the site of Ka'kabish, Belize, and surrounding settlements. Ka'… more Year: 2023, 2023
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Howell, Devon Jean, Thesis advisor (ths): Newton, Jennifer, Thesis advisor (ths): Haines, Helen R, Degree committee member (dgc): Ullinger, Jaime, Degree committee member (dgc): Williams, Jocelyn, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Commingled teeth present a unique opportunity for a novel application of standard methodological approaches commonly utilized in dental anthropological studies. Unfortunately, little research has been conducted on loose or commingled dental assemblages to determine if they are suitable samples for reconstructing bioarchaeological narratives of ancient human populations. The lack of… more Year: 2023, 2023
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>This research presents stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data of camelid fiber (n=238) from the coast of Arica, the Lluta Valley, and Azapa Valley – all located in the hyper-arid core of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Samples included are attributed to the Formative (1000 BCE– 200 CE), Middle (200 CE – 1000CE), and Late Intermediate (1000 CE – 1450 CE) periods. The principal aim… more Year: 2023, 2023
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Jurasek, Emily, Thesis advisor (ths): Haines, Helen, Thesis advisor (ths): Newton, Jennifer, Degree committee member (dgc): Williams, Jocelyn, Degree committee member (dgc): Wrobel, Gabriel, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>The ancient Maya utilized aspects of their landscape within their religious rituals and ceremonies, including caves. The study of ritual cave use is known as Maya cave archaeology and archaeologists in this subfield suggest that all holes in the earth, be it natural or man-made were viewed as ritually significant spaces to the ancient Maya (Brady and Layco 2018). This thesis analyzes the… more Year: 2022, 2022
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Tait, Victoria, Thesis advisor (ths): Williams, Jocelyn, Degree committee member (dgc): Szpak, Paul, Degree committee member (dgc): Haines, Helen, Degree committee member (dgc): Laffoon, Jason, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>This research represents the first stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of human bone collagen (n = 29) from the Escape Site (AD 300 - 1000), Saint Vincent. As a two-pronged investigation, this research had the following goals: (1) determining the ideal pretreatment for poorly preserved bones and (2) reconstructing the Escape Site sample population diet. By incorporating powdered… more Year: 2020, 2020
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>This study uses stable isotope analysis on both the organic and inorganic fractions of ostrich eggshell obtained from archaeological excavations in Mongolia, northern China, and southern Siberia. By establishing the δ13Corg, δ15N, δ13Cinorg, δ18O isotopic compositions of the eggshell of the Asian ostrich (Struthio asiaticus), this study provides insight into the maximum northern range of… more Year: 2020, 2020
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Postclassic (AD 900-1500) Maya diet at Ka'kabish, Belize was examined using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of human bone collagen, and stable carbon isotope analysis of bone structural carbonate. Isotope data were compared to skeletal and dental indicators of diet and disease, and dietary differences among burials excavated from chultuns (B-2, C-1, C-2, and C-3) at Ka… more Year: 2020, 2020
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>This study reconstructs the diet of pastoral populations from Bronze Age Southern Mongolia and Early Iron Age Central Mongolia using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of bone collagen from 44 individuals. Spatial and temporal differences were investigated and interpreted in combination with paleoenvironmental, archaeological, genetic and other stable isotope data. The Southern… more Year: 2020, 2020
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses were performed on individuals from the Virú Valley, Peru to better understand the people and society in this region of early-state development. This analysis also sheds light on the lives of individuals from a ritual killing event at Huaca Santa Clara. Bone collagen stable isotope analysis revealed that all individuals had diets predominantly… more Year: 2019, 2019
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Goldberg, Sophie Clare Gabriella, Thesis advisor (ths): Iannone, Gyles, Degree committee member (dgc): Williams, Jocelyn, Degree committee member (dgc): Keenleyside, Anne, Degree committee member (dgc): Elton, Hugh, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>This thesis examines the interrelationship of urban planning and population health at the site of Angkor (c. 802-1432 CE), the capital city of the Classical Khmer state, now found within modern-day Cambodia. The inhabitants of Angkor developed a settlement strategy that relied on the dispersal of water management features, rice fields, temples and residential areas, to best utilize the… more Year: 2019, 2019
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>The Kawartha Lakes region of south-central Ontario is dominated by water bodies and rivers, where humans are known to have lived since at least 10,500 years ago, only shortly after the retreat of glaciers from the region. Since this time, water levels within the region have changed dramatically as a result of various geophysical, climatological, and human-induced-phenomenon, leaving… more Year: 2018, 2018
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>This study examines foraging strategies during the Middle Woodland Period's Sandbanks Phase (A.D. 700–1000) on Boyd Island, Pigeon Lake, Ontario. The faunal remains analyzed in this study were recovered from a site associated with the procurement of aquatic and terrestrial taxa. Detailed taphonomic analyses have revealed that the Boyd Island faunal remains were affected by… more Year: 2016, 2016
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>A sample of faunal remains (n=129) from seven archaeological sites located on Pigeon and Rice Lakes, Ontario were sampled and analyzed for the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of bone collagen. These samples date from the Archaic to Late Woodland and include 35 different animal species. The goal of this research was to investigate the isotope ecology of the Middle Trent… more Year: 2016, 2016
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>This thesis examines the spatial, temporal, and contextual distribution of copper bells in the Greater Southwest region and how they are situated in archaeological literature. To date, 672 copper bells have been found in at least 113 different Southwestern sites dating from ca. A.D. 900-1450, though there is no archaeological evidence for metallurgical activities in the area at this time… more Year: 2014, 2014
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Schmidt, Jodi Lee, Thesis advisor (ths): Keenleyside, Anne, Degree committee member (dgc): Williams, Jocelyn, Degree committee member (dgc): Conolly, James, Degree committee member (dgc): Garvie-Lok, Sandra, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>This study analyses deciduous dental pathology and stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes to investigate the relationship between dietary composition, feeding practices, and oral health in a subadult skeletal sample from the Greek colonial site of Apollonia Pontica, Bulgaria (5th to 3rd century BC). Stable isotope analysis of 74 bone collagen samples indicates that weaning began between the… more Year: 2014, 2014
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>This study uses the zooarchaeological record to examine the range of activities represented in Late Archaic period samples excavated from Jacob's Island -1B, in the Trent-Severn Waterway region in Ontario. Radiocarbon dates from sixteen features were used to establish a chronology of site use and occupation. The faunal remains analyzed in this study were recovered from seven dated… more Year: 2014, 2014
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Savage, Daniel Jay, Thesis advisor (ths): Dubreuil, Laure, Degree committee member (dgc): Conolly, James, Degree committee member (dgc): Fitzsimons, Rodney D., Degree committee member (dgc): Williams, Jocelyn, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Grooved stones first appear in the Southern Levant with the development of the Natufian culture (~15,000 - 12,000 BP). These tools come in a variety of shapes and sizes; however, they share in common the presence of an intentionally manufactured groove. This thesis focuses on a few types of grooved stones, specifically, those which are often considered to be straighteners for arrow-… more Year: 2014, 2014
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Falconer, Christa, Thesis advisor (ths): Fitzsimons, Rodney D., Degree committee member (dgc): Conolly, James, Degree committee member (dgc): Williams, Jocelyn, Degree committee member (dgc): Smith, Robert A., Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Mortuary remains comprise a large part of the archaeological record for the Late Bronze Age in the Aegean. By the Palatial period, chamber tombs became the most common burial type on the Mycenaean Mainland, with their popularity continuing into the Postpalatial period. In addition, a single chamber tomb could be reused for as many as ten generations, resulting in large collections of… more
