Anthropology Works

Permanent URI for this collection

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 10 of 60
  • Item
    A paleodemographic assessment of mortality and fertility rates during the second demographic transition in rural central Indiana
    (Wiley, 2022-01) Zoeller, Gretchen E.; Drew, Brooke L.; Schmidt, Christopher W.; Peterson, Ryan; Wilson, Jeremy J.; Anthropology, Liberal Arts
    OBJECTIVES: Since its inception, skeletally based paleodemographic research has emphasized the utility of biocultural models for interpreting the dynamic relationship between the sociocultural and ecological forces accompanying demographic transitions and shaping populations' health and well-being. While the demographic transition associated with the Neolithic Revolution has been a common focus in bioarcheology, the present study analyzes human skeletal remains from a large 19th century cemetery in central Indiana to examine population dynamics during the second demographic transition, a period generally characterized by decreasing fertility rates and improvements in life expectancy. This study demonstrates the potential to methodologically identify regional variations in the timing and interactions between broad-scale socioeconomic changes and technological advancements that characterized the time period through observed changes in survivorship and fertility based on age-at-death distributions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study uses three temporally distinct samples (AD 1827-1869; 1870-1889; 1890-1935) from the Bethel Cemetery (n = 503). Kaplan-Meier survival analyses with a log- rank tests are utilized to evaluate survivorship and mortality over time. Next, Cox proportional hazard analyses are employed to examine the interaction between sex and time as covariates. Finally, the D0-14/D ratio is applied to estimate fertility for each of the three temporally bounded cohorts. RESULTS: The Kaplan-Meier survival analyses and Cox proportional hazard modeling revealed statistically significant differences in survivorship between the three time periods. Age-specific mortality rates are reduced among adult female and male age classes in this rural community over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries, resulting in the increasing life expectancies associated with the second demographic transition. While mortality in early adulthood was common during the first time period and decreases thereafter, sex was not identified as a meaningful covariate. The proportion of juveniles in the three temporal samples indicate that fertility rates were higher than national averages for the better part of the 19th century and subsequently declined around the turn of 20th century for this community. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate temporal differences between the three periods, demonstrating increased survivorship and decreased mortality and fertility over time. These findings corroborate two key features of the second demographic transition characterized by the move from high rates of both fertility and mortality to reduced rates and a general easing of demographic pressures. The observed trends likely reflect improvements in health, coinciding the industrial advance and economic development within and around Indianapolis. While the socioeconomic factors characterizing the Industrial Revolution drove demographic shifts that parallel an equally important epidemiological transition, potential regional differences are discussed to highlight variability in the timing of demographic transitions. The paleodemographic methods utilized in this study demonstrate improved accuracy and efficacy, which ultimately advances researchers' potential to disentangle population-specific socioeconomic factors that may contribute to asymmetrical experiences of health and mortality.
  • Item
    The Hoosier Story - Archaeology of Race
    (Awry Productions, 2022-05-26) Mullins, Paul R.; Anne, Shaw
    IUPUI Anthropology Professor Paul Mullins sits down with The Hoosier Story host, Anne Shaw, to discuss the expansion of IUPUI's campus and the historically Black neighborhood its expansion displaced. Professor Mullins also shares his research and discusses how historical archaeology can teach us about the relationship between racism and material culture.
  • Item
    The importance of Indigenous Peoples’ lands for the conservation of terrestrial mammals
    (Wiley, 2021-06) O’Bryan, Christopher J.; Garnett, Stephen T.; Fa, Julia E.; Leiper, Ian; Rehbein, Jose A.; Fernández-Llamazares, Álvaro; Jackson, Micha V.; Jonas, Harry D.; Brondizio, Eduardo S.; Burgess, Neil D.; Robinson, Catherine J.; Zander, Kerstin K.; Molnár, Zsolt; Venter, Oscar; Watson, James E.M.; Anthropology, School of Liberal Arts
    Indigenous Peoples’ lands cover over one‐quarter of Earth's surface, a significant proportion of which is still free from industrial‐level human impacts. As a result, Indigenous Peoples and their lands are crucial for the long‐term persistence of Earth's biodiversity and ecosystem services. Yet, information on species composition on these lands globally remains largely unknown. We conducted the first comprehensive analysis of terrestrial mammal composition across mapped Indigenous lands based on data on area of habitat (AOH) for 4460 mammal species assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. We overlaid each species’ AOH on a current map of Indigenous lands and found that 2695 species (60% of assessed mammals) had ≥10% of their ranges on Indigenous Peoples’ lands and 1009 species (23%) had >50% of their ranges on these lands. For threatened species, 473 (47%) occurred on Indigenous lands with 26% having >50% of their habitat on these lands. We also found that 935 mammal species (131 categorized as threatened) had ≥ 10% of their range on Indigenous Peoples’ lands that had low human pressure. Our results show how important Indigenous Peoples’ lands are to the successful implementation of conservation and sustainable development agendas worldwide.
  • Item
    Disrupting the Status Quo: Forging a Path to Promotion that Explicitly Recognizes and Values Faculty Work Focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
    (2022-10-24) Gibau, Gina Sanchez; Applegate, Rachel; Ferguson, Margaret R.; Johnson, Kathy E.
    This article focuses on the importance of creating new pathways to promotion and tenure that explicitly recognize and reward excellence related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). We explain the approach we have taken at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Challenges to the status quo related to faculty systems of evaluation are reviewed, as well as the urgency afforded by the interconnectedness of a global pandemic, an economic recession, and a national reckoning with respect to race that could accelerate reforms in higher education. We reflect upon eight critical lessons learned when implementing a new pathway to promotion that recognizes integrated excellence in DEI activities. We hope the lessons we learned will inspire other institutions to lead similar transformational change efforts aimed at disrupting systems that historically have created inequities in the retention and advancement of faculty from marginalized groups.
  • Item
    Starting with the Space: Integrating Learning Spaces and Technologies
    (2019-08-06) Gibau, Gina Sanchez; Kissel, Francia; Labode, Modupe
    Teaching introductory courses to college freshmen requires innovative pedagogies, which are often powered by new advanced technologies. In addition to the potential for increased student engagement promised by new technologies, instructors may also plan and deploy active learning strategies that first consider the physical spaces in which learning will take place. Effective pedagogies acknowledge both the impact that space has on student learning and the utility of both “low” and “high” technologies to facilitate such learning, merging the inherent power of each. The following case study provides the example of a themed learning community (TLC) as a vehicle through which instructors may maximize technologies and spaces to enhance the teaching and learning process. The case study highlights both the use of physical learning spaces (e.g., cutting-edge Mosaic classrooms; traditional classrooms; the off-campus settings of museums) and learning technologies (e.g., high technology tools such as image sharing software versus low tech white boards and paper-based pop-up museum exhibits) to illustrate the ways in which instructional teams collaborate to intentionally design meaningful learning experiences for their students.
  • Item
    Teaching Urban Anthropology in a Time of COVID
    (2021) Hyatt, Susan B.; Anthropology, School of Liberal Arts
  • Item
    Black Lives Matter and the Public Rediscovery of Structural Racism
    (2021) Hyatt, Susan B.; Anthropology, School of Liberal Arts
    Asset-Based Community Development promises to empower local communities while failing to address racialized disparities. We must look to broad-based social movements such as Black Lives Matter if we wish to create a genuinely more equitable and anti-racist world
  • Item
    Applying Students' Perspectives on Different Teaching Strategies: A Holistic View of Service-Learning Community Engagement
    (Michigan Publishing, 2021-11) Ricke, Audrey; Anthropology, School of Liberal Arts
    From a university perspective, service-learning and community engagement (SLCE) has been identified as a high-impact practice that offers advantages over traditional lecture and assignments, yet students do not always embrace SLCE courses. While most studies of undergraduate students’ perceptions of SLCE focus on particular experiences or on SLCE in general, contextualizing these findings within students’ perceptions of various teaching strategies and knowledge can better assist faculty in engaging students. Drawing on cognitive anthropology, this article is one of the first to conduct a cultural domain analysis to provide insights into how undergraduates conceptualize SLCE in relation to other teaching strategies. This broader analysis of the associations undergraduates make with SLCE reveals how these can carry ramifications for quality engagement with the project and community partners. The results include how faculty can design and scaffold SLCE into their courses in the absence of a centralized agency or formal campus-wide process for regulating SLCE experiences.
  • Item
    Pivoting to Virtual Reality, Fostering Holistic Perspectives: How to Create Anthropological 360° Video Exercises and Lectures
    (eScholarship, 2021-07) Ricke, Audrey; Anthropology, School of Liberal Arts
    This paper addresses two challenges in higher education that increased with the shift to online learning due to COVID-19: translating experiential learning online and supporting student engagement.While virtual reality can be mobilized to address both of these challenges,finding or creating virtual reality that fits a course’s learning objective is a common barrier. This paper illustrates how instructors can integrate anthropological readings with freely available 360°videos or Google Earth to create their own virtual reality-like experiences and class activities. Such immersive experiences can support students in applying anthropology to real-world issues from any location with a smart device and internet connection and lead to a more holistic understanding of social issues. They also present an alternative to narrated PowerPoints or videos in online and in-person learning that can foster student engagement with the content.