Generation of Microclimates From the Differential Decomposition of Textiles in North Central Florida

The analysis of textiles as trace evidence is an important area of focus in the field of forensic science, because enhanced understanding of the decomposition of textiles may point to more accurate methods for estimating the post mortem interval (PMI) of remains found in association with these materials. This research is especially crucial in areas with unique climates, like the state of Florida. This study examines the generation of microclimates from the differential decomposition of various textile types. This study hypothesized that the decomposition of textiles will generate microclimates with soil properties that differ from those of the surrounding environment, and that different types of textiles will create different microclimates as they decompose. Samples of cotton, UV-proofed cotton, polyester, cotton-polyester blended fabric, ripstop, and wool were buried at four sites on a property in North Central Florida for thirteen weeks, with measures of soil temperature, pH, and moisture level, and weather data collected weekly. Following burial, decomposition of each textile type was scored. Data collected were analyzed in R statistical software. Analysis indicated that the level of degradation differed by textile type but not by site. Textile presence, type of textile, and subsequent decomposition significantly impacted soil pH and moisture at all sites, but did not have a significant effect on soil temperature. The results of this study demonstrate that the decomposition of textiles can create diverse and unique microclimates in the soil environment. When found in association with human remains, presence and type of textile should be considered when estimating decomposition rates and the postmortem interval.

The Charity Hall Mission: An 1820s Boarding School for Native American Children in the Chickasaw Nation

This study focuses primarily on the historical and archaeological investigations of Charity Hall, a Christian mission school that operated within the Chickasaw Nation in northeastern Mississippi between 1820 and 1830. This school and others during this time were funded by the United States government through the 1819 Civilization Fund Act, so I argue that these stations served as outposts for American colonialism before the federal government shifted its Indian policy to one of removal. Additionally, I argue that it is impossible to adequately understand the operation of individual mission schools apart from their networks, which I theorize here as “missionscapes.” The historic component also, therefore, focuses on a broader missionscape that encompassed both the Chickasaw Nation and the neighboring Choctaw Nation during the 1820s and 1830s. More precisely, the historical and archaeological data marshalled here are presented to answer my primary research question: what material tools and practices did missionaries use to “civilize” Native American children and their families prior to Indian removal? One of the chief ways that Chickasaw and Choctaw children were being “civilized” by the missionaries at Charity Hall was through the use of material culture. Their lives were regimented around an alien work schedule, they were clothed in materials procured by charitable societies, and they sat around a dinner table with ceramic and metal implements produced in faraway places, some coming all the way from east Asia. The pastors used practical mastery of both educational and mechanical “arts” to civilize the children in accordance with the wishes of the United States government. Here processes of practice and materiality took on a colonial character due to their being encouraged and enforced in a context where the balance of power was shifting from the Indians to the Americans. The American elites found the Christian missionaries to be ready-made agents to “civilize” Indians and spread political influence internally within both the Chickasaw Nation and the Choctaw Nation. The mission experience, however, ultimately proved to be too costly and slow and therefore paved the way for the removal policies of the 1830s and the abandonment of the “civilization” project altogether.

How Decomposition and Processing Affect Metallic Particles From a Bullet in Gunshot Defects

A significant portion of forensic anthropological cases involve decomposed or fragmented human skeletal remains. When testifying in a courtroom, often the focus is on trauma interpretation and distinguishing between blunt force trauma, sharp force trauma, or high-velocity projectile trauma. Therefore, forensic anthropologists need to understand how various factors and processes alter human remains during the decomposition process and how those changes affect the interpretation of skeletal trauma patterns. The primary research question addressed in this study is: how does the decomposition and processing of human remains impact the preservation of metallic fragments from gunshot trauma? Fifteen hog (Sus scrofa) crania were shot using hollow-point and full-metal jacketed 9mm ammunition with an 8-foot firing distance. Eight skinless slabs of hog ribs were shot using the same ammunition types as the crania. All hog samples decomposed in an outdoor environment under metal cages to prevent scavenging. Radiographs were taken of each hog sample before and after decomposition and after processing. The results show metallic fragments from the bullet embedding in the soft tissue more frequently than in the hard tissue. Scavengers, mummification, and processing are three critical factors that were found to influence the removal/preservation of metallic fragments during the decomposition process.

That Swimsuit Reveals You: Body Image and Bathing Suits of Florida Women

Swimsuits are the most revealing garment that American women wear publicly. Yet wearing them affects how women feel about their bodies and attractiveness. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from convenience samples of Florida women and analyzed in terms of five strata: Competitors (competitive swimmers, beauty-pageant contestants, swimsuit models); College students (Afro-Caribbean, Asian, Black/Afro-American, Hispanic, White); and Adult women (North Florida Black and White; South-Beach Hispanic, and pregnant, as well as older women (doing water aerobics). Anthropometric data (BMI, waist circumference, waist-hip ratios, and bust-waist ratios) were collected and related to Figure Rating Scales and body descriptors, preferred and actual body shapes and sizes, and swimwear types and usage by situations (one-piece, two-piece, bikini, and thong worn in the presence of family and friends or on the beach and in private). Results, matching the literature show participants: (1) overestimate their body size and shape discrepancy from cultural ideals; (2) are affected by the media-depicting “thin ideal. Details of swimwear usage show that for Black and some Hispanic women, constructions of attractiveness are changed to laud larger size to mediate body dissatisfaction and enhance swimsuit use. For Asian women, conservative values rather than body size affect swimsuit usage. But even competitors who enjoy the benefits of swimsuits, as well as women of all ages (body-dissatisfaction continues throughout the lifespan) and ethnic/racial groups, still express body dissatisfaction.

Book Review: The Routledge International Handbook of Ethnographic Film and Video

Book review of The Routledge International Handbook of Ethnographic Film and Video edited by Phillip Vannini. It presents theoretical and empirical works on visual ethnography, applied consistently to mediatization studies.

The The Effects of Soft Tissue Removal Methods on Porcine Skeletal Remains

Sus scrofa domesticus limbs were obtained as a human proxy to study the effects of five distinct materials used in published methods of flesh removal: Dermestes lardarius beetles (also referred to as dermestids), distilled-water boil, bleach boil, enzyme-based detergent simmer, and ammonia simmer. Each method was evaluated based on a set of specific criteria, focusing on time efficiency, macroscopic damage, and the effects on DNA preservation and potential for future analysis. While the dermestid beetles had the longest time-expectancy and was the most labor-intensive, they caused minimal damage to the bone surface and did not appear to affect the DNA preservation. Heated maceration methods sped up the process considerably, but that often led to decreased DNA quantity and minimal to severe amounts of macroscopic damage. The ammonia simmer method was the only method tested that was found in zoological literature but did not appear to have any published use within the forensic field, operating occasionally instead as a degreasing agent. While the ammonia was the most potent of the methods, it was efficient, low-cost, and left amplifiable DNA, perhaps indicating a potential future in more forensic contexts. Each method proved to have different advantages and disadvantages, with no method performing the best or worst in every evaluated criteria. The results of this research highlight how differently each method performs and how easily bone material can be affected. Method selection can severely impact later research and analysis and the choice demands to be made with consideration and awareness of the potential risks and desired results.

Seminole Food: Patterns of Indigenous Foodways in South Florida, 1855 to 1917

Few systematic historical studies of Seminole Indian foodways in Florida exist, fewer even for the critical period between Removal and World War I. This paper aims to fill the gap in related foodways and historical literature, while establishing a starting point for zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical studies on the topic. It addresses the issue from the ground up, developing an inventory of Seminole selective preferences in terms of food and tracking changes in those preferences over time. The study borrows the use of presence/absence matrices from archaeology to facilitate that analysis, treating an extensive set of related documents as a stratified matrix in which historical observations of Seminole food consumption are recorded by food type. It relies on Seminole oral histories to supplement the document index by providing additional information as to food preferences and taboos. Results of data analysis lead me to the conclusion that two complimentary channels of foodways existed among Seminole Indians in South Florida at the time: (1) a conservative channel that maintained symbolically and nutritionally important foods and, (2) a more flexible channel that allowed for the incorporation of supplementary foods of various origins.

Timucua Hand Use: Dispelling the Myth of Left-Hand Preference

At the time of Spanish contact, the Timucua were the original people of northern central Florida. Granberry (1996) claimed in a provocative article that Timucua constitutes an exception to the universal or near-universal property of preference for the right hand, and showed a preference for the left hand instead. This article critically examines Granberry's argument, and shows that there is no good linguistic evidence to support left-hand preference in Timucua