Measuring Trace Element Concentrations in Artiodactyl Cannonbones using Portable X-Ray Fluorescence

Artiodactyl bones are the most common faunal remains found in Washington prehistoric archaeology sites, but they are often too fragmented to accurately identify a family, genus, or species. Traditional faunal analysis can only organize unidentifiable bone fragments into size class, and chemical methods often require the destruction of bone samples. In this thesis research, I tested a new, nondestructive faunal analysis technique using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) to measure trace element concentrations in comparative collection and archaeological bone samples. Using cannonbones from five different artiodactyl species, I collected trace element data from 50 comparative collection specimens and 18 archaeological specimens previously identified to species. I used a Random Forest classification analysis to predict the family and species of modern comparative and archaeological specimens based on collected trace element data. Species identification accuracy was 70% for modern specimens and 22% for archaeological specimens, while family identification accuracy was 82% for modern specimens and 67% for archaeological specimens. These results suggest that identification pXRF method used in this thesis is promising, but would require further work to be definitive

Digital Technology and a New Era for Archaeology: Cooper\u27s Ferry, Idaho

The field of archaeology has a longstanding set of traditional research methods. I argue in favor of implementing a new series of digital and three dimensional methods that will not only change how archaeology is conducted, but will open the door to invaluable new information that was previously inaccessible. This project draws on my experience at the 2015 Cooper’s Ferry field school conducted by Oregon State University. OSU is on the cutting edge of these new digital technologies, as they aim to discover new information about Western Stemmed Tradition peoples that thrived in the Great Basin around 13,000 years ago. The responsibility of our discipline is to tell the whole story of these early Americans. I argue that this can only be done with the use of digital and three dimensional technologies, as this will expose new information and further preserve the integrity of the sites and collections we study

Dmanisi: A Taxonomic Revolution

Over the past two decades, five different skulls have been found in the Dmanisi site located in the Republic of Georgia. These skulls are all very different in cranial features, but they are also some of the most complete and well preserved hominin skulls ever discovered. There is a major concern with these skulls, and with concern also comes controversy. We know that Homo erectus migrated from Africa into Eurasia. That is why some paleoanthropologists believe that, despite the cranial differences, the skulls found at the Dmanisi site all belong to Homo erectus. They claim that skeletal variations are common in a single species in multiple geographical locations. The opposing theory is that the remains seem to have both characteristics of Homo habilis and Homo erectus. They propose a new species called Homo georgicus, that fits between Homo habilis and Homo erectus. Using comparative analysis, I will demonstrate that the remains found at Dmanisi are in fact Homo erectus, and that the species as a whole contained many variable skeletal features throughout various populations, challenging current taxonomy and placing many species of Homo in the new Homo erectus spectrum

Investigating Ionic Effects Applied to Water Based Organocatalysed Aldol Reactions

Saturated aqueous solutions of various common salts were examined for their effect on aqueous aldol reactions catalysted by a highly active C2-symmetric diprolinamide organocatalyst developed in our laboratory. With respect to the aldol reaction between cyclohexanone and 4-nitrobenzaldehyde, deionised water was always a superior medium to salt solutions though some correlation to increasing anion size and depression in enantiomeric excess could be observed. Additionally, the complete inhibition of catalyst activity observed when employing tap water could be alleviated by the inclusion of ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) into the aqueous media prior to reaction initiation. Extension of these reaction conditions demonstrated that these ionic effects vary on a case-to-case basis depending on the ketone/aldehyde combination

“Mi amparo y Fortaleza”: Seeing Psalms through a Trans-Iberian Worldview in Espejo fiel de vidas (Life’s True Mirror)

This article studies Espejo fiel de vidas (Life’s True Mirror, 1720) of Daniel Israel López Laguna as an example of Baroque Spanish poetry that reworks the book of Psalms for an audience that like the author were conversos, or New Christians, that is, Spanish and Portuguese Catholics of Jewish origin and their descendants. Likewise, it studies the geographic and spiritual journey of one such Iberian New Christian through the Hispano-Portuguese Jewish diaspora who became a practicing Jew upon settling in Jamaica. Besides showing elements of this journey in López Laguna’s paraphrase of Psalms, the article explores how the poet incorporates features of Golden Age Baroque Spanish into his text. As a result, it positions López Laguna as a Jewish and Spanish author in ways that never seem incongruous, despite the exclusion of Jews from Spain and Portugal during the two centuries before he wrote the poem. Our analysis of specific passages of Espejo fiel de vidas shows how López Laguna navigates a hybrid worldview reflective of his years living first as a New Christian and subsequently as a “New Jew.” The following pages accompany the poet on this journey by situating Espejo fiel within his lived experiences; connecting the poem to trends of converso and Baroque Spanish literature; and discussing how the spiritual wandering, or peregrinaje, and Inquisitorial consciousness that permeate the text represent the converso condition

Influence and Its Opposite: Presence and Absence in the Work of Harold Bloom

In the years since he formulated and expanded on it in The Anxiety of Influence (1973), A Map of Misreading (1975), and Kaballah and Criticism (1975), Harold Bloom\u27s theory of the anxiety of influence has engendered more ambivalence than serious investigation into his theory and its influences. In part, the ambivalence is due to Bloom\u27s persona, which irritates the academic left and right alike. Surprisingly, it is not Bloom\u27s defense of canonicity against post-structural Marxism, feminism, and New Historical criticism that generates the most resistance; instead, Bloom\u27s dissenters more often come from the ranks of conservative traditionalists who might be expected to support him. The reaction of traditionalist critics to Bloom\u27s work stems from a recognition and rejection of how deeply antithetical Bloom\u27s hallmark theory really is in relation to the prevailing understanding of literary influence. Taking his cues from Deconstruction, the fiercely revisionistic mystical traditions of Gnosticism and Kaballah, the philosophy of Nietzsche, and the meditations of Emerson, Bloom\u27s theory is revealed—to one\u27s delight or dismay—as profoundly agonistic. Nevertheless, a close reading of these influences of Bloom\u27s reveal a profound life-affirming humanism that ceaselessly quests for Gnosis in all literature

The long reach of sponsorship: How fan isolation and identification jointly shape sponsorship performance

© American Marketing Association 2018. Globalization and technology have expanded the reach of sports teams, giving brand sponsors new opportunities to engage and build relationships in real time with fans outside a team’s home market. This research investigates the role of fan isolation, or the experience of feeling separated from the team community, in shaping sponsorship effectiveness. The authors posit that such isolation increases the desire to affiliate with the team community, which can increase preferences for team-linked brands. However, the effect of isolation on sponsor performance depends on the strength of fan identification. Isolation increases strong fans’ desire to affiliate with the team community, thereby enhancing sponsorship performance; by contrast, isolation causes weak fans to avoid team-linked brands. Two field studies and four quasi experiments conducted across three countries (N = 1,412) confirm these predictions. Isolated strong fans exhibit increased recall, attitudes, purchase intentions, and word of mouth for sponsors, while isolated weak fans display the opposite effects. For brand managers, the proposed framework reveals whether isolated fans provide the best or worst returns on their sponsorships