Theses and Dissertations
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Item Open Access U.S.-driven agricultural development: narratives, knowledges, and practices directed towards northern Ethiopia's agro-pastoral landscapes(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2025) Walder-Hoge, Zoey, author; Galvin, Kathleen, advisor; Hausermann, Heidi, committee member; Chennault, Carrie, committee member; Çavdar, Gamze, committee memberThis dissertation examines the narratives and practices underpinning U.S.-led agricultural development interventions in Ethiopia from 2010 to 2024. This period marks a shift in the development discourse, exemplified by the launch of the U.S. government's Feed the Future (FtF) initiative in 2009 and the Locally Led Development (LLD) initiative in 2021. The U.S. government has been one of the largest donors to Ethiopia, and development interventions targeting smallholder agriculture are frequently framed as key strategies for addressing food insecurity and adapting to climate change. Despite this, there has been limited investigation into the narratives and practices that shape U.S.-led agricultural development policy in Ethiopia between 2010 and 2024.Grounded in critical development studies, political ecology, and feminist critiques, this research investigates how development practitioners conceptualize agricultural development, define success, and engage with local agricultural knowledge systems and agroecological conditions in northern Ethiopia. This study primarily uses a qualitative approach, employing discourse analysis to examine policy documents, transcripts from development meetings, conferences, and workshops, as well as semi-structured interviews with development practitioners. Through these sources, I explore how development goals are framed, how local knowledge—particularly women's agricultural knowledge and agrobiodiversity practices—is integrated or marginalized, and how institutional constraints and the politicized nature of the development industry shape development practices and impede investigations into development. Research findings reveal that while narratives of local ownership have become prominent within U.S. development discourse, U.S.-led development efforts continue to prioritize technocratic and market-oriented interventions. These approaches frequently overlook or undermine context-specific knowledge systems that support smallholder farmer resilience and autonomy. However, Ethiopian development practitioners often have divergent understandings of development, and the roles local communities should play within interventions. Furthermore, the development industry is shaped by institutional barriers and limited transparency, which constrains both research into the industry and the industry's capacity to evolve. Overall, this dissertation contributes to ongoing debates surrounding agricultural development by examining how Western logics and narratives are utilized, how development expertise is employed, and what this means for more locally and ecologically grounded support for smallholder farming communities.Item Open Access Towards reconstructing cities with AI: a novel machine learning approach for automated archaeological surveying and preservation by learning canopy structures(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2025) Redford, Nicholas, author; Fisher, Chris, advisor; Tulanowski, Elizabeth, committee member; Leisz, Stephen J., committee memberArchaeological landscapes face increasing threats from climate change and human activity, necessitating scalable methods for site detection. LiDAR has revolutionized archaeological surveys by revealing features beneath dense vegetation, but manual interpretation remains labor-intensive. This study introduces an Automated Archaeological Survey Method (AASM) that utilizes machine learning to analyze tree canopy structures as proxies for underlying archaeological features. Using a LiDAR-derived digital canopy model (DCM), the Bi-path Ensemble (BPE) model predicts the locations of the land-use typologies of "public" and "private" space at Angamuco. The model evaluation shows moderate to high agreement between predicted and true labels, particularly for dense public and un-terraced private spaces. These results suggest that vegetation patterns can serve as reliable indicators of past human activity, offering a scalable approach for prioritizing areas for archaeological surveys. By integrating creative computational methods with remote sensing data, this study advances the use of machine learning in archaeological landscape reconstruction.Item Open Access 3-D micromorphological comparison of human and carnivore tooth marks(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2025) Gniewek, Erin M., author; Pante, Michael C., advisor; Glantz, Michelle M., committee member; Boone, Randall B., committee memberThe archaeological record may reveal a deep history of ancient human cannibalism, but modern researchers face substantial challenges when it comes to confirming such a history. While archaeologists often examine ancient human remains for signs of human consumption (cut marks, burned bone, etc.), such evidence is only suggestive of ancient human cannibalism, not definitive – as these markings could result from non-consumptive practices, such as artistic modifications, funerary rituals, and natural fires. The most direct evidence of ancient human cannibalism is the presence of human tooth marks on ancient human bone, as these marks can be directly linked to the act of consumption. However, due to similarities between human and carnivore tooth marks, distinguishing between the two when using traditional analytical methods is challenging. Therefore, the goals of this research were twofold: one, to develop a quantitative database that accurately characterizes the morphology of human tooth marks, and two, to statistically compare human tooth mark data with that of carnivores to develop more reliable human tooth mark identification criteria. An experiment was conducted in which ten human participants consumed the meat of two cooked pig bones using only their teeth, producing a total of 126 human tooth marks. These marks were then 3-D scanned using a Sensofar S Neox 3-D optical profilometer and subsequently measured using Digital Surf's MountainsMap® software. Lastly, the human tooth marks were statistically compared to 898 experimentally produced bone surface modifications of known origin, including 275 carnivore tooth marks. Results indicate that human tooth marks are distinguishable from those produced by carnivores – 91.3% of the 126 human tooth marks were correctly classified as human-made when compared to the sample of 275 carnivore tooth marks. Additionally, human tooth marks were classified correctly 86.5% of the time when compared to 898 experimentally produced bone surface modifications including stone tool cut marks, trample marks, hammerstone percussion marks, and carnivore tooth marks. Overall, this 3-D analysis and statistical comparison demonstrates that human tooth marks are quantitatively distinct from carnivore tooth marks and other bone surface modifications. Applying these findings to the archaeological record will significantly advance researchers' understanding of ancient human diets related to the consumption of meat and bone, including those that may even be cannibalistic.Item Open Access Population and empire: a new demographic model for the Purépecha Imperial heartland(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2025) Shirey, Benjamin F., author; Fisher, Christopher T., advisor; Leisz, Stephen J., committee member; Tulanowski, Elizabeth, committee memberThis thesis investigates the demographic processes involved in Purépecha Imperial consolidation and administration in the Late Postclassic Period (1350-1520 CE) with respect to demographic scale and distribution. In doing so, I present a new regional demographic model for the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin (LPB), Michoacán, Mexico, which formed the heartland of the Purépecha Empire in the Late Postclassic period. This region was home to the imperial capital Tzintzuntzan, several other dense urban centers. In the last thirty years, researchers have discovered significant new settlements in this region, including the expansive urban zone of Angamuco, but published estimates for the size, distribution, and makeup of its population have not kept up with these discoveries. Key questions regarding state consolidation and administration in relation to demographic scale, distribution, and dynamics all rely on accurate information about population and therefore demand a new, systematic demographic study. This project synthesizes highly precise data on settlement size and density from recent LiDAR surveys of the LPB with ground survey and insights from settlement scaling theory to construct an up-to-date regional settlement demographic model for this understudied Mesoamerican region. The model shows that the LPB population existed on a much greater scale than previously imagined, clustered in a diverse array of highly developed urban settlements. This more accurate model of the scale and distribution of the Purépecha population provides insights into the conditions in which the empire arose, the political strategies employed by its rulers, and the devastating effects of Spanish colonization. This project contributes not only to all future Purépecha scholarship, but also broadly to our knowledge of the diverse forms of social organization and the relationship between population and the state in prehispanic Mesoamerica.Item Open Access Modeling spatial and temporal variability in a Folsom lithic scatter: views from the Reddin site, San Luis Valley, Colorado(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2025) Meyer, Kelton A., author; LaBelle, Jason M., advisor; Pante, Michael C., committee member; Van Buren, Mary, committee member; Shaby, Ben A., committee memberThis dissertation explores Folsom mobility and campsite organization through the analysis of the Reddin site (5SH77), San Luis Valley, southern Colorado. Current models of Folsom mobility in the region focus on sites with buried and spatially discrete components, often representing single occupation events associated with bison hunting, lithic procurement, seasonal aggregation, or a combination of these activities. Reddin is a surface scatter of lithic debris lacking a buried horizon, but it includes a large Folsom assemblage and exhibits evidence of multiple occupations. Lithic analysis suggests Reddin was a place used for residential downtime and retooling broken equipment. I applied spatial statistical methods to detect multiple Folsom camps at the site using artifacts commonly associated with residential areas. Reddin contains at least 14 Folsom camps averaging more than 160 m distant, each with variable artifact densities. I then explored Folsom mobility patterns in each cluster by calculating mean per capita occupation span, based on artifact accumulation over time. I developed a new method of calculating occupation span using the steady accumulation of burned lithic debris, a common attribute of Folsom campsite spaces. The results indicate that each campsite was used for different lengths of time, representing a spectrum of Folsom mobility strategies used in the Valley's center. Multiple Folsom occupations at Reddin suggest the formation of a local cultural geography, which likely evolved in complexity with sequential visits to the site. Unless otherwise noted, all data, tables, maps, and figures in this dissertation were produced by the author.Item Embargo Land reform, liberalization, and livelihoods: negotiated transformations in Vietnam's northern mountain region(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2025) Chittenden, Thomas, author; Leisz, Stephen J., advisor; Cohen, Adrienne J., committee member; Luna, Jessie K., committee memberThis thesis project examines the relationship between ongoing processes of land reform, economic liberalization, and livelihood strategies among ethnic minority uplanders in the northern mountain region of Vietnam. Đổi Mới, roughly translating to "renovation" describes a period of economic liberalization beginning in 1986. Since the beginning of the Đổi Mới reforms, the Vietnamese government has passed a series of land laws intended to dissolve the collective agricultural system enforced during the revolutionary (1946 - 1975) and state socialist periods (1976 - 1986). De-collectivization in the northern uplands involves extensive land allocation. Land previously managed by agricultural collectives is distributed to households via the issuance of land use rights certificates. Land use rights certificates define land boundaries and dictate acceptable land uses based on officially recognized land cover types. Land reform in the uplands is accompanied by the continuance and intensification of anti-swidden (slash and burn) policies and initiatives, which date back to the French colonial period. In Tat, a small ethnic minority Tây community in the Hòa Bình province of the northern mountain region, uplander reactions to land reform have brought about significant transformations within the local livelihood system to meet the demands of a rising market economy. Based on semi-structured interviews, transect walks and field notes produced after a research trip to Tat, I argue that the customary practice of swidden agriculture has played an important role in new state systems for upland resource extraction despite its official discouragement. Further, I argue that ethnic minority uplanders define the process of land reform itself by negotiating, defying, or ignoring the enforcement of land use rights certificates. The results of this project pose important insights into the ongoing, informal processes that ultimately shape the influence of government policy at the local level.Item Open Access Food and Black livingness in the South Carolina Midlands(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Ross, Reagan A., author; Chennault, Carrie, advisor; Du, Andrew, committee member; Attai, Nikoli, committee memberThis thesis explores how food, food spaces, and food sharing practices play a role in the lives of Black women in Newberry County, South Carolina. In particular, it explores how power relations take shape at the intersection of southern foodways and Black geographies via the everyday and intimate practices in the lives of Black women and their communities. Using ethnographic methods informed by Black feminist and community-engaged methodologies, I collaborated with community members in Newberry County over the summer and winter of 2023 to document and examine how plantation histories have impacted intergenerational knowledge sharing and feelings of personal and community empowerment, and how community members rely on themselves and one another, particularly through food sharing practices, to defy ongoing systematic oppressions. Using a critical and Black feminist approach, the first empirical chapter explores the connection between creativity and care work in food sharing practices when examined as an expression of aesthetic labor. Looking to Black geographies and Black feminist scholarship, the second empirical chapter explores how community members employ self-intimacy and spirituality as intimate strategies of resistance and liberatory world-build in and through food spaces. The motivation for this thesis came first and foremost from the desires of community members to document and preserve their knowledges, particularly those related to food and its impact on their lives and communities. This research is also intended to contribute to geographic and critical food literature by calling into question the ways in which much of southern foodways and southern foodways scholarship have sought to erase Black geographies and, even more importantly, by centering Black life, livingness, and sense of place in food spaces.Item Open Access Chronology, spatial organization, and mobility at Flattop Butte (5LO34), a prehistoric lithic quarry in the Central Plains of North America(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Madden, Robert J., author; LaBelle, Jason M., advisor; Orsi, Jared, committee member; Van Buren, Mary, committee memberThis thesis reports on the results of an archaeological investigation at Flattop Butte (5LO34), a prehistoric lithic quarry located in northeastern Colorado. The site is an important location in the prehistory of the Central Plains of North America because it is the source of Flattop chalcedony, a cryptocrystalline tool stone used by ancient peoples for over 13,000 years, since the time that humans first entered the region. Sources of high-quality tool stone are uncommon, and separated by vast distances, in the Central Plains. This fact made Flattop Butte an essential destination for ancient, Indigenous Native American groups operating in the region, who visited it again and again for millennia, each time leaving evidence of their presence. Despite this importance, Flattop Butte has been the subject of only cursory archaeological investigation prior to the work reported here. Indeed, the vast majority of what is known about Flattop Butte comes not from the site itself, but rather from distant locations where Flattop chalcedony is found in the archaeological assemblages of ancient groups who used this lithic material for tool making. This thesis then represents an attempt to begin to lift the veil on Flattop Butte, and to explore it as an important archaeological site in its own right. It is a place that has much to say about the ancient peoples of the Central Plains, but only if some sense can be made of the seemingly incomprehensible mass of intermixed cultural materials and byproducts that were deposited on its surface and in its depths over hundreds of generations. With this goal in mind, the archaeological investigation reported here was designed to gather evidence at Flattop Butte relevant to three foundational research questions. The first is the chronology of use of the site, i.e., when was Flattop Butte used as a lithic source, and when were particular locations at the site used for these purposes? The second research question relates to spatial organization, i.e., where at the site did ancient groups carry out their lithic procurement activities, and did they segregate this work into separate, specialized activity areas? The final question relates to the effect, if any, that quarrying tool stone at Flattop Butte had on the mobility patterns of the ancient groups that visited the site for this purpose. Specifically, were these groups engaged in "embedded" procurement incidental to their subsistence rounds, having little impact on their overall mobility patterns, or were they engaged in "direct" procurement, making special trips to the site having significant impacts on their mobility patterns? Evidence relevant to these questions was gathered at Flattop Butte through survey and excavation. In addition, a literature review of the offsite use of Flattop chalcedony through time was conducted. The results of these efforts are reported here. On the question of chronology, it was found that Flattop Butte was continuously exploited as a lithic source in all prehistoric periods, for over 13,000 years. In addition, specific locations were identified at the site with evidence suggesting specific activities that took place at specific times, including a possible Paleoindian period secondary reduction workshop, two possible Archaic period workshops, and a Late Prehistoric period quarry pit. On the question of spatial organization, evidence was gathered suggesting that at various times ancient peoples organized their production of lithic materials at Flattop Butte into distinct task locations – quarry pit areas, secondary reduction workshops, and habitations – that were placed at a distance from each other on the butte. Finally, on the question of mobility, evidence suggests a high level of both logistical organization and labor investment in lithic production at Flattop Butte, as well as frequent long-distance transport of Flattop chalcedony, indicating that some of the groups that acquired Flattop chalcedony at the site were engaged in special-purpose "direct" procurement, around which their mobility patterns had to be arranged.Item Open Access Semillas de concienca | seeds of consciousness: sowing change from the Ecuadorian highlands(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Radford, Hope, author; Kwiatkowski, Lynn, advisor; Souza, Caridad, committee member; Van Buren, Mary, committee memberThis thesis is a small part of Pintag Amaru's story, and mine. I met Pintag Amaru – a small Kichwa organization in Ecuador – in 2022, and this work is the fruit of our collaboration. Focusing broadly on sumak kawsay, a Kichwa principle engaged in Ecuador's 2008 constitution, our research explores Pintag Amaru's understanding, and living out, of the concept. Sumak kawsay has gained recent attention in scholarship as a grassroots "alternative" to the paradigm of international development, but this conversation has rarely included the voices of Indigenous communities at the heart of sumak kawsay's conception and practice. Engaging the central analytical lens of post-development theory and a diversity of anthropological qualitative research methods including participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups, I explore sumak kawsay through perspectives of – and relationship with – the people of Pintag Amaru. Built collaboratively from the onset, our work seeks to convey Pintag Amaru's grounded understandings on sumak kawsay, development, and their relation as they navigate today's world. Though they see the state's use of sumak kawsay as a co-option of a profoundly expansive and dynamic principle, I find Pintag Amaru conveys creativity and depth of autonomous efforts towards Indigenous resurgence, and sumak kawsay as part of it. They face challenges within the structures of a dominant development paradigm, but navigate these structures strategically to live sumak kawsay out amidst them. Through this work, too, I've come to understand sumak kawsay is dynamic, and deeply tied to place; it is not a prescription for us to replicate. I do believe, however, it is a view of the possible. We hope that this thesis, if nothing else, can offer such an opening – one seed of many – rooting in the cracks of decaying structures to grow something new.Item Open Access Circles, birds, and soil: experience across the itinerary of Pinson's Eastern Enclosure(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Kitteringham, Lia G., author; Henry, Edward R., advisor; Van Buren, Mary, committee member; Harry, Dennis, committee memberThe Eastern Precinct of Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park in Tennessee encompasses Middle Woodland earthworks including the large Eastern Enclosure, Mound 29, and Mound 30. A paucity of investigation in comparison to other parts of the site has left large gaps in our understanding of these features and their relationships to the rest of Pinson and the Middle Woodland Southeast and Midwest. To address these gaps, I apply geophysical and geoarchaeological techniques to reconstruct the itinerary of this landform. Both North American Indigenous and Western perspectives on mnemonic landscapes, places, and experiences in relation to earthworks like the Eastern Enclosure are evaluated to form an interpretive framework for this data. My findings include the assertion that Pinson's Mound 30 is a bird effigy mound, that the Eastern Enclosures itinerary progresses from activities before earthmoving to preparatory removal of A-Horizon soils across its extent, through several phases of construction and continues with meaningful interactions between person and place even after earthworks are completed. This research also enables me to compare this landscape temporally, spatially, and morphologically to other enclosures across the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee River Valleys during the Middle Woodland period.Item Open Access Unpacking the trunk: pelvic-thoracic relationships in modern Homo sapiens(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Shaw, Zoë G., author; Glantz, Michelle, advisor; Du, Andrew, committee member; Throckmorton, Zachary, committee memberIt is generally accepted that throughout the history of the genus Homo, shifts in body morphology have aligned with the emergence of distinct hominin populations (Ruff, 1991, 1994, 2010; Schmid et al., 2013; Walker & Leakey, 1993). The human trunk, comprised of the ribcage, pelvis, and spine, contributes the most to overall body shape. However, how the thorax and pelvis are morphologically related in modern humans is not well understood. The fragmented nature of the human fossil record poses challenges in reconstructing the morphology of the trunk. Research on extant nonhuman ape morphology has suggested covariance between the inferior ribcage and upper pelvis, and it has been proposed that this pattern holds for premodern hominin groups (Schmid, 1983; Schmid et al., 2013). This expectation of covariance between the upper and lower portions of the trunk has allowed researchers to infer body shape and size with incomplete remains (Schmid, 1983; Schmid et al., 2013; Jellema et al., 1993). However, recent findings have served to challenge previously accepted trends in hominin body shape, calling into question whether the hominin trunk is integrated as was previously thought (Arsuaga et al., 1999; Day, 1971; Rosenberg, 2007; Simpson et al., 2008). The current study expands on previous work by Torres-Tamayo et al. (2018, 2020). Five linear measurements from a mixed sample of 85 living humans were taken from computed topography scans rendered in 3D. Results suggest a minimal correlation between pelvic dimensions and inferior ribcage width, with some variations observed by sex. Understanding this relationship in modern humans aids in evaluating researchers' expectations when interpreting past hominin body shapes and offers new insights into the origins of modern human and neandertal anatomy. Since evidence of integration is weak, results suggest that the thorax and pelvis may be under different selective pressures in modern H. sapiens.Item Open Access Political dimensions of livelihood transformation of the Indigenous Ata Modo people in Komodo National Park, Indonesia(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Afioma, Gregorius, author; Galvin, Kathleen A., advisor; Kwiatkowski, Lynn, committee member; Stevis, Dimitris, committee memberThis paper examines the political dimensions of the livelihood changes of the Indigenous Ata Modo people in Komodo National Park (KNP), Indonesia. Established in 1980, KNP is well-known as the natural habitat of the renowned Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). What is less known is that KNP is also the home of the local communities of Ata Modo. The Ata Modo people have changed their livelihoods from hunting, gathering, and farming to fishing and the tourism economy in response to processes of enclosure, dispossession, and dissolution of the protected area through various interventions from colonial times to recent years. Political economy critique tends to overlook the local dynamic, while the institutional framework of livelihood analysis tends to depoliticize livelihood adaptation as the economic survival mechanism. Using the framework of political ecology, this paper explores the political dimensions of livelihood transformation and the subject-making process of the Ata Modo people. Through livelihood adaptations, I emphasize the individual and collective agency in navigating their access and control over the resources around the park. This research is based on the ethnographic materials I collected during 2016-2022. Through the study of Indigenous Ata Modo's agency and their engagement with various regimes of conservation in KNP, I argue that the Indigenous Ata Modo's livelihood adaptation is an act of positioning in relation to the power dynamics of conservation and neoliberal conservation and ecotourism project. While continuously marginalized by the fortress and neoliberal models of conservation, the Indigenous Ata Modo continue to define and build their livelihoods through everyday and spectacular acts of resistance, occupation, and incorporation. By focusing on the struggle and livelihood adaptations of the Indigenous Ata Modo, this paper contributes to the study of the interlinkage between conservation, ecotourism, and community engagement in development.Item Open Access Unbelievably deep: a chronological assessment of the Hells Midden site (5MF16), Castle Park, Colorado(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Little, Spencer T., author; LaBelle, Jason M., advisor; Van Buren, Mary, committee member; Cooperman, Matthew, committee memberDuring the 1940s, the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History conducted archaeological investigations of sites in the Castle Park region of the Yampa River. One of these sites, Hells Midden, was recognized early in this work as a significant site for the depth of deposits and their ability to provide a sequence of occupation within this region of the Yampa Canyon where many Fremont sites had been recently described. The cultural stratigraphy at this site, exceeding four meters in depth, was expected to provide a chronological sequence which could be used for relative dating of other sites in the region. Intensive excavation of the site in 1948 and '49, and smaller excavations in 1940 and '47, revealed an intact stratigraphic sequence at the site with relatively high densities of material deposits. Despite recognition of the site's potential, little work has been done with the assemblage since the initial curation and reporting. This thesis summarizes the results of a reanalysis of the Hells Midden assemblage. Research goals for this project were derived from questions the initial archaeologists had about these deposits: how old are they?, and how did settlement strategy expressed at the site change through time? The results of thirteen radiocarbon dates of the assemblage show a deep sequence of occupation, beginning intensively in the early Middle Archaic era (from a depth of 350 cmbs) and continuing through the Fremont occupations; an absence of dates was noted for the Late Archaic era despite contiguity of the stratigraphy. Fremont occupations were shown to agree with the sequence secured through previous radiometric work at nearby sites. For the second question, a comparison of the assemblage collected from each excavated context in 1948 and '49 was conducted by ranking multiple quantifiable metrics derived from artifactual analysis. These data, when compared with notes of the excavators and description of features through much of the site's vertical extent, suggest a relatively intensive use of this site throughout the period represented by the radiocarbon sequence, with a marked increase in the sedentism expressed by inhabitants during the Formative era Fremont occupations. The sum of these results offers insight into the Hells Midden site which makes it ripe for comparison to the regional archaeological record.Item Open Access The Protohistoric period in northcentral Colorado: analysis of the Lykins Valley Site (5LR263)(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Newton, Cody Collins, author; LaBelle, Jason M., advisorThe Lykins Valley Site (5LR263) is a Protohistoric-aged site that contains both items of European manufacture and items such as stone tools associated with precontact indigenous technology. The site is a small group campsite occupied in a single event or multiple annual events possibly by a Cheyenne or Comanche group. Temporal analysis of the site indicates that the site was occupied shortly after A.D. 1800. This analysis of the Lykins Valley site is used as a stepping-off point to address larger questions about native acceptance of European technologies, the degree to which the western-central Great Plains were actually impacted by European intrusion and site types of the Protohistoric Period. This study finds that the region including Lykins Valley was not greatly affected by direct European contact until after the beginning of the 1800's, coinciding with the fur trade era. The Protohistoric occupation of 5LR263 exemplifies a native group that was fully equestrian, had somewhat integrated European technology into their culture via trade good acquisition, but was still reliant on pre-contact technology.Item Open Access Exploring the use and life of Mantle's Cave (5MF1) through spatial analysis(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Brooks, Erika Thiel, author; LaBelle, Jason M., advisor; Van Buren, Mary, committee member; Payne, Sarah, committee memberRediscovered in the early 1900s, the captivating artifacts from Mantle's Cave (5MF1) caught the attention of enthusiasts and archaeologists alike. Nestled above the banks of the Yampa River in Dinosaur National Monument, the alcove cave was used by the Fremont (A.D. 1-1350) peoples. The site's primary excavation was completed by Charles R. Scoggin and Edison P. Lohr from 1939-1940 who were employed by the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History. Their work generated the primary interpretation of the site as a storage facility and has been supported by subsequent research. This thesis works with the collection and archives related to the work of the University of Colorado to reconstruct how Mantle's Cave was used. Using literature on the markers of habitation, storage, and ritual behavior, this project evaluated how and where these elements were present at the site. This project found several markers of activity beyond storage was present at the site. An assessment of temporal data from the site was another component of this project. The results of this project suggest that Mantle's Cave was a place that Fremont people and some earlier people frequented to store items and complete a variety of everyday tasks.Item Open Access Archaeological investigations of high altitude sites near Monarch Pass, Colorado(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1990) Hutchinson, Lewis A., author; Eighmy, Jeffrey, advisor; Benedict, James B., committee member; Leyendecker, Liston, committee memberThe tundra and upper forest border north of Monarch Pass. in the central Colorado Rocky Mountains. contains a cluster of twelve sites. One of the sites. Water Dog Divide Game Drive, is an extensive system of rock alignments and associated hunting blinds. This site and other smaller systems in the Monarch site area are at present the southernmost documented examples of prehistoric timberline game drives along the Continental Divide. Cultural materials include projectile points. other flaked tools, groundstone and a broken ceramic vessel. Temporal periods indicated are 3000 B.C. to the historic. Two hunting blinds were excavated and three radiocarbon dates were obtained with corrected dates ranging from 900 A.D. - 1640 A.O. Four of the rock walls in the largest drive site contain a number of remnant wooden posts or sewels apparently used to help delineate the rock walls. It is hypothesized that the area was utilized on a seasonal basis to camp and communally hunt large game animals (bison, mule deer, elk. and mountain sheep). The sites may have been visited by peoples from the Plains. Great Basin. and Southwestern culture areas.Item Open Access Wildfires and precipitation in the lowlands of Guatemala: an analysis of precipitation and vegetation indices as potential wildfire drivers(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Malaker, Tanmoy, author; Leisz, Stephen J., advisor; Pons, Diego, committee member; Stevens-Rumann, Camille, committee memberWildfire is an inevitable natural disaster that is considered exclusive to dry and temperate regions. However, the increasing wildfire occurrences in tropical and humid forest regions urge us to investigate the drivers of this natural phenomenon for a humid forest region. Although wildfire is inevitable, it can be managed with proper strategies; thus, identifying the drivers of wildfire in humid and tropical regions is imperative. This thesis focuses on identifying the role of precipitation as a driver for wildfire occurrences and fuel generation for fires in a humid forest ecological system in the lowlands of Guatemala (Petén). Using the data library and cloud computation system of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), INAB (Instituto Nacional de Bosques/Guatemala's Forest Authority) fire records for Guatemala, and geospatial tools like GIS and Google Earth Engine, the thesis identifies the influence of precipitation on vegetation and wildfires in Petén. The findings suggest that precipitation's influence on Petén's wildfires is two-dimensional. Precipitation influences vegetation or total fuel generation and fire occurrences by influencing fuel availability by influencing green-up and the dry down of fuels in a humid forest ecosystem. This two-dimensional influence makes precipitation one of the most critical drivers of wildfire for tropical-humid forest ecology. Besides the seasonal accumulative precipitation, the precipitation pattern and amount at different times within a preceding season of the fire months highly influence vegetation conditions and fire frequencies. The findings also suggest that seasonal precipitation forecasting could potentially be a tool for wildfire management and forecasting.Item Open Access 5000 years at Crow's Roost in eastern Colorado(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1992) McDonald, Robert A., author; Jennings, Calvin H., advisor; Leyendecker, Liston, committee member; Zier, Christian, committee member; Theodoratus, Robert, committee memberMany areas on the high Plains of eastern Colorado have had little prehistoric research conducted on them. One of the areas where there is insufficient information about local prehistory is the area between the two major river drainages, the Arkansas and the Platte. Crow's Roost, a large sandstone cliff, located east of Colorado Springs, Colorado, is situated near this dividing line, known as the Palmer Divide. A series of prehistoric sites at Crow's Roost has been investigated over a period of five years by the Anthropology Department, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. These investigations indicate that there has been prehistoric occupation at this locality dating back at least 5400 years. This study presents an interpretation of the culture history, and of recent paleoclimatic fluctuations for this locality.Item Open Access An examination of Middle Woodland pre-mound contexts in the Ohio and southeast regions(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) King, Artemis, author; Henry, Edward, advisor; Hausermann, Heidi, committee member; Riep, David, committee memberMounds are one of the oldest forms of monumental architecture in North America and have been the fascination of archaeologists and antiquarians for centuries due to their large scale and association with intricate craft goods. However, much research into mounds has focused on their use as repositories for human remains or as potential platforms for elite housing and other architecture. This is true of the Hopewell archaeological culture of the Middle Woodland period, 300 BCE-500 CE, which has been the focus of archaeological inquiry due to its large ceremonial sites and material network of items coming to the Midwest and Southeast from as far as the Rocky Mountains or the Gulf Coast. Using legacy data for 13 sites throughout Ohio and the Southeast, I examine variability in pre-mound contexts to expand on mound research by focusing on this pre-natal stage which represents the activities that people conducted before the construction of the monument itself. Using a binary model of presences and absences, I look at 26 pre-mound attributes found across the 13 sites and 64 mounds in the study and use multivariate analysis in ArcGIS as an exploratory and pattern revealing tool. I argue that these contexts are incredibly varied, and that this lack of homogeneity is material evidence of the decisions made by people to overcome dissonance created by encountering varying cultural values for these important ritual events as well as evidence for a lack of a clear Hopewell model in either the Ohio and Southeast regions, instead arguing that both regions should be included in the larger discussion of Middle Woodland ceremonialism and exchange, rejecting a core and periphery model.Item Open Access Cuidate mija: power in everyday discourses about adolescent pregnancy in urban Ecuador(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Ortega, Cynthia, author; Kwiatkowski, Lynn, advisor; Snodgrass, Jeff, advisor; Souza, Caridad, committee memberAdolescent pregnancy is a phenomenon which is heavily contested by local, national, and international entities. Problematically, the topic is predominantly referred to as a "social problem," a view which is often rooted in pathologized narratives about young people and their sexual and reproductive lives. This critical ethnography challenges these narratives by centering the voices of young people and their experiences with sex, sexuality, and pregnancy in the urban cities of Quito and Cuenca, Ecuador. Drawing upon interviews with young women who have experienced pregnancy and professionals working with pregnant adolescents, as well as a survey distributed to male and female adolescents, I identify several dominant discourses related to adolescent pregnancy in urban Ecuador. I argue that these discourses are informed by raced, classed, gendered, and aged notions about young women and their sexual and reproductive lives. Through the lenses of critical-interpretive medical anthropology, governmentality, and reproductive justice, my findings show that young women negotiate these discourses, reproducing some aspects while rejecting others. I further contend that these discourses work through the lives and bodies of young women through different forms of power. Although these young women could identify their desires, emotions, and frustrations, they were restricted in their social and bodily autonomy during and after pregnancy. I conclude by offering suggestions for advancing sexual and reproductive justice for young people based on the experiences that were shared with me by young women.