Anthropology Research
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Meyers Spring Archaeological SurveyPI: Dr. Brett A. Houk, Assistant Professor Project Dates: On-going, 2007 to present. Summary: Through a gift from a private individual, Texas Tech archaeologists are conducting an intensive archaeological survey to document the nature and condition of the cultural resources in a 600-acre parcel of land in Terrell County, Texas. The project is being conducted for the Rock Art Foundation, which has an archaeological easement on the tract. The project area is home to two National Register properties: Bullis’ Camp Site and the Meyers Springs Pictograph Site. The former includes the ruins of Fort Meyers, a temporary camp used in the 1870s–1880s by Lieutenant John L. Bullis and Black-Seminole Indian Scouts detached from Ft. Clark. The other National Register property is a rock shelter where, in 1935, Forrest Kirkland recorded a large rock art panorama representing at least three periods of paintings. Texas Tech’s investigations include assessments of the historic component, the rock art site, and previously unrecorded prehistoric features across the project area. The work will lead to two MA thesis as well as multiple presentations, articles, and reports. |
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Documenting and Describing the Jarai Language: an Endangered Language of Vietnam and North AmericaPI: Dr. Jeff Williams, Professor of Anthropology Project Dates: On-going Jarai is linguistically important for a number of reasons. As one of only a handful of Austronesian languages spoken on the mainland of Southeast Asia, it provides insights and clues into larger Austronesian linguistic prehistory and history. Jarai contacts with surrounding ethnolinguistic groups speaking various Tai and Mon-Khmer languages have resulted in the diffusion of grammatical features and lexical items into the language. The project has resulted in the development of an edited book proposal currently under review by Cambridge University Press entitled Grammatical Aesthetics in the Mainland Southeast Asia Linguistic Area. Scholars from several countries with research expertise on most of the language families of the region will contribute chapters focusing on the intersection of the aesthetic and grammatical components of speech in genres such as poetry, song, and reduplicative forms. |
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La Milpa Core ProjectPI: Dr. Brett A. Houk, Assistant Professor Project Dates: On-going, 2007 to present. Summary: The La Milpa Core Project (LMCP) has been investigating the southern plazas at La Milpa, Belize each summer since 2007. La Milpa is the third largest Maya ruin in Belize and was occupied for nearly 1,500 years. The LMCP has been funded by the cost-sharing Field School in Maya Archaeology each season and by an internal Research Enhancement Fund (REF) grant during the 2009 season. The REF grant was used to investigate Structure 21, the fifth largest pyramid at La Milpa. The LMCP has made significant discoveries relating to the nature of Plaza B at La Milpa, radically altering the previously established architectural history for the site and uncovering important information regarding ritual planning during the Late Classic period (ca. A.D. 600–800). New radiocarbon dates from multiple contexts have shown that La Milpa was occupied for as much as a century longer than previously believed. The research of the LMCP is resulting in several MA theses, an undergraduate honors thesis, and numerous papers, reports, and articles by the PI. |
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Casilina East Service Area Archaeological ProjectProject Consultant: Dr. Robert Paine, Professor Project Dates: On-going, 2006 to present. Summary: This is contact archaeology project that involves the recovery and paleopathological assessment of the Roman Republic and Imperial Roman period burials from the archaeological site of Aquinum, Italy. The archaeological and paleopathological company working this site is Charun S.r.l. of Rome. The site was discovered as part of a motorway service area (The Casilina East Service Area) construction project in part sponsored by the interest group Autostrade. The Roman town of Aquinum is near the modern city of Casilina, Italy. The burials date from the 2nd century BC to 2nd century AD. During the 2007 field season 125 burials were recorded and examined. The most interesting individual examined so far is a male suffering from leprosy. The paleopathological analysis has been presented at the American Association of Physical Anthropologists in 2008. The 2009 field season uncovered over 250 additional burials; they have yet to be examined. One tomb yielded over 100 burials. The paleopathological assessment of the newly recovered burials will continue in 2009–2010. |
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