Anthropological Studies Research Articles

Burial As a Social Ceremony (An Anthropological Study)

This research is an anthropological study that seeks to present the customs and traditions of burial ceremonies in the city of Erbil. Objectives of this research: An attempt to determine the indications and rituals of funerals according to the customs and traditions of the residents of the city of Erbil, to know and show us the extent to which these traditions affected the individual’s life residing in the city of Erbil. also specifying the changes that have taken place; The emergence of new methods and new customs related to funerals, and then the presentation of the functions performed by these ceremonies. The methodology used in the study are (ethnographic method, comparative method) and the intentional sample (rich cases sample) was used. The sample unit consisted of (10) individuals from the city of Erbil. The data collection methods used are: (interview, observation and participant observation).This research reached several results, including These ceremonies show the social status of the deceased, and at the same time strengthen and enhance social relations between individuals. Until now, these ceremonies have maintained their appreciation and sobriety, although some of their customs have changed and new traditions have emerged due to social changes and the Corona epidemic, such as: bringing female Quran reciters and Mawlid readings for a certain fee. The traditions of this ceremony remained the same among the poor and middle class, but the rich class exaggerated the material costs relatively. Concerning the prayer of dropping, and so this custom is not established and is performed mostly. Also, these ceremonies have functions (cultural, social, religious and psychological).

Contextualising Statelessness: Contingent Citizenship and The Politics of (non)Recognition in Thailand

AbstractThe legal evidentiary approach to “solving” statelessness can sometimes lead to the issue being framed in terms of certain groups of people not meeting objective citizenship criteria or lacking required legal documents. Building on critical interdisciplinary scholarship in anthropology, history and legal studies, this article demonstrates the “constructedness” of citizenship and statelessness through the lens of the politics of recognition and documentation. Using Thailand as a case study, I highlight how global economic, political and social contexts play a significant and dynamic role in delineating the legal line of membership. By tracing how Thai nationality has been instrumentalised by the state throughout the twentieth century, this article contextualises statelessness as a legal and social by-product of statemaking. As such, it challenges the framing of nationality as a non-discriminatory mode of recognition founded in legal objectivity and reiterates the politics of statelessness. In emphasising the fragility of citizenship when granted without genuine social, political and moral recognition, I argue that the objective of statelessness advocacy should not simply be about turning stateless persons into citizens, but rather about creating a more equitable society wherein one's rights are upheld regardless of legal status.

'Introduction'

The aim and scope of the Journal of Australian, Canadian, and Aotearoa New Zealand Studies (JACANZS) is to publish articles in various disciplines (history, politics, literature, law, anthropology, and Indigenous studies) on one or more of the the following countries: Australia, Canada, and Aotearoa New Zealand, with a core focus on articles that are comparative in their geographic remit, for example Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, or Australia and Canada. The creation of the journal responds to a lack of journals that collectively publish across the fields of Australian, Canadian, and Aotearoa New Zealand Studies from multi and interdisciplinary perspectives. It also followed the creation of the Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand Studies Network (ACNZSN) to reflect the work and membership of the network.

Conscientious Objection or Objecting to the Conscience?

Abstract In certain domains of contemporary life, political action connected to people's conscience is of central significance. But what is the conscience, and how may it be studied? Much of the anthropological study of conscientious objection has occurred in places where freedom of conscience is codified as a legal possibility. By contrast, this article investigates the social life of the conscience in Turkey, where discourse on freedom of conscience has been crucial to its system of laicism but which does not recognize the right of conscientious objection to conscription. Drawing upon the testimonies of refusers, it examines the qualities of conscience they reveal, showing their shared characteristics with the ethical subjectivity of objectors in ostensibly more liberal contexts. I adapt the term “forensic conscience” to describe these common characteristics, stressing their universal dimensions.

Macromorphometric Analysis of Metastatic Lesions in Bones due to Breast Cancer: Contribution to Human Identification.

This study aimed to report the metastatic lesions observed in identified skeletons whose deaths were caused by breast cancer complications to provide information and evidence that can be used in cases of human identification forensics. The research was conducted at the Centre for Forensic Anthropology Studies of the Faculty of Odontology of the University of Pernambuco (CEAF/FOP/UPE), Recife, Brazil. The data bank of the CEAF/FOP/UPE was searched for skeletons with the cause of death reported as due to breast cancer, resulting in five cases. The skeletons were arranged in anatomical positions and macroscopically inspected to register, describe and measure the lesions present to establish the macroscopic patterns of bone destruction caused by breast cancer. Of the five skeletons, two presented metastatic lesions. In the first, lesions were observed in a disseminated form, affecting almost all bones. The lesions were predominantly osteolytic and ellipsoid-shaped; however, mixed and circular lesions were also found. The second skeleton presented four lesions of mixed characteristics. The finding of bone lesions in the macroscopic analysis of skeletons may reveal a more advanced stage of the neoplasm, as well as its dissemination in areas little rich in hematopoietic tissue, such as the diaphyses of long bones, a situation widely observed in the first reported case. Besides providing more excellent knowledge of their macroscopic presentation, bone metastatic lesions may act as an individualizing factor in human identification cases, narrowing the sample of possible victims.

Sensing anthropology: A critical review of the sensorial turn in anthropology

This article aims to present the existing epistemological ties between the <i>sensorial turn</i> in anthropology and collaborative forms of production of knowledge in the framework of shared anthropology. From this perspective, the major debates in anthropology regarding the senses and emotions and their epistemological implications will be critically analyzed. The focus firstly lies on questioning those approaches that approach the senses and the body as another traditional subject for anthropological studies. Secondly, on exploring the existing misconceptions in the sensory approach. Thirdly, on claiming that the most valid form of exploring and presenting the state of experience is through integrating collaborative engagement of the subject, optimally through the framework of shared anthropology. Lastly, the potentials and advantages of audio-visual media and art in general as the medium of (re)presentation will be explored.

The Costs of Tenure in Higher Education: An Anthropological Perspective

Abstract Debates about tenure in American higher education have focused on morally freighted exemplary cases rather than the dynamics of organizational systems. This approach has generally assumed that tenure represents a financial drag on institutions. An analysis of tenure's organizational effects, however, reveals a more complex picture. Tenure supports a range of institutional practices that have direct—and calculable—resource implications. A detailed analysis for a public comprehensive college in the northeastern United States shows that the financial costs of ending tenure would substantially exceed the savings realized. Implications are drawn for American higher education and anthropological studies of complex institutions.

Remembering the Gender and Sexual Archive of the Black Diaspora in Tunisia: a Decolonial Approach to Historical Anthropology

The available studies on the cultural history of the Black diasporas in the Ottoman Mediterranean have focused on religious and other cultural manifestations, leaving out the inquiry about notions and practices related to gender and sexuality. Taking a cue from works on the Black Atlantic and the African continent, this article investigates the notions of gender and sexuality underlying the sub-Saharan worldviews and offers a template to interpret the subjecthood of enslaved sub-Saharans in the Maghribi diaspora. The first part of the essay lays out a historical contextualisation of the Black diaspora in early nineteenth-century Tunis. Then I take the reference to the practice of al-musāḥaqa (lesbianism) among the Black slaves in an 1808 Arabic manuscript as a starting point to investigate, by surveying different anthropological studies, whether al-musāḥaqa can be thought of as pertaining to the archive of sexual epistemology which the enslaved would have taken to Tunisia and, more importantly, to enquire into how we can understand it within a non-anthropocentric historical cosmology-which, ultimately, can contribute to the necessary decolonisation of feminist and queer studies, and history and anthropology more generally.

Anthropological study of dental indices in Bulgarian population.

A number of derived quantities (called dental indices) that characterize the shape and size of the teeth are calculated between the absolute dimensions of the teeth (mesiodistal, vestibulo-oral, and height of the dental crown).

Early Bronze Age violence in Ojo Guareña (Merindad de Sotoscueva, Burgos, Spain). Perimortem modifications in two male individuals

This paper analyses the taphonomic modifications of the human remains identified within Cueva Palomera, the main entrance to Ojo Guareña karstic system (Merindad de Sotoscueva, Burgos, Spain). The human skeletons were found deposited over the cave floor of two high, narrow and hard-to-reach sectors called Terraza del Enterramiento de la Galería Principal and Galería Sepulcral de la Sima Dolencias. Both sites represent primary depositions, in anatomical association and preserved partial joints but without grave goods. These humans are directly dated between 2000–1750 cal BC, suggesting that both events took place within a short time frame during the Early Bronze Age. The anthropological and taphonomic studies show that two adult male individuals suffered different types of lesions in their cranium, clavicle, and ribs, including traumatisms and cut marks. Taphonomic techniques have identified diagenetic and biostratinomic modifications, helping the assessment of their postmortem and perimortem interval. The morphological features of these modifications confirm that both individuals suffered lesions performed during the perimortem interval, suggesting their likely cause of death. The concentration of the injuries and the contemporaneity of both individuals are coherent with intentional anthropic action, indicating that they could result from a violent conflict.

Комплексное исследование индивидов из двух могил некрополя Кыз-Аул

Two graves of the 2 nd—3 rd centuries were found by the archaeological expedition to the Kyz-Aul necropolis in 2021. They contained remains of six individuals. We implemented an anthropological study of the skeletons and an archaeoparasitological analysis of soil samples. We identified sex and age and described pathological and individual features of the appearance of children and adults. An intravital artificial deformation of the skull was recorded in two adult individuals from grave 199. There are no signs of skull deformation in children from the same grave. Whipworm (Lat. Trichuris trichiura) eggs were found in soil samples from four out of six individuals. It is an intestinal parasite that enters the human body through the consumption of contaminated foods or unboiled water. The study showed that children and adults buried in the necropolis have many features characteristic of the settled population of the Northern Black Sea region, Rome and Roman provinces.

Этнические архетипы в первом саамском романе «Алхалалалай» Н. Большаковой

The article is a continuation of the research on the mythopoetics of the first Sami novel “Alkhalalalai”, written by N. Bolshakova. The authors aim to identify ethnic archetypes that have found expression in the work. The material for the analysis was the novel and some of the ethical archetypes in it. The study is based on a theoretical analysis of research in the field of a number of humanities, in particular, anthropology and cultural studies, mythology and folklore, literary studies, and ethnography; synthesis of the obtained data, methods of mythopoetic and linguoculturological analyses, comparative typological method. As a result of the study, the authors were able to identify and characterize ethnic archetypes that reflect the values and experience of a particular ethnic group. In the Sami literature, the appeal to the archaic is clearly expressed, which is explained by the comparative youth of the existence of the Sami written culture. The age-old oral traditions that form the basis of modern Sami literature provide a message of the past and present in the culture of the northern people. The study of the mythopoetics of the novel by N. Bolshakova from the point of view of ethnic archetypes was carried out for the first time, which is the novelty of the work. The archetypism of the work of ethnic writers helps to build a model of the world of the indigenous people of the North, to determine the specifics of national literature.

“When Everything Is Human, the Human Is an Entirely Different Thing …” Animal Powers in the Ancient Egyptian Demonic Imagery and Beyond

Abstract This article attempts a comparative analysis of the ancient Egyptian demonic imagery of animal and hybrid figures, according to anthropological studies and theories of perspectivism, as well as by referring to studies of Monster Theory and Cryptozoology. The aim is to disclose what kind of agency real and imaginary animals of the ancient Egyptian Duat (Beyond) possess and how it relates to the agency of humans and other non-human beings populating the Realm of the Dead.

Psy Fever/Psycho-Boom: The Mental Picture of a Transforming China

Since the beginning of the 21st century, there is a boom of popular participation in psychotherapy and training in urban China, which has attracted the attention of anthropologists who called this phenomenon a “psycho-boom” or “psy fever.” This article is a review of anthropological studies on this issue and discusses how psychotherapeutic knowledge and practice with western origin has been indigenized by Chinese psychotherapists as well as the emergence of a new form of self in this psycho-boom. Critical anthropologists tend to emphasize the connection between this psy fever and governmentality. This article shows the insights and blind spots of this perspective, calling for attention to the heterogeneity and agency of participants in this psy fever as well as the potentiality of psychotherapy as both expression and intervention for sufferings in the context of drastic social transformation.

Genomic and Phylogenetic Analysis of Bacillus cereus Biovar anthracis Isolated from Archival Bone Samples Reveals Earlier Natural History of the Pathogen.

(1) Background: Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis (Bcbva) was the causative agent of an anthrax-like fatal disease among wild chimpanzees in 2001 in Côte d'Ivoire. Before this, there had not been any description of an anthrax-like disease caused by typically avirulent Bacillus cereus. Genetic analysis found that B. cereus had acquired two anthrax-like plasmids, one a pXO1-like toxin producing plasmid and the other a pXO2-like plasmid encoding capsule. Bcbva caused animal fatalities in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic between 2004 and 2012. (2) Methods: The pathogen had acquired plasmids in the wild and that was discovered as the cause of widespread animal fatalities in the early 2000s. Primate bones had been shipped out of the endemic zone for anthropological studies prior to the realized danger of contamination with Bcbva. Spores were isolated from the bone fragments and positively identified as Bcbva. Strains were characterized by classical microbiological methods and qPCR. Four new Bcbva isolates were whole-genome sequenced. Chromosomal and plasmid phylogenomic analysis was performed to provide temporal and spatial context to these new strains and previously sequenced Bcbva. Tau and principal component analyses were utilized to identify genetic and spatial case patterns in the Taï National Park anthrax zone. (3) Results: Preliminary studies positively identified Bcbva presence in several archival bone fragments. The animals in question died between 1994 and 2010. Previously, the earliest archival strains of Bcbva were identified in 1996. Though the pathogen has a homogeneous genome, spatial analyses of a subset of mappable isolates from Taï National Park revealed strains found closer together were generally more similar, with strains from chimpanzees and duikers having the widest distribution. Ancestral strains were located mostly in the west of the park and had lower spatial clustering compared to more recent isolates, indicating a local increase in genetic diversity of Bcbva in the park over space and time. Global clustering analysis indicates patterns of genetic diversity and distance are shared between the ancestral and more recently isolated type strains. (4) Conclusions: Our strains have the potential to unveil historical genomic information not available elsewhere. This information sheds light on the evolution and emergence of a dangerous anthrax-causing pathogen.

Age and sex dependent differences in midline facial soft tissue thicknesses measured on MRI scans of Northwest Indian subjects: a forensic anthropological study

BackgroundHuman face is complex and intricate structure, with several features that are unique to each individual and can be taken as an identity pass in this mortal world. The facial profile of an individual holds materialistic value and is crucial for human identification. Present study aims to investigate the influence of sex and age of an individual on the soft tissue thicknesses (FSTT) at midline facial landmarks estimated on MRI scans.MethodsFacial soft tissue thickness was estimated at 20 midline landmarks on the MRI scans of 120 (57 male; 63 female) anatomically normal Northwest Indian adult subjects (18–70 + years age-group). Age and sex dependent variations in tissue thicknesses at different landmarks were estimated using statistical software IBM SPSS Statistics 23.ResultsThe results of the study yielded that most of the midline landmarks had higher values in males than in females indicating observable sexual dimorphism in FSTT values in this facial region, statistically significant differences were also noted in soft tissue thickness estimates of different age-groups, showing increasing or decreasing trend with age. The mid-facial landmarks like mid-philtrum, supra-dentale, incisor superius, and labile inferius displayed highly significant p values.ConclusionsPresent study results were in tandem with the findings of previous studies; males and younger age-group individuals were having higher tissue thickness values than the females and older individuals, respectively. The highest soft tissue estimates were obtained for the middle age subjects and the most aged individuals had the least midline soft tissue thickness values. These results can have significant forensic anthropological repercussions in attempting facial approximations on unknown skulls and identification of unknown individuals from still images, photographs or videos.

Women’s Sanctification in the Cultural Heritage of Lalla Mansoura Anthropological Study

This anthropological study aimed at monitoring women’s sanctification in the cultural heritage of Lalla Mansoura through representations related to the annual celebration there in with regards to its beliefs and rituals. It was also looked at through transgenerational traditional myths in the urban sphere of the Ancient Palace of Ouargla which is still representing the exploits of sanctification as it is considered the landmark of thrones. The Research instruments of this study are participant observation, in-depth interview and a sample of informants included the people of Lalla Mansoura and the regular attendees of the celebrations. The findings showed that such celebrations contributed to deepening the representations of women in the social structure. These representations are oscillating. At times, women are sanctified, and their position is risen to the ranks of Allies of God. At other times, women’s position is looked at as fragile, marginalized, and disputed.

Perspectival Kinaesthetic Imaging

Perspectival Kinaesthetic Imaging is being proposed as a method designed to facilitate the heightened sensitivity needed for the anthropological study of the relationship between making and thinking, during the creative engagement with form-generating materials. Technically, this objective is achieved through the juxtaposition of perspectival view points on the process of making. We follow the ways of the hand using a combination of multimodal visual captures (i.e., photography, video, observational drawing and mobile eye-tracking). Each of these multimodal visual captures affords a specific spatio-temporal perspective from which to identify and observe morphogenetic events of interest (e.g. creative gestures and modes of enactive signification). The basic idea is that the juxtaposition of different media affects how we observe and what can be observed by enabling the discovery of connections and material relations that are often obscured when seen from a single perspectival point.

Early Neolithic human remains from Galería del Sílex in Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain

We present new datings and a new anthropological study of Early Neolithic human remains found in Galería del Sílex in 1979. This gallery is part of the Cueva Mayor system in the Sierra de Atapuerca. The human fossils attributed to the Neolithic period correspond to a minimum number of three individuals that have been radiocarbon dated to the last third of the 6th millennium cal BCE. Thus, the fossils from Galería del Sílex are among the oldest Neolithic human remains in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula. The human remains from Galería del Sílex were not found within a domestic context of human occupation of the cave, but rather within two pits (simas) located more than three hundred meters from the ancient entrance. This suggests that Galería del Sílex could have been an area reserved for depositing deceased humans during the Early Neolithic. Given the scarcity of this kind of funerary cave in the Spanish northern plateau during the Early Neolithic, the data from the Galería del Sílex add to our knowledge of human mortuary behavior during this period. In addition to the Galería del Sílex, there are two other well-known Neolithic sites in Sierra de Atapuerca: El Portalón in Cueva Mayor, which was a human occupation site, and Cueva del Mirador, which was used for livestock stabling and exploitation. Considered altogether, the emerging evidence provided by these three sites makes Sierra de Atapuerca increasingly relevant as a source of information about Early Neolithic people from the interior of the Iberian Peninsula.

Knowledge and Pattern of Preventive Behaviors Among Relatives of Breast Cancer Patients in Yogyakarta Pre and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Breast cancer is still one of the leading causes of death in Indonesia. The multifactorial causes of breast cancer, including heredity, carries a risk for the sufferers’ relatives. Vigilance in female relatives of breast cancer patients increases due to hereditary risk factors for having the same disease. This anthropological study aimed to reveal the mosaic of breast cancer patients’ female relatives’ knowledge of such a risk and their efforts to prevent it. Qualitative data collection through interviews was conducted with 13 female family members of breast cancer patients in Yogyakarta aged 17-65 years. The data analysis was done through an emic approach by examining the informants’ views on the situation and their solutions. All of the informants believed that breast cancer is a malignant and deadly disease if it is not detected early and not properly treated. They were all fully aware of their risk as a family member to have the same disease. Their preventive measures included medical (early examination, breast self-examination, laboratory check, or consultation with the doctor) and non-medical (changes in eating and drinking behavior, reducing stress, exercising, and wearing masks). Besides, they also made religious efforts by praying to God to be given a healthy life and for the patients to be healed and their offspring to be free from this disease.