Students in the Bryn Mawr Anthropology Department have been busy researching human origins, growth, and development. Two students presented their research at the 88th Annual Meeting for the , which was March 27-30. James Frazier '19 and Makenna Lenover '19 presented their research posters in at the meetings in Cleveland, Ohio. Annika Lutzenhiser '19 presented at the in Portland, Ore., March 19-23.
Below are the abstracts of their work.
James Frazier '19
Early Pleistocene environmental shifts in East Africa saw the success of Paranthropus and early Homo corresponding with changes in faunal communities. Research on extant fauna suggests that success or decline at the global level is linked to both extrinsic variables (abiotic or geographic factors) and intrinsic life history variables. Similar dynamics may be detected in the fossil record and at smaller geographic scales. Our research seeks to determine whether population dynamics of Pleistocene large mammalian and primate fauna in East Turkana can be linked to different intrinsic and extrinsic factors at the sub-regional scale. The East Turkana Faunal Database and novel field collections were used to calculate rates of population decline for mammalian taxa in three East Turkana sub-regions around the paleo-lake Lorenyang. Fossil life history traits were inferred from their closest living analogues. Environmental data were collected from published literature.
Multiple regressions were used to quantify the relationship between percent change in relative abundance, and intrinsic and extrinsic predictor variables (diet, local environment, life history traits, body mass). Results suggest that population changes can be explained by different combinations of variables in different sub-regions. In sub-region farthest from the lake, life history variables explained more variance in population change than in sub-regions closer to the lake (adj. r2=0.494 vs. 0.307 and 0.283, respectively). In contrast to global studies, our results suggest a greater role for life history strategies at a sub-regional level, and have potential implications for factors influencing human and primate success in the face of climate change.
Makenna Lenover '19
The fusion sequence of primary and secondary ossification centers is a promising, yet under-explored, approach to improving estimation of the number of individuals represented in commingled sub-adult remains. Limiting this approach is the lack of understanding of population variation in this aspect of human development. Furthermore, the existing reference studies are primarily based on samples of European ancestry.
To explore potential variation in fusion patterns within and among populations, we analyzed patterns of fusion of primary and secondary ossification centers in nine globally representative skeletal samples of East Asian, indigenous North American, African, and European ancestry. Forty-three fusion sites, spanning the axial and appendicular skeleton, were cross-tabulated in R software to determine the sequence of beginning and completion of fusion in each geographic group. These data were distilled into modal sequence trajectories documenting the general fusion pattern and population variation around the modal pattern.
We observed population variation within and among all geographic groups, especially in later fusing sites. The East Asian sample was the least variable one, whereas the African sample was most variable. Certain sites (e.g., the acromion) had higher intra- and inter-population variation. The sequence of completing fusion varied less than the beginning fusion sequence, making it of greater practical utility in forensic and bioarchae-ological practice. Our results document the most likely sequence of epiphyseal union in diverse populations and will allow biological anthropologists to estimate the number of individuals in a commingled sample with greater certainty.
Annika Lutzenhiser '19
A diversity of LGBTQ-affirming Protestant churches in Seattle work to welcome a community historically ostracized. This paper argues that the ritual of Holy Communion serves as an important symbol of acknowledgment and acceptance for LGBTQ individuals, clergy, and heterosexual congregants. A sample of 23 congregation and clergy members suggests select churches are shifting Communion out of its traditional realm of Christian normality and redeploying it to create a queer space within Protestantism. These changes in religious practice reflect a new construction of community and social values within affirming churches.