Oral Presentations - Session 1A: UC 326
Assessing Fluctuating Asymmetry in the Pre and Post Contact Arikara
Presentation Type
Presentation
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Ashley H. McKeown
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Anthropology
Abstract / Artist's Statement
The purpose of this research is to build a cultural-historical perspective based on skeletal evidence to examine microevolutionary changes in the face between prehistoric and Historic Arikara. Using coordinate data observed on crania recovered from sites associated with the Arikara of the Middle Missouri Region of South Dakota, statistical tests are used to assess patterns of morphometric change in facial morphology through time. This study looks at 366 individuals from four archaeological sites spanning all three time periods and utilizes 3D coordinate data for 14 cranial landmarks. Aside from this information, archaeological data and first hand accounts of Europeans will establish the socio-cultural context of the Arikara. Data is subjected to a Procrustes Analysis and compared using mean configurations from each temporal range. The hypothesis of this project is that the environmental stress encountered by post contact populations of Arikara should alter facial dimensions in a way that distinguishes them from pre contact populations.
Assessing Fluctuating Asymmetry in the Pre and Post Contact Arikara
UC 326
The purpose of this research is to build a cultural-historical perspective based on skeletal evidence to examine microevolutionary changes in the face between prehistoric and Historic Arikara. Using coordinate data observed on crania recovered from sites associated with the Arikara of the Middle Missouri Region of South Dakota, statistical tests are used to assess patterns of morphometric change in facial morphology through time. This study looks at 366 individuals from four archaeological sites spanning all three time periods and utilizes 3D coordinate data for 14 cranial landmarks. Aside from this information, archaeological data and first hand accounts of Europeans will establish the socio-cultural context of the Arikara. Data is subjected to a Procrustes Analysis and compared using mean configurations from each temporal range. The hypothesis of this project is that the environmental stress encountered by post contact populations of Arikara should alter facial dimensions in a way that distinguishes them from pre contact populations.