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(1 - 7 of 7)
- Title
- Ritual Use of the Human Form: A Contextual Analysis of the "Charlie Chaplin" Figure in the Maya Lowlands.
- Creator
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Lomitola, Lisa, Chase, Arlen, Barber, Sarah, Chase, Diane, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Small anthropomorphic figures, most often referred to as (")Charlie Chaplins,(") appear in ritual deposits throughout the ancient Maya sites of Belize during the late Preclassic and Early Classic Periods and later, throughout the Pet(&)#233;n region of Guatemala. Often these figures appear within similar cache assemblages and are carved from (")exotic(") materials such as shell or jade. This thesis examines the contexts in which these figures appear and considers the wider implications for...
Show moreSmall anthropomorphic figures, most often referred to as (")Charlie Chaplins,(") appear in ritual deposits throughout the ancient Maya sites of Belize during the late Preclassic and Early Classic Periods and later, throughout the Pet(&)#233;n region of Guatemala. Often these figures appear within similar cache assemblages and are carved from (")exotic(") materials such as shell or jade. This thesis examines the contexts in which these figures appear and considers the wider implications for commonly held ritual practices throughout the Maya lowlands during the Classic Period and the similarities between (")Charlie Chaplin(") figures and anthropomorphic figures found in ritual contexts outside of the Maya area.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004402, ucf:49394
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004402
- Title
- PLATO'S 'CRITO': A DEONTOLOGICAL READING.
- Creator
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Sklar, Lisa, Stanlick, Nancy, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Plato's 'Crito' depicts Socrates in prison awaiting his execution and arguing that despite the injustice of his sentence, he is morally obligated to remain there so that it can be carried out. The early Socratic dialogues were concerned with the nature of the virtues which formed the foundation of Athenian morals. This "primacy of virtue" has developed into the modern theory of virtue ethics. In this thesis, I argue that in the 'Crito', Socrates sets aside his typical...
Show morePlato's 'Crito' depicts Socrates in prison awaiting his execution and arguing that despite the injustice of his sentence, he is morally obligated to remain there so that it can be carried out. The early Socratic dialogues were concerned with the nature of the virtues which formed the foundation of Athenian morals. This "primacy of virtue" has developed into the modern theory of virtue ethics. In this thesis, I argue that in the 'Crito', Socrates sets aside his typical virtue ethics approach, and instead utilizes a deontological framework for his arguments. I apply the deontological theories of Immanuel Kant and W. D. Ross to the 'Crito' in an attempt to demonstrate that it has a distinctly duty-based focus that is consistent with the work of Kant and Ross. Finally, I raise the question of whether Ross' theory can be viewed as a bridge between virtue ethics and deontological ethics.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- Identifier
- CFE0002553, ucf:47649
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002553
- Title
- Garden Soils: Reviewing the Viability of Soil Phosphate Analyses in the Archaeological Identification of Ancient Maya Kitchen Gardens.
- Creator
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Foster, Cheryl, Chase, Arlen, Chase, Diane, Walker, John, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The study of ancient Maya intensive, intra-site agricultural systems, such as kitchen gardens, has gained new interest in recent years as a valuable way of interpreting numerous aspects of the ancient Maya's daily life (e.g. subsistence and settlement patterns, population growth, diet and nutrition, gender roles). However, while contemporary Maya kitchen gardens can often be easily identified and studied by cultural anthropologists and archaeologists, ancient kitchen gardens are usually much...
Show moreThe study of ancient Maya intensive, intra-site agricultural systems, such as kitchen gardens, has gained new interest in recent years as a valuable way of interpreting numerous aspects of the ancient Maya's daily life (e.g. subsistence and settlement patterns, population growth, diet and nutrition, gender roles). However, while contemporary Maya kitchen gardens can often be easily identified and studied by cultural anthropologists and archaeologists, ancient kitchen gardens are usually much harder to identify by traditional archaeological techniques because of their lack of architectural structures and other identifying features. To compensate for this limitation, various forms of chemical testing (primarily phosphate analysis) are being used to positively identify kitchen gardens and other specific anthropogenically modified spaces that are invisible to standard archaeological techniques. The archaeological community trusts these methods to be a reliable way of testing soils in archaeological sites for specific agricultural features, even though there has been little research conducted to conclusively prove this assertion. In response to this lack of research, this thesis investigates the viability of phosphate analysis and other chemical tests through a comprehensive literary review of previous and current research and an analysis of the data presented within it. While soil phosphate analysis has been used in past and current research to identify general agricultural features with great success, the chemical signatures produced from this method only give vague information about the soil and what was done to it, making soil Phosphate analysis unreliable to definitively discern specific agricultural areas, such as kitchen gardens, from general agricultural areas.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0005949, ucf:50811
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005949
- Title
- Traversing the Terrain: A Least Cost Analysis on Intersite Causeways in the Maya Region.
- Creator
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Rivas, Alexander, Chase, Arlen, Chase, Diane, Walker, John, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The study of ancient Maya causeways is crucial for understanding Maya social and spatial organization. Archaeologists have been interested in Maya causeways for decades, specifically documenting their locations. More recently, the use of Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, has been used for understanding the spatial organization of archaeological sites. GIS analyses on ancient Maya causeways however have been very limited. This thesis aims to evaluate ancient Maya causeways through GIS...
Show moreThe study of ancient Maya causeways is crucial for understanding Maya social and spatial organization. Archaeologists have been interested in Maya causeways for decades, specifically documenting their locations. More recently, the use of Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, has been used for understanding the spatial organization of archaeological sites. GIS analyses on ancient Maya causeways however have been very limited. This thesis aims to evaluate ancient Maya causeways through GIS analysis. Specifically, five intersite causeway systems are looked at: the Mirador Basin, Yaxuna-Coba-Ixil, Uxmal-Nohpat-Kabah, Ake-Izamal-Kantunil, and Uci-Kancab-Ukana- Cansahcab. These causeway systems were evaluated using least-cost paths based on the terrain. In this thesis, I argue that the intersite causeways do not follow a least-cost path based on terrain and that the purpose of these roads varies between sites and regions.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFE0005404, ucf:50426
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005404
- Title
- Ancient Maya Stone Polishers and Issues with the Terminology for the Artifacts Polished with These Tools.
- Creator
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Landry, Rachael, Chase, Arlen, Walker, John, Barber, Sarah, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The ancient Maya adorned themselves with ornamental objects. This study investigates a type of polishing tool used by the ancient Maya to manufacture certain types of ornaments. Five stone polishing tools used by the ancient Maya are presented and analyzed. Relevant artifact forms are examined to establish which types of artifacts were being polished with these tools. An extensive discussion of the archaeological record and artistic representations of miniature earflares and buttons, which...
Show moreThe ancient Maya adorned themselves with ornamental objects. This study investigates a type of polishing tool used by the ancient Maya to manufacture certain types of ornaments. Five stone polishing tools used by the ancient Maya are presented and analyzed. Relevant artifact forms are examined to establish which types of artifacts were being polished with these tools. An extensive discussion of the archaeological record and artistic representations of miniature earflares and buttons, which were polished with many of these stone polishing tools, is also included because the terminology used to refer to these objects has varied throughout the academic literature and is in need of clarification.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0005020, ucf:50012
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005020
- Title
- Relating ancient Maya land use legacies to the contemporary forest of Caracol, Belize.
- Creator
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Hightower, Jessica, Weishampel, John, Quintana-Ascencio, Pedro, VonHolle, Mary, Chase, Arlen, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Human land use legacies have significant and long lasting impacts across landscapes. However, investigating the impacts of ancient land use legacies ((>)400 years) remains problematic due to the difficulty in detecting ancient land uses, especially those beneath dense canopies. The city of Caracol, one of the most important Maya archaeological sites in Belize, was abandoned after the collapse of the Maya civilization (ca. A.D. 900), leaving behind numerous structures, causeways, and...
Show moreHuman land use legacies have significant and long lasting impacts across landscapes. However, investigating the impacts of ancient land use legacies ((>)400 years) remains problematic due to the difficulty in detecting ancient land uses, especially those beneath dense canopies. The city of Caracol, one of the most important Maya archaeological sites in Belize, was abandoned after the collapse of the Maya civilization (ca. A.D. 900), leaving behind numerous structures, causeways, and agricultural terraces that persist beneath the dense tropical forest of western Belize. LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology enables detection of below canopy Maya archaeological features, providing an ideal opportunity to study the effects of ancient land use legacies on contemporary tropical forest composition. LiDAR also provided us with a detailed record of the 3-dimensional forest structure over the 200 km2 study area. This allowed the investigation how ancient land uses continue to impact both forest composition, in terms of tree species, and forest structure. I recorded tree species over four land use categories: 1) structures, 2) causeways, 3) terraced, and 4) non-terraced land. Using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) and multi-response permutation procedures (MRPP) to test for differences between the classes, I found significantly distinct tree communities associated with the presence of terraces and the underlying topography. Terraced slopes appear to function as micro-valleys on the side of a hill, creating an environmental "bridge" between slope and valley tree communities. Tree species composition over causeways and structures was also found to be significantly different from terraced and non-terraced plots. Forest structure was assessed by extracting LiDAR points for terraced (n=150) and non-terraced (n=150) 0.25 ha plots. I calculated average canopy height, canopy closure, and vertical diversity from the height bins of the LiDAR points, using slope, elevation, and aspect as covariates. Using PerMANOVA I determined that forest structure over terraces was significantly different from non-terraced land. Terraces appear to mediate the effect of slope, resulting in less structural variation between slope and non-sloped land. These results led to the conclusion that human land uses abandoned (>)1000 years ago continue to impact the contemporary forests.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004250, ucf:49497
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004250
- Title
- PALEOPATHOLOGY IN ANCIENT EGYPT: EVIDENCE FROM THE SITES OF DAYR AL-BARSHā AND SHEIKH SAID.
- Creator
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Malnasi, Cindy, Dupras, Tosha, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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For centuries, people have been fascinated with how the ancient Egyptians lived, and particularly how they died. Although Egyptologists in the past had a greater interest in the treasures that accompanied the dead, there has now been a shift in focus on the actual ancient Egyptians themselves and their ways of life. Recognizing the health and disease status of ancient Egyptians has become particularly important. The aim of this research project is to document the paleopathology of the...
Show moreFor centuries, people have been fascinated with how the ancient Egyptians lived, and particularly how they died. Although Egyptologists in the past had a greater interest in the treasures that accompanied the dead, there has now been a shift in focus on the actual ancient Egyptians themselves and their ways of life. Recognizing the health and disease status of ancient Egyptians has become particularly important. The aim of this research project is to document the paleopathology of the individuals from the sites of Dayr al-Barshā and Sheikh Said encompassing the Old Kingdom (2686 – 2160 BC), the First Intermediate Period (2160 – 2055 BC), and the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC) periods. The site of Dayr al-Barshā was most importantly the necropolis, or burial site, used by the inhabitants of the ancient city of Hermopolis Magna, and it was also a very prominent quarry site. Today, Dayr al-Barshā is a large scale archaeological site that has been divided into eleven zones. The results of this research reveal a documented list of paleopathologies that include traumatic conditions, congenital anomalies, joint diseases, infectious diseases, hematological disorders, dental pathology, neoplastic conditions, and various other conditions that ailed the people in their daily lives. Fractures and dental diseases are the paleopathologies that occurred most frequently. These pathologies provide important knowledge about the living conditions and occupations during the span of the Old Kingdom through the Middle Kingdom.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- CFE0003119, ucf:48643
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003119
