Graduate Research

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A cross-cultural comparison of illness narratives of seropositive women in Kenya, Africa, and New Brunswick, Canada
(University of New Brunswick, 2012) Medeiros, Priscilla; Mitra, Koumari
The experiences of women living with HIV/AIDS are similar in both developed and underdeveloped countries. The purpose of this study was to: 1) examine the lived experiences of women with HIV/ AIDS in both Nairobi Province and in New Brunswick through the collection of illness narratives; 2) document and compare physician-patient interaction in the Non-Western and Western clinical settings to better understand the challenges physicians encounter when following the Global Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) protocol and; 3) from (1) and (2) develop a cross-cultural framework of analysis that can aid in providing better care for women living with HIV/AIDS. Data were collected using participant observation and semi-structured interviews. A total of 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted with women living with HIV/AIDS above the age of 20. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with professional healthcare specialists and professional healthcare workers to understand the gaps in knowledge between healthcare providers and women living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya, Africa, and in New Brunswick, Canada.
A geometric morphometric approach to cranial variation in 18th to 19th century skeletal populations form the St.Lawrence Region, Canada
(University of New Brunswick, 2018) White, Jessica; Blair, Susan
This study examines the use of geometric morphometrics in assessing cranial morphology of 18th to 19th century populations from Montréal and Sainte-Marie; where three-dimensional coordinates of 18 landmarks were obtained. Additionally dental metrics were also used to complement the cranial analyses. This study attempted to determine whether high resolution measurements improve the ability to detect patterning and variation. Using principal component analysis (PCA), facilitated by Paleontological Statistics (PAST) software, this research determined that there were no significant differences between Montréal and Sainte-Marie cranial morphology. There were cranial length differences within the populations, likely caused by the diverse immigration and admixture of individuals in the St. Lawrence region, confirmed using comparative European populations. However, it was difficult to determine any definitive potential causative factors of the observed cranial similarities or differences due to small sample sizes. Dental analysis using SPSS was in agreement with cranial analyses, where overall there were minimal differences between the dentition of Montréal and Sainte-Marie individuals. KEYWORDS: geometric morphometrics; biological anthropology; skeletal remains; cranial variation; cranial morphology; cranial coordinates; Montréal; Sainte-Marie; St. Lawrence region.
A GIS approach to ancestral Wabanaki canoe routes and travel times
(University of New Brunswick, 2018) Shaw, Christopher; Hrynick, Gabriel; Blair, Susan
A GIS-based approach to modeling ancestral Wabanaki canoe routes and travel times during the Maritime Woodland period (3150–550 BP) of prehistory is developed in this thesis using least-cost analysis (LCA). These results are integrated into regional discussions of hunter-gatherer mobility, seasonal transhumance, and pre-contact territoriality, with an emphasis on how seasonal and annual variability in riverine paddling conditions may have impacted route selection and travel times between Maritime Woodland period archaeological sites. This thesis concludes that regional models of hunter-gatherer travel practices should account for the ways Indigenous peoples reacted dynamically to contingency in environmental conditions, as well as the ways riverine paddling conditions impacted the social landscape on short time scales.
A late Maritime woodland Peskotomuhkati fishery from the mainland Quoddy region, southwestern New Brunswick, Canada
(University of New Brunswick, 2018) Webb, William, Jesse; Blair, Susan; Betts, Matthew
The nature of precontact Indigenous fisheries and their significance to subsistence economies, seasonal mobility, and diachronic cultural change remain underdeveloped in the archaeology of the Maritime Peninsula, northeastern North America. This thesis presents an analysis of a precontact fishery from BgDs-15, a small shell-bearing site located on the northern mainland of Passamaquoddy Bay, southwestern New Brunswick, Canada. Several hundred bones recovered during the 2004 field excavations and over 3,000 fish remains from midden column and bulk feature samples were examined. Most of these fish bones are attributable to Atlantic tomcod (Microgadus tomcod Walbaum, 1792) and unidentified, tomcod-sized gadids, with some herring (Clupeidae) present. Multiple lines of complementary evidence, including taxonomic composition, relative abundances, skeletal element frequency, seasonality, and the ethnohistoric record were examined to produce a high-resolution analysis of the BgDs-15 fishery and provide insight into ancestral Peskotomuhkati settlement-subsistence strategies during the Late Maritime Woodland period (ca. 1350–550 BP).
A point in time: An analysis of the atlatl-bow transition in the Maritime Peninsula during the Maritime Woodland Period
(University of New Brunswick, 2023-12) Schweitzer, Paul A.; Hrynick, M. Gabriel
There are competing perceptions of settlement and subsistence in the Maritime Peninsula during the Maritime Woodland or Ceramic period (3150 – 350 BP), especially during what some archaeologists refer to as the Middle Maritime Woodland (2200 – 1350 BP) to Late Maritime Woodland period (1350 – 550 BP) transition. The shift from the atlatl to the bow has been inferred but not yet quantified within this transitionary period. Analysing projectile points found around the Maritime Peninsula using projectile point morphology and discriminant analysis functions, I determine that a transition towards the dominance of bow and arrow usage was occurring in the Middle-Late Maritime Woodland period, that the bow and arrow was likely used before this period shift, and that atlatl use was maintained into the Late Maritime Woodland period. These findings are discussed in the broader context of the Maritime Woodland period.
A radiographic exploration of vitamin D deficiency at the eighteenth-century fortress of Louisbourg, NS
(University of New Brunswick, 2019) Hinton, Jessica; Scott, Amy
The French colonial experience of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries has been well-studied from an anthropological and historical perspective; however, the lived realities of children during this period have received little scholarly attention. This study aims to highlight these earliest years of life through a paleopathological analysis of 23 adult individuals from two cemetery sites in Atlantic Canada. Dental radiography and macroscopic techniques identified indicators of childhood vitamin D deficiency in 14 individuals from the Block 3 Fortress of Louisbourg, NS (c.1713-1723) and Plaisance, NL (c.1662-1713) skeletal samples. A variety of cultural and environmental factors are considered as to why vitamin D deficiency was so common during this period in Atlantic Canada. This tangible evidence of childhood vitamin D deficiency provides a rare and intimate glimpse into the lives of French colonial children and enhances our knowledge of the childhood experience in early colonial Canada.
An exploration of archaeological parasites at the 18th century fortress of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia
(University of New Brunswick, 2019) Fonzo, Mattia Diane; Scott, Amy
The bioarchaeological sub-discipline of archaeoparasitology explores the impacts of ancient parasites on their human hosts. This thesis research examines the parasite loads of individuals excavated from the 18th century Rochefort Point cemetery at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Soil samples were collected from within the pelvic region of seven excavated burials, with long-surviving intestinal parasite eggs (Ascaris spp. and Diphyllobothrium spp.) identified, quantified, and examined. Results indicate that four of the seven individuals likely died with a true parasite infection. Overcrowded living conditions, association with various animals (terrestrial and aquatic), differential access to foodstuffs, and poor sanitation practices at the Fortress likely all contributed to the increased spread of intestinal parasites across this community. As the first parasite study of its kind in Canada, this research not only provides a strong methodological foundation for future archaeoparasitological research using pelvic soil samples, but also contributes to our understanding of parasite-host interactions in 18th century Atlantic Canada.
An exploration of venereal syphilis and skeletal mercury concentration at the 18th century Fortress of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia
(University of New Brunswick, 2021-10) Forbes, Marisa N.S.; Scott, Amy
Venereal syphilis is caused by a complex human bacterium in the genus, Treponema. Highly prevalent between the early 16th to mid-20th centuries, this disease initiated numerous outbreaks and epidemics worldwide. Bioarchaeologists have attempted to study venereal syphilis in past human populations; however, this predominantly soft tissue bacterium will only affect bone tissue in the final stages of infection; therefore, disease identification in skeletal remains is problematic. Notwithstanding, syphilis can be studied indirectly by examining its primary medical treatment, mercury, through trace element analysis. For this study, 75 individuals from the 18th century Fortress of Louisbourg, NS were macroscopically and chemically examined for evidence of venereal syphilis. Macroscopically, three individuals showed lesions suggestive of syphilis, whereas 12 individuals had elevated mercury concentrations. Interestingly, these two datasets minimally overlapped, suggesting the mercury data may not represent syphilitic treatments at Louisbourg and were possibly the result of exposure from another source. The multimethod approach of this study allowed for a comprehensive and nuanced examination of venereal syphilis in the Fortress of Louisbourg population, a significant 18th century New France colony.
Chionera pamwe chuma chemuzukuru: A community based collaborative research- exploring Trelawney’s heritage in “Mash West” Zimbabwe
(University of New Brunswick, 2023-08) Chinaka, Melissa; Blair, Susan E.; Pleshet, Noah
Zimbabwe's cultural heritage is intimately intertwined with the intricate dynamics of land ownership and access, a product of the country's colonial history which saw the utilization of archaeology to promote British hegemony. This study focuses on the Trelawney area in Mashonaland West province, known for its archaeological sites situated within farms repossessed by the Zimbabwean government during the contentious Fast Track Land Reform Program. This study seeks to decolonize the interconnections among individuals, land, and heritage through a community-based approach. This research elucidates the multifaceted dimensions of Zimbabwe's heritage within the post-colonial context using collaborative knowledge production between Western and Shona knowledge systems. The findings underscore the significance of community collaboration in challenging colonial paradigms while fostering a more inclusive and culturally nuanced comprehension of heritage in Zimbabwe from an anthropological perspective.
Elomiqahak ponapsq cacahqesiw, a rolling stone is ever bare of moss: lithic sourcing at the Reversing Falls site in Pembroke, Maine
(University of New Brunswick, 2021) Honsinger, Alexander A.; Hrynick, Gabriel
The connection of stone artifacts to geological formations presents archaeologists a unique opportunity to model human settlement patterns, landscape use, and regional socioeconomic relationships. Despite the extensive history of archaeological research in the Quoddy Region, bedrock sources of local lithic raw materials have remained elusive. This thesis presents a petrographic analysis of over 1,500 chipped stone artifacts recovered from Reversing Falls (ME 80.15), a Middle-Late Maritime Woodland period (ca. 2190–1520 BP) shell-bearing site in Cobscook Bay, Maine featuring a synthesis of thin section petroscopy, X-ray diffraction, low-power microscopy, and high-resolution digital photography. Through the integration of artifact petrography and a robust collection of comparative geological specimens, ancestral Passamaquoddy landscape knowledge and exchange systems established throughout the North Atlantic during the Maritime Woodland period are rendered visible.
Etoli-Sehtacuwok: ceramic vessel use at the middle and late Maritime Woodland Period Reversing Falls Site, Cobscook Bay, Maine
(University of New Brunswick, 2020) Lamb, Trevor William; Hrynick, Gabriel
Fragments of ceramic vessels are one of the most archaeologically persistent objects created by hunter-gatherers during the Maritime Woodland period. These fragments are portions of vessels that would have been useful and important to people living on the Maritime Peninsula in their whole, unbroken form. The transformation of whole vessels into fragments through anthropogenic and natural forces has limited the majority of archaeological studies to questions of technology and style. The application of new analytical methods since the 1980s has expanded the ways archaeologists can examine absorbed and adhered organic residues, and subsequently the ways archaeologists can address questions of container use. Building on a growing body of vessel use data for the Maritime Peninsula, this thesis examines the relationship between ceramic technology and use at the coastal Reversing Falls site in Pembroke, Maine. Recognizing the destructive nature of extracting organic residues from ceramics, this thesis also offers a method for preserving culturally important objects through photogrammetry.
Fractures at the Fortress: A study of fractures at the 18th century Fortress of Louisbourg
(University of New Brunswick, 2024-07) Corbett, Taylor; Scott, Amy
The study of fractures in bioarchaeology can provide valuable insights related to many aspects of the lived experience, from violence to changing social roles. As the investigation of fractures in bioarchaeology has developed, may studies have begun to use both macroscopic and microscopic approaches to provide a more holistic understanding of how and why fractures occurred. For this thesis project, 32 individuals from the Fortress of Louisbourg skeletal collection were macroscopically evaluated to understand fracture prevalence within this 18th century population. Fracture causes and physical impairment are also investigated to understand the effects these injuries may have had on the overall lived experience of these individuals. Additionally, this study is the first to explore the utility of micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) to assist with understanding fracture healing in a bioarchaeological context. Overall, this multifaceted approach allows for a comprehensive understanding of fractures and their impact on the individuals at the Fortress of Louisbourg.
Getting a handle on ground stone: a technological analysis of the ground stone axes, adzes, and gouges in the George Frederick Clarke collection
(University of New Brunswick, 2015) Brzezicki, Ashley; Blair, Susan
This research project is based on the technological analysis of a selection of edged, heavy ground stone tools (i.e., axes, adzes, gouges) in the George Frederick Clarke Collection; a private artifact assemblage acquired and curated by the University of New Brunswick. In this research, I use attribute analysis to better understand the linkages between artifact morphology, hafting, tool function, and human behavior. Three key components are offered in this research: 1) the development of a classification scheme for the ground stone axes, adzes, and gouges at the center of this research; 2) the identification of possible haft types for these artifacts, and; 3) the integration of regional data through which interpretations of tool function and human behavior are made possible. As is shown in the research, inferences based on morphology and hafting allow archaeologists to interpret a formerly inaccessible (i.e., due to organic decomposition) component of ground stone tools. I suggest that biconvex tools would have been secured in bound or socketed hafts, whereas plano-convex tools would have been secured in elbow or socketed-elbow hafts, and that depending on the stone/haft orientation, these tools would have been swung differently by the user. With regards to chronology, the research corroborates the dominant interpretation on the Maritime Peninsula that technological changes amongst edged, heavy ground stone tools seem to occur around the same time as shifts in heavy woodworking/birch bark technologies. I conclude that in addition to excavation, future research into use-wear, petrography, and morphology would bring forth new interpretations of a commonly under-studied Pre-Contact technology on the Maritime Peninsula.
Girls, sex and HIV: understanding adolescent and young adult women's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS in New Brunswick
(University of New Brunswick, 2012) Wentzell, Samantha; Mitra, Koumari
Young women in Canada are increasingly becoming susceptible to sexual health related risks including the threat of HIV/ AIDS. With more than half of the 34 million global HIV/ AIDS case occurring among women; it is important to understand the factors that are contributing to adolescent and young adult women's vulnerability to infection. This study aimed to examine the factors that are influencing this increased susceptibility among young women aged 15 to 24 years in New Brunswick. This study was directed by three theoretical perspectives and was framed and analyzed using Scheper-Hughes and Lock's (1987) "three bodies model". Using a survey and semi-structured interviews, this study was able to elicit several individual, social, and structural forces that may lead to an increase in the spread of HIV/AIDS among New Brunswick's young women. The findings from this study provide pertinent information on young women's risks and potential areas for improved prevention strategies.
Grave or Gut: Exploration into bacterial bioerosion and bone decomposition in an 18th-19th century Atlantic Canadian cemetery
(University of New Brunswick, 2022-06) Breedon, Nicole; Scott, Amy
Bioarchaeology is the study of human skeletal remains from archaeological contexts to explore the lived experience of past populations. Bone is a dynamic, living tissue. Whether growing and developing throughout life, or decomposing after death, changes to the skeleton occur in predictable patterns. Microscopic analyses of how bone structure degrades after death can tell us about the life of the individual, specifically their bacterial load within the digestive tract. This thesis utilized microscopic X-ray Computed Tomography (micro-CT) technology to create a new method in the assessment of skeletal remains as it pertains to a unique type of skeletal degeneration known as bacterial bioerosion. While this type of research has never been conducted within the Canadian Maritimes before, the method created was used to positively identify evidence of bacterial bioerosion in the skeletal remains of five of the seven assessed individuals from an 18th -19th century Atlantic Canadian cemetery.
It's in the bones: an exploration of human bone protein from the 18th century fortress of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia and its potential applications in bioarchaeological research
(University of New Brunswick, 2020) Hughes, Nicole; Scott, Amy
Bioarchaeology has begun to employ biochemical methods as a means to further understand human skeletal remains at a biomolecular level. Specifically, osteocalcin (an abundant, non–collagenous bone protein) is of interest because of its clinically identified relationship with biological factors (i.e., age and sex) and pathological conditions (i.e., trauma and disease) that can be macroscopically observed in archaeological bone. The aim of this study was to extract and quantify osteocalcin from 27 individuals from the Fortress of Louisbourg (1713–1758) skeletal collection to explore whether these clinical trends related to osteocalcin were also visible in archaeological bone. Osteocalcin was successfully extracted from femoral bone samples and interpreted in tandem with sex, age, activity, and evidence of pathology. This study demonstrates the applicability of biochemical analyses as an additional line of evidence when conducting macroscopic skeletal assessments of biological and pathological factors, as well as, represents the first archaeological study of osteocalcin in human skeletal remains from a Canadian context.
Late maritime woodland lithic technology in the Lower Saint John River valley
(University of New Brunswick, 2012) Holyoke, Kenneth R.; Blair, Susan
The Late Maritime Woodland has been a challenging period for archaeologists to interpret throughout the Maritime Peninsula, and has received little attention in the Lower Saint John River valley sub-region. Shallow stratigraphic positions disturbance, and acidic soil conditions have contributed to issues with determining chronology, non-lithic technology, and site use. This project focuses on the analysis and integration of information obtained from four lithic assemblages associated with Late Maritime Woodland sites or components. A dataset including a limited set of chronologically diagnostic artifacts, formal and informal tools, and flake debris - and associations of these artifacts with features - are analyzed to determine lithic technologies and tool-kits, the procurement, transportation and preparation of certain tool-stone materials, and prehistoric site use. Findings suggest that ancestral Wolastoqiyik in this last period of prehistory were practicing complex settlement and mobility systems balanced between increasingly sedentary "collector" behaviours and those of highly mobile "foragers".
Life narrative ethnography of Wolastoqiyik elder Charles Solomon, Medicine Man: an apprenticeship approach
(University of New Brunswick, 2017) deMarsh, B. Luke; Plaice, Evelyn
Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) Elder Charles Solomon’s life as a practitioner and teacher of medicinal plant knowledge in New Brunswick, Canada, is introduced through a life-history ethnographic approach, which argues for the importance of in-depth, long-term research methods in documenting the narrative complexity of Indigenous Knowledge (IK). Support for this research is drawn from IK research and critical ethnographic theory. Insights emerging from the study of Elder Charles Solomon’s work include the importance of interpersonal collaboration in collecting medicinal plants and the dramatic effects of industrialization on medicinal plant gathering areas. Research implications include: the value of combining Indigenous Knowledge research with Western Scientific research, recognition of International law concerning Indigenous Peoples right to practice their cultural traditions including plant harvesting, and the importance of incorporating land-based (groundtruthing) research when conducting an IK study. Key Words: Wolastoqiyik, Maliseet, Indigenous Knowledge, medicinal plants
Macro-regional meadowood: a comparative approach to early woodland lithic tool production in the Maritimes and Ontario
(University of New Brunswick, 2016) Cudmore, Lauren; Blair, Susan
For several decades, the Archaic─Woodland transition, and, in particular, interpretations of the Early Woodland Meadowood phenomenon, have been controversial aspects of the culture-history sequence for the Northeast. The focus of most past studies has been the identification of diagnostic artifacts, and the spatial and temporal distributions of these diagnostics, leading to conceptions of Meadowood as a homogenous phenomenon encompassing much of the Northeast. The distributions of these diagnostic artifact types have been interpreted at a macroregional scale using a variety of political, social and economic models. In the research reported here, I compared three spatially and chronologically constrained Early Woodland archaeological assemblages from interior New Brunswick (traditional Wolastoq’kew territory) and southern Ontario. I found that similar artifact forms were produced in the two areas during the Early Woodland period, using different lithic reduction strategies applied to different lithic material types. These differences may warrant a broader re-examination of the utility of the Meadowood concept in Maritime Peninsula prehistory.
Pulling your hair out: Exploring the relationship between bioarchaeological cortisol and carboxylated osteocalcin to study stress in past populations.
(University of New Brunswick, 2024-08) Kaufman, Benjamin; Scott, Amy
The objective of this thesis is to investigate and validate the usage of biomolecular methods to study health and physiological stress in past populations through the analysis of osteocalcin and cortisol in human hair and bone. Both hormones play fundamental roles in the acute stress response (ASR) and how the body adapts to metabolic needs when responding to external stimuli (Fukuda and Morimoto, 2001; Moser and van der Eerden, 2019). Archaeological bone and hair samples were collected from 12 individuals from the 18th -century Fortress of Louisbourg skeletal collection and quantified using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results of this study found a meaningful relationship between these two hormones archaeologically. This project significantly aids in expanding the biomolecular study of stress in bioarchaeological contexts through a more targeted and precise measurement of physiological stress than current macroscopic methods of stress analysis (Scott et al., 2016; Webb et al., 2010).

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