INVESTIGATING BIOLOGICAL DISTANCE AND SKELETAL STRESS IN A LATE ANTIQUE AND EARLY MEDIEVAL TUSCAN TOWN

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Michigan State University. Anthropology - Doctor of Philosophy, 2025The Late Antique and Early Medieval eras in the Mediterranean (5th-10th centuries AD) were an extremely turbulent time. In the centuries following the fall of the Western Roman Empire (c. 476 AD), Italy experienced the Gothic War, the plague of Justinian, the Lombard invasion, the rise of the Carolingian dynasty, and the spread of Christianity. The nature of this transitional period has garnered considerable debate in archaeological and historical literature, resulting in some scholars advocating for a \u201cDark Age\u201d of isolation, disease, and cultural stagnation, while others have suggested these eras were marked by adaptation, interconnectivity, and resilience. Notably, there has been relatively little focus on the ways in which bioarchaeology can contribute to this conversation. At present, no studies have used a diachronic, intracemetery analysis with paleopathological and biological distance (biodistance) approaches to understand the effects of this time period on the residents of Tuscany, Italy.In order to address these scholarly gaps, this dissertation focuses on the site of Rusellae (Tuscany, Italy) and its cemetery, which was in use between the 6th and 12th centuries AD. The present study focuses on a sample of 160 adults excavated in a collaboration between the Art and Archaeology Museum of the Maremma and the Archaeological Superintendence of Tuscany between 1987 and 1991. The burials comprise individuals from two archaeologically-defined phases: Phase I (6th-7th centuries AD) and Phase II (8th-12th centuries AD). The primary foci of this study are: an examination of biological distance within Rusellae and among Rusellae and contemporary sites using craniometrics; a craniometric population affinity analysis within Rusellae; an exploration of craniometric variation over time; and the frequency of skeletal stress indicators (cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, periosteal reaction, and linear enamel hypoplasias) between cemetery phases and population affinities.The results showed that, despite exhibiting an overall greater affinity with contemporary European samples than African references, Rusellae was a biologically heterogeneous site comprising several craniofacially distinct groups. Further, the presence of several individuals consistent with African affinity was preliminarily attested at the site. Notably, when compared with individuals showing greater European affinity, the individuals with a greater affinity to African reference samples showed no significant difference in frequencies of the skeletal stress markers analyzed, with the exception of linear enamel hypoplasia of the maxillary central incisor. In addition, there were no statistically significant differences in either skeletal stress indicators or cranial measurements between the earlier and later phases of the cemetery.Broadly, these results suggest genetic continuity between Rusellae and other European populations, but not to the exclusion of some contribution from the African continent. These findings are consistent with continued circum-Mediterranean trade and migration, including exchange between Tuscany and North Africa, during this period. Additionally, the lack of diachronic change in skeletal stress indicators and craniometrics suggests a degree of biological, ecological, environmental, and psychosocial stability throughout Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages at Rusellae. Further, the findings indicate a generally similar experience between affinities, at least with respect to the stress indicators analyzed, possibly due to a social structure that prioritized religious cohesion over ancestral divisions. Thus, the totality of the evidence supports a view of the transitional period between the 6th and 12th centuries, not as a \u201cDark Age\u201d characterized by collapse, but as an era of continuity, connectivity, and resilience for Rusellae.Description based on online resource. Title from PDF t.p. (Michigan State University Fedora Repository, viewed ).Includes bibliographical references

A Thug in Prison Cannot Shoot Your Sister : Ohio Appears Ready to Resurrect the Habitual Criminal Statute - Will It Withstand an Eighth Amendment Challenge?

The State of Ohio appears ready to pass a habitual offender statute. This Comment will take a closer look at habitual offender statutes in general and Ohio\u27s past attempts at habitual offender statutes. The Comment will focus on the possible Eighth Amendment challenge to the proposed Ohio statute, by examining a hypothetical defendant

Associative Potential of Lexemes – Designations of Emotions

The purpose of the article is to determine and present the associative potential of words denoting emotions. The object of the study is the associative fields of stimulus words joy and hate. The empirical material was obtained as a result of two stages of the trend psycholinguistic research (2002 and 2020), the centre of which was a free associative experiment, carried out among the teenagers. When comparing the core of associative fields that were modelled employing the material of two experiments, cultural stereotypes were identified. They are assimilated in the process of adolescent socialization. An analysis of various reactions (nuclear, low-frequency and single) in associative fields, identifying the level of association stereotyping led to the conclusion that this indicator was reduced in the associative fields of the experiment conducted in 2020. A deduction is made about the factors that influence the dynamics of the associative potential of stimuli, which denote emotions. These include an increase in the number of different reactions in associative fields due to single associations, the diversity of their meanings and relations with the stimulus word, the combination of communicative tactics of the subjects in experimental conditions. The material and outcomes of the trend research conducted in the teenage audience expand the idea of the associative potential of emotion designation and can also be useful for solving various didactic and psychological problems

Прогнозирование профессионльной заболеваемости сварщиков в зависимости от условий труда

Проаналізовано сучасне зварювальне виробництво як складна система «людина – зварювальний процес – виробниче середовище» та характеризується наявністю численних чинників, що впливають на умови праці і ризик професійних захворювань зварників. Запропоновано комплексний підхід для визначення ризику професійної захворюваності зварників з урахуванням технологічних, організаційних, санітарно-технічних, медичних, соціально-економічних і людських чинників. У перше використано дозовий підхід щодо пилового навантаження на організм зварника, який враховує середньозмінну концентрацію пилу в повітрі робочої зони, середньозмінний об’єм легеневої вентиляції, що залежать від категорії важкості праці, часу безпосереднього контакту зварника з пилом і коефіцієнта ефективності використання засобів захисту зварника. Розроблено інформаційно-аналітичну систему захисту зварників, яка дозволяє комплексно вирішувати задачу щодо попередження захворюваності пилової етіології.Purpose. To present specialized information-analytical system of ensuring the protection of welders (IAS PW) from the effects of the complex of harmful factors, among which the most significant is the welding dust (aerosol). Originality. The modern welding production has been analyzed, which is considered as a complex system "man – welding process – production environment" and is characterized by the presence of numerous factors affecting the working conditions and the risk of professional diseases of welders. Methodology. The complex approach for definition of risk of welders’ professional morbidity concerning technological, organizational, sanitary-technical, medical, social and economic and human factors has been offered. Results. For the first time, a dose approach to the dust load on the welder's body has been used, which takes into account the average concentration of dust in the air of the working area, the average volume of pulmonary ventilation, depending on the severity of labor, the time of direct contact between the welder and the dust, and the efficiency of using the welder's protection equipment. Practical value. An information-analytical system for the protection of welders has been developed that allow s a comprehensive solution of the problem of preventing the incidence of dust etiology.Проанализировано современное сварочное производство, рассматриваемое как сложная система «человек–сварочный процесс–производственная среда» и характеризуется наличием многочисленных факторов, влияющих на условия труда и риск профессиональных заболеваний сварщиков. Предложен комплексный подход для определения риска профессиональной заболеваемости сварщиков с учетом технологических, организационных, санитарно-технических, медицинских, социально-экономических и человеческих факторов. Впервые использован дозовый подход к пылевой нагрузке на организм сварщика, учитывающий среднесменную концентрацию пыли в воздухе рабочей зоны, среднесменный объем легочной вентиляции, зависящие от категории тяжести труда, времени непосредственного контакта сварщика с пылью и коэффициента эффективности использования средств защиты сварщика. Разработана информационно-аналитическая система защиты сварщиков, позволяющая комплексно решать задачу предотвращения заболеваемости пылевой этиологии

Cranial Base Height as an Indicator of Developmental Stress in Native Mexican and American-Born Mexican Populations

Cranial base height, much like stature, has been used as an indicator of developmental stress in human populations since J. Lawrence Angel first proposed the idea in 1976. Previous research on the cranial base has involved the study of secular change in historic populations, but it has not often been used to explore differences in developmental stress in modern populations. Current views of Mexican migrants often hold that this population is impoverished, malnourished, and under a high disease load during growth and development. The present research allows for an empirical analysis of this viewpoint by comparing the height of the cranial base in a Mexican-born population (n=137) from the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner and Xoclan and Zimapán documented collections, and an American-born population of Mexican descent (n=16) from the Texas State University Donated Skeletal Collection and the University of New Mexico Documented Skeletal Collection. Landmark data were collected using a Microscribe® G2 3D digitizer and 3Skull software. Data were analyzed with an ANOVA in Excel, using the Real Statistics Add-in. Males and females were analyzed separately in order to control for size differences associated with sex. Cranial base height was not significantly different in females (p=0.1238), but significant in males (p=0.03541). These findings indicate that the levels of developmental stress in American-born Mexicans and native Mexicans are not drastically different for females, but are different for males. This result has broader social implications for understanding the environments from which migrants leave and those to which they migrate.Anthropolog