Saturday, March 25, 2017

Metamorphosis: Examining Rites of Passage



The Quinceañera, Holy Communion, and Probate all have something in common: they are rites of passage, which is the topic of today’s blog post.  Rites of passage are rituals that enable individuals to move from one socially defined state into another, and they exist in many facets of culture, from religion to education.  Rites of passage can be used to demarcate individuals becoming an adult (e.g. the Quinceañera), a full-fledged member of a religion (the Holy Communion), or a sorority sister (e.g. Probate), which demonstrates the diversity in rites of passage that exist both within and among cultures.  These rituals have three common steps despite their diversity, which will be further addressed in this post.

Figure 1: The Catechism Lesson by Jules-Alexis Meunier
The first step of every rite of passage is the separation stage.  At this part of the process participants either voluntarily or involuntarily remove themselves from the larger social group or society.  This demarcates to others that these individuals are beginning their rite of passage, which may or may not have specific stipulations or strict rules attached to them and their social journey.  For example, individuals who begin Catechism (Figure 1), one of the first steps toward the Holy Communion, are not allowed to take the Communion, which involves eating the wafer/flesh of Christ and the wine/blood of Christ, and must begin taking classes toward becoming full-fledged members of their Christian sects.  Depending on the rules of the sect or particular Congregation other members may not fully talk with these individuals or they will begin to alter their communication to transition to the eventual final step.

Figure 2: Zeta Phi Beta Pledges (Teen Vogue)
After the participants have separated themselves they are considered to be in a liminal state, which is an in-between state where they no longer occupy their previous status but have not yet entered into their new status.  These liminal states can be very isolating and confusing to both the participants and nonparticipants as the new identity is being defined.  As such these participants often times will rely on each other and form a strong bond with their cohort mates, which is identified as communitas.  Communitas is felt by individuals who rush sororities (and fraternities) as they cannot speak about their rushing process but are also sometimes limited in their interactions with full sorority (and fraternity) members (Figure 2).

The final stage is the incorporation stage. This is where the participants have finally completed all of the requirements of their rite of passage and can be and are reintegrated into the larger group or society.  They are now considered full fledge members of the group and inhabit their new-found status in the group or society.  In the case of the Quinceañera young girls reenter society as women, which takes place on their 15th birthday after they have undergone religious and cultural rituals (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Quinceañera presentation of a young woman (Google Images)
Now that you have learned about rites of passage you may recognize some of these steps as having occurred in your own life, be they in informal or formal capacities.  While rites of passage are primarily associated with religion they exist in all different aspects of life.  After reading this post feel free to share your own experiences with rites of passage to test your knowledge and understanding of this concept.  :)

References

Gezon, L., & Kottak, C. (2014).  Cultural Anthropology McGraw-Hill

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Crap! (The Bioarchaeological Analyses of Poop)

Figure 1: Coprolite from Hinds Cave site (Image Source: Texas Beyond History)

Move over artifacts, mummies, and large architectural wonders!  These provide a great deal of information about ancient human populations, but there is another area of archaeological research that provides a different set of information pertaining to diets, seasonality, health, genetics, and more: the study of ancient poop (formally known as coprolites)!  Yes, archaeologists do not just dig through the garbage but also look at literal crap left behind by past people, which is the topic of today's blog post.  A discussion of what coprolites are, what we can learn from them, and new perspectives pertaining to these studies will be covered.  So without further delay let's get down to business!

The term coprolite comes from the Greek roots for "feces" and "lithics".  It was first coined in 1829 and used to identify dinosaur feces.  While it was and remains an area of study among paleontologists it very quickly also became an area of study for archaeologists, who quickly realized that they could gain important insights into past populations.  Coprolites are collected at sites throughout the New and Old World.  Coprolites are most often collected from cave sites, privies, as well as mummies.

The study of coprolites has been used to glean information about past human populations, particularly regarding reconstructions of diets and subsistence strategies, as well as parasite infestations.  From these scholars can also gain deeper insights into traded food items, technological innovations (e.g. the transition from foraging to agricultural strategies), seasonality of site occupation, and more.  This information is gained through the dissection of coprolites, which contain a variety of items, such as animal remains (e.g. bone, shell, scales, hair, fur, feathers), plant remains (e.g. seeds, phytoliths, pollen, leaves, flowers, stems); grit (from sand or ground stone), fungus, viruses, bacteria, and even DNA (Figure 1).

The discovery of DNA in coprolites is a more recent discovery of the use of coprolite analyses, and it has opened up a new area of study for this analytical area of the field.  While coprolite analyses can be done alone scholars have more recently advocated for the combination of coprolite analyses with other archaeological studies in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the past.  The reason for this inclusion of additional studies with coprolite studies is because coprolites are limited in scope as they represent food consumption patterns from the past 24 hours prior to feces expulsion and therefore do not provide a complete picture of past life ways.  Multidisciplinary and multifaceted investigations can fill in the gaps about the past.

In conclusion, archaeological and bioarchaeological analyses truly are dirty disciplines.  This dirty work provides a great deal of insights into past populations.  A great deal of information can be gained from the study of coprolites, making it a worthwhile subject to study.

References



Gilbert, M.T.P.; Jenkins, D.L.; Gotherstrom, A.; Naveran, N.; Sanchez, J.J.; Hofreiter, M.; Thomsen, P.F.; Binladen, J.; Higham, T.F.G.; Yohe II, R.M.; Parr, R.; Cummings, L.S.; Willerslev, E.  2008.  "DNA from Pre-Clovis Human Coprolites in Oregon, Norht America."  Science May 9: 786-789.
  
Iñiguez, A.M.; Araújo, A.; Ferreira, L.F.; Vicente, A.C.P. 2003. “Analysis of Ancient DNA from Coprolites: A Perspective with Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA-Polymerase Chain Reaction Approach.” Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 98(Suppl. 1): 63-65.

 

Johnston, G.  2015.  “Coprolite Analysts.”  Archaeology Expert http://www.archaeologyexpert.co.uk/coproliteanalysts.html


Reinhard, K.J. 2000.  “Coprolite Analysis: The Analysis of Ancient Human Feces in Dietary Data.”  Archaeological Method and Theory: An Encyclopedia.






Reinhard, K.J. and Hevly, R.H.  1991.  “Dietary and Parasitological Analysis of Coprolites Recovered from Mummy 5, Ventana Cave, Arizona.”  KIVA 56: 319-327.


Reinhard, K.J. and Bryant Jr., V.M.  1992.  “Coprolite Analysis: A Biological Perspective on Archaeology.”  Papers in Natural Resources 245-288.
 




Reinhard, K.J.; Ambler, J.R.; Szuter, C.R.  2007.  “Hunter-Gatherer Use of Small Animal Food Resources: Coprolite Evidence.”  International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 17: 416-428.


Wilke, P.J. and Hall, H.J.  1975.  “Analysis of Ancient Feces: A Discussion and Annotated Bibliography.”  Archaeological Research Facility, University of California-Berkley.