Humans

12 pages, 203 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Beyond Fistfights and Basketball: Reclaiming Native American Masculinity

by Dianne Baumann

Humans 2024, 4(2), 200-211; https://doi.org/10.3390/humans4020012 - 19 Jun 2024

Viewed by 864

Substantial and necessary research examining the violence perpetrated against Native women continues to flourish, while violence and masculinity studies focused on Native men draws little attention. Meanwhile the murder rate of Native men is three times higher than Native women, twice as high as white men, and occurs at the hands of police more often than any other U.S. racialized group per capita. Colonization divided ‘Christians’ (white) and ‘heathens’ (Native), with settler whites identifying Native men as wild and threatening. I suggest the construct of settler colonialism and the ‘toxic gendering’ of Native masculinity continues today and impacts Native men internally (psychologically) and externally (rationally), contributing to violence perpetrated against and by them. This paper is an interpretive analysis of “Scary Brown Man” and Reservation Blues as examined through the intersection of the toxic gendering bias intrinsic to settler colonialism. Alexie’s novel offers a depiction of ‘typical’ reservation life and the conflicting struggle to maintain a healthy Native identity, while Ross’s article brings real-life situations into the conversation, encouraging the entry of intersectional discourse around Native masculinity into the arena of gender/bias research as applied to settler colonial studies while questioning the role of identity politics within disciplines. Full article

8 pages, 1628 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Skeletal Manifestations of Gender-Affirming Medical Interventions for Aiding in the Preliminary Identification of Trans Individuals

by John Albanese and Jaime A. S. Nemett

Humans 2024, 4(2), 192-199; https://doi.org/10.3390/humans4020011 - 18 Jun 2024

Viewed by 1289

Abstract

Because of systemic discrimination, transgender individuals are at greater risk of being the victims of violence and of homicide. Accurate post-mortem identification from skeletonized remains of transgender individuals must be incorporated into a new standard for forensic anthropological analyses. A critical component of any investigation is the assessment of skeletal remains for evidence of gender-affirming care. A systematic review of the current medical literature was conducted to compile in one document descriptions of changes that could be used by forensic anthropologists to recognize skeletal manifestations resulting from gender-affirming surgeries, including facial feminization surgery (FFS), shoulder width reduction surgery, and limb-lengthening procedures. These skeletal changes, when present bilaterally and without evidence of healed trauma, serve as key indicators of a person’s transgender identity postmortem. Recognizing common patterns in bone structure alterations due to gender-affirming interventions will assist in identifying transgender individuals and providing closure for families. By integrating markers from gender-affirming care practices into forensic investigations, this research contributes to more inclusive and rigorous forensic investigations. Full article

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9 pages, 205 KiB

Open AccessEssay

The Community of Practice: An Essential and Elegant Framework for Archaeological Interpretation

by Randall Souza

Humans 2024, 4(2), 183-191; https://doi.org/10.3390/humans4020010 - 22 May 2024

Viewed by 1365

Abstract

Archaeologists deploy a variety of models and theories, often tailored to specific questions or situations, in making sense of the material record we study. The concept of the community of practice, originally developed in the context of modern work and learning situations, describes among other things how participation in shared activities can create and shape social relationships. It therefore offers a powerful and flexible framework for the many archaeological research agendas in which group dynamics play a role. Some archaeologists have already begun to use the community of practice approach (CoP) as an interpretive framework, and this essay argues that a wider embrace would be a benefit to individual archaeologists and to the field as a whole. Full article

35 pages, 13172 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Dog Consumption at Tell Zirāʿa: Is It a “Cultural Marker” for the “Sea Peoples”?

by Katja Soennecken and Haskel J. Greenfield

Humans 2024, 4(2), 148-182; https://doi.org/10.3390/humans4020009 - 28 Apr 2024

Viewed by 1476

Abstract

It has been argued that the increase in the consumption of dogs in the southern Levant during the Iron Age was due to the advent of the Philistines/“Sea Peoples” into the region. In this study, we test this proposal through the presentation of new information on dog consumption and its depositional context in Bronze and Iron Age strata from the archaeological site of Tell Zirāʿa (Jordan), and we compare the results to other sites in the region. Our study does not support that such behaviour is a signal of ethnic identity. Full article

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17 pages, 4769 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Macro-Scale Population Patterns in the Kofun Period of the Japanese Archipelago: Quantitative Analysis of a Larger Sample of Three-Dimensional Data from Ancient Human Crania

by Hisashi Nakao, Akihiro Kaneda, Kohei Tamura, Koji Noshita and Tomomi Nakagawa

Humans 2024, 4(2), 131-147; https://doi.org/10.3390/humans4020008 - 2 Apr 2024

Viewed by 1353

Abstract

The present study collected a larger set of three-dimensional data on human crania from the Kofun period (as well as from previous periods, i.e., the Jomon and Yayoi periods) in the Japanese archipelago (AD 250 to around 700) than previous studies. Three-dimensional geometric morphometrics were employed to investigate human migration patterns in finer-grained phases. These results are consistent with those of previous studies, although some new patterns were discovered. These patterns were interpreted in terms of demic diffusion, archaeological findings, and historical evidence. In particular, the present results suggest the presence of a gradual geological cline throughout the Kofun period, although the middle period did not display such a cline. This discrepancy might reflect social changes in the middle Kofun period, such as the construction of keyhole-shaped mounds in the peripheral regions. The present study implies that a broader investigation with a larger sample of human crania is essential to elucidating macro-level cultural evolutionary processes. Full article

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Humans, Volume 4, Issue 2 (June 2024) – 5 articles

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