http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/anthropology Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Wed, 22 Apr 2026 12:05:27 -0400 Wed, 22 Apr 2026 12:05:27 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1837/goddess-in-the-sheets-prostitute-in-the-streets-examining-public-and-private-divisions-of-gender-in-mesopotamian-cities By Georgia H. Vance - This paper explores the spatial expression of the female gender in early Mesopotamian cities from c. 2334-1595 B.C.E. Gender in Mesopotamia has been widely studied socially but not spatially, and here I aim to provide a consideration of gender through the framework of a public/private divide. Predominantly, a sensory archaeological methodology is applied to the urban environment as reconstructed by both textual and archaeological sources. This method employs Shepperson’s ‘archaeosensorium’ from Sunlight and Shade in the First Cities (2017) to study identifiable gendered spaces... Tue, 17 Nov 2020 08:08 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1837/goddess-in-the-sheets-prostitute-in-the-streets-examining-public-and-private-divisions-of-gender-in-mesopotamian-cities http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1790/linguistic-essentialism-and-indigenous-authenticity-the-role-of-indigenous-languages-in-defining-indigeneity By Ella Agoos - Since the European invasion of Latin America in the sixteenth century, the concept of indigeneity has been inherently political. In what can only be described as an ongoing ethnocide, colonial powers did everything they could to stomp out the rich diversity of indigenous cultures throughout the land while imposing their Western Christian values upon colonized groups. After centuries of being denied their own culture, indigenous groups now struggle to preserve their surviving cultural practices. One such element of culture that many indigenous peoples see as tied directly to their identities is... Mon, 07 Sep 2020 10:03 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1790/linguistic-essentialism-and-indigenous-authenticity-the-role-of-indigenous-languages-in-defining-indigeneity http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1748/studying-ancient-dna-to-understand-contemporary-disease By Wafaa Khatau - The study of DNA and genetics has always been a large mystery to many scientists. The current Ancient DNA (aDNA) research on human history is more complex than what can be inferred from modern DNA research. Scientists and researchers are constantly using modern day populations, and modern DNA to make inferences about past populations (Haber et al., 2016). With the new technologies available in ancient DNA, the study of past diseases and populations is more easily conducted with little to no contamination. Studying aDNA does not only tell us about current and past disease, but can also shed light... Thu, 20 Dec 2018 12:07 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1748/studying-ancient-dna-to-understand-contemporary-disease http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1729/japan-at-work-in-the-21st-century-an-analysis-of-developing-labor-practices-in-japan-and-institutional-barriers-to-reform By Gregory A. Fedorov - Devastated by an economic collapse at the end of the 20th century, Japan’s economy entered a decade long period of stagnation. Now, Japan has found stable leadership, but attempts at new economic growth have fallen through. A combination of public desire for economic security through lifetime employment, reliance on “economic bureaucracy” of large corporations and pressure from international powers have left Prime Minister Shinzo Abe few options for fulfilling his “Abenomics” dream. Japanese leaders have continuously attempted to restructure the economy in an effort... Thu, 08 Mar 2018 09:44 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1729/japan-at-work-in-the-21st-century-an-analysis-of-developing-labor-practices-in-japan-and-institutional-barriers-to-reform http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1579/first-the-land-and-then-the-language-linguistic-imperialism-in-transjordan-and-palestine By Kate Pashby - In Jordan, a state renowned for medical tourism, all physicians are proficient in English because medical classes are taught in English, indicating that English, rather than Jordan's official language of Arabic, is the prestige language of Jordanian medicine. As a result, Jordanians who have access to English through wealth and education receive more opportunities than those without access. These language ideologies come from Jordan's history as a British mandate. This paper applies the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis to a set of primary sources, Palestine and Transjordan administrative... Thu, 31 Dec 2015 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1579/first-the-land-and-then-the-language-linguistic-imperialism-in-transjordan-and-palestine http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1331/a-tale-of-garbage By Ian McTaggart - In 1973, an American archaeologist named Dr. William Rathje sought to create a method that would help his students understand the intricacies of archaeological fieldwork. Dr. Rathje recognized that his students at the University of Arizona were having a difficult time understanding cultural remains from the past (Rathje, 1979, p. 4), so his idea was to use contemporary cultural material waste as a study tool. He named this method "The Garbage Project." Given that the project took place during 1970s and students of the time were far removed from potsherds and post holes, it made sense to articulate... Tue, 01 Sep 2015 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1331/a-tale-of-garbage http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1006/the-researcher-at-the-dance-epistemology-ethics-and-the-ethnographer By Christopher T. McMaster - Before the ethnographer can enter the field of research, indeed, before the researcher can interpret data from the field, he or she must first be aware of how knowledge and meaning are made. The epistemological lens the ethnographer uses will have crucial implications on the hows and the whys—not only of the research itself—but on the role of the researcher. This essay will argue (with the assistance of two young parents, one salmon, and a farm yard full of dancers) that the only ethical ethnography is critical, and the responsibility of the ethnographer is to actively participate... Fri, 06 Mar 2015 04:22 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1006/the-researcher-at-the-dance-epistemology-ethics-and-the-ethnographer http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/812/covariation-in-limb-limb-and-limb-trunk-proportions-in-whites-and-blacks-and-males-in-females-using-the-hamann-todd-collection-cleveland-museum-of-natural-history By Amanda Kittoe - Stature estimation is traditionally an important consideration in physical anthropology and archaeology and is especially pertinent in the realm of forensics. The most widely used resource for estimating living stature from the length of long bones is the research of Trotter and Gleser (1952) (White, 2000). They studied the relationship between bone length and stature of American Blacks and Whites1 from the Terry Collection at the National Museum of Natural History. They also used records of the causalities from the Korean War (Trotter and Gleser, 1952). Their research is an important basis for... Fri, 22 Nov 2013 02:23 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/812/covariation-in-limb-limb-and-limb-trunk-proportions-in-whites-and-blacks-and-males-in-females-using-the-hamann-todd-collection-cleveland-museum-of-natural-history http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/799/ape-fracture-patterns-show-higher-incidence-in-more-arboreal-species By Sarah Hoffman - First, the percentages of individuals that had long bone fractures, including fractures of the radius, ulna, humerus, tibia, fibula, and femur, out of the total population for each species were compared. Additionally, among those individuals with long bone fractures the percentages that had long bone fractures of specifically the upper limb were compared among species. The results showed a general trend toward higher incidence in long bone fractures among the more arboreal species. However, comparison of proportions of upper limb fractures shows that chimpanzees have the highest ratio of upper... Thu, 21 Nov 2013 11:01 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/799/ape-fracture-patterns-show-higher-incidence-in-more-arboreal-species http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/669/a-couchsurfing-ethnography-traveling-and-connection-in-a-commodified-world By CiCi Siyue Liu - The past decades have seen significant expansion in the markets for commercial tourism, offering high-cost accommodation, luxury services, and resort getaways for the Western consumer. In the context of high expenditure-and-profit tourism, forms of alternative tourism distant from the commercial arena have emerged globally. Examples include Hospitality Exchange and the CouchSurfing Project. This ethnographic study analyzes the CouchSurfing Project as an emerging social and cultural phenomenon, and seeks to determine the shared meanings, values, and social interpretations of CouchSurfers that support... Mon, 30 Jul 2012 08:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/669/a-couchsurfing-ethnography-traveling-and-connection-in-a-commodified-world http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/399/human-rights-truth-commissions-and-anthropology-in-latin-america By Malissa Candland - As a whole, anthropologists have devoted little effort to studying mass violence and terror and even though they recently have begun embracing it as a legitimate area of study, little anthropological work has been completed (Sanabria 352). Yet systematic violence has been a common theme in much of Latin America and has affected the lives of millions of Latin Americans. By studying the social, political and cultural consequences of this violence on the lives of Latin Americans, anthropologists can inject an important analysis into the origins and consequences of mass violence and how nations and... Wed, 02 Mar 2011 08:56 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/399/human-rights-truth-commissions-and-anthropology-in-latin-america http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/92/writing-a-necessary-undertaking-in-advanced-society By Kendra A. Palmer - Written language is one of the greatest human accomplishments; its formation signifies a breakthrough in human progress. The development of a standardized writing system seems to be a somewhat natural occurrence in the evolution of any given advanced society. It can be observed that, as a culture or a people grow and expand in other areas, an apparent need for written communication arises. There is a transition from a simply widely-spoken and understood language to a designation of a palpable system of letters and symbols which correspond to that language. Therefore, writing is one of a number... Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:50 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/92/writing-a-necessary-undertaking-in-advanced-society