Evolution (Video‪)‬ UCTV

Permanent body modification is a unique and variable practice among humans, not observed in other mammals. Despite being costly and risky, it is regularly performed. Scientific understanding of this phenomenon is nascent, prompting a symposium aiming to assess current research status and prioritize questions for the next decade. The event brings together academics and industry practitioners, exploring historical and contemporary practices like tattooing, piercing, finger amputation, and cranial modification. The symposium aims to investigate the 'when' and 'where' of permanent body modification and understand the motivations behind it, considering personal justifications and scientific hypotheses. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 39476]

In the literature on lip plates in Southern Ethiopia there has been a strong emphasis on their socio-cultural importance and little information about their biocultural significance. Shauna LaTosky proposes that cultural keystone species theory and cultural keystone place theory could provide a useful frameworks for understanding relationships between the agro-pastoralist Mursi of Southern Ethiopia and the plant species and places that are integral to maintaining their cultural bodily practices. Keystone designations are applied here to the indigenous fruit tree lomay (Ximenia americana) and special clay pits in recognition of their role in the success of permanent body modification practices such as the piercing and stretching of women’s lower lips, but also in the promotion of health, social well-being and a sustainable environment. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 39470]

Across continents, material evidence of body piercing jewelry abounds in the archeological record. However, the varying procedures and processes of piercing, healing, and stretching these wounds for adornment remains unfamiliar to most archeologists. This talk discusses the early self-experimentations that led to the development of the Euro-American body piercing industry. From the late 19th throughout the 20th centuries shared personal correspondence, illustrations, and photographs document the adaptations, innovations, successes, and failures that came to coalesce a current community’s collective knowledge. Understanding the processes of these secretive explorations provides insights into many of the cross-cultural practices of the past for which no clear records remain. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 39474]

Archaeological research in Mexico and Central America reveals insights into cultural practices, focusing on the history of body modification. Examining long-term patterns helps unravel motivations for adoption, change, and abandonment of these practices. The talk emphasizes how body modification histories in this region illuminate shared identities across linguistic, ethnic, and political boundaries, while also highlighting distinctions within regional traditions and individual societies. It suggests that indigenous societies viewed the human body as shaped by the community, challenging the notion of a universal boundary between the natural body and the social person. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 39469]

This talk offers an overview of the many forms of permanent genital modifications embedded in human cultures, where they occur, the reasons why, the archaeological investigations of origins, and future trends. Included are female clitoridectomy, excision, infibulation, and other practices that affect about five percent of females worldwide; and the male practices that affect one-third of males: circumcision, superincision, and subincision. Why have so many cultures invented and preserved these modifications as part of their valued heritage? Controversies abound: the current human rights opposition to all female practices is met with backlash, and others question the “justifications” for continuing male circumcision. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 39471]

Bioarchaeological studies of Pleistocene populations, examining practices like tooth ablation, facial piercing, and cranial modification, contribute to our understanding of social identities and population dynamics. Recent analyses of Ohalo II H2 in southwestern Asia and Oldupai Hominid 1 in Tanzania reveal dental evidence of intentional body modifications. Ohalo II H2 likely represents the earliest case of intentional incisor ablation in Southwest Asia, a common practice in Iberomaurusian and Natufian cultures. Oldupai Hominid 1 exhibits dental wear suggestive of facial piercings, a previously unknown practice in Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene East Africa. These early cases shed light on the cultural practices and social identities of Pleistocene populations. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 39468]