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OIA grants for three graduate students

February 22, 2016

OIA grants for three graduate students

Diana Monkey in forest

Barbara Betz for Social Differentiation, Resource Stress, and Neolithic Site Abandonment: An Examination of Dental Markers of Disease and Malnutrition in Early Childhood at Neolithic Çatalhöyük.  She will analyze defects in dental enamel microstructures in order to examine patterns of disease and malnutrition (i.e., physiological stress) in the early life histories of individuals at Neolithic Çatalhöyük (7300 – 6000 cal. BC) and address questions about the complex interplay of social, technological, and ecological dynamics of risks and consequences for poor health during infancy and childhood within the community leading up to Neolithic site abandonment. By assessing broad diachronic population-level patterns of stress both independently of, and in conjunction with, synchronic social variability in risk exposure and resource access, a clearer picture should emerge of the interplay between the primary forces which led to abandonment and dispersal from the largest Neolithic settlement sites.

Elizabeth Gardiner for Impacts of Social Relations on the Privatization of Communal Farmland  & Implications for Food Security in Burkina Faso. The project focuses on food security in the context of privatizing land, a global trend supported by international organizations like the United Nations and the World Bank as solutions for problems such as underdevelopment, food security, adaptation to climate change, and land insecurity for small-share farmers. Through a case study of Burkina Faso, her research aims to document and explain how privatization is impacting social relations among farming community members, agro-investors and the state; and conversely, how existing relations of communal land regimes are affecting the outcomes of privatization policies implemented in the name of food security. 

Erin Kane for Primate-Human Interaction, Parasite Load, and Potential for Zoonotic Disease Transmission in West Africa.  Forest fragmentation and increased human-primate interaction  in West Africa is a particular concern for human and primate health because of the potential for disease transmission. Erin plans to collect behavioral data and fecal samples from two populations of Campbell’s monkeys in Cote d'Ivoire: one in the pristine interior of Tai National Park, and one ranging in the town of Taï. By comparing their behavioral ecology and parasite load, and will identify potential avenues for disease transmission and understand the difference in parasite risk and health in monkeys living in disturbed vs. undisturbed habitats.

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