Will Meyer | Mercyhurst University (original) (raw)

Papers by Will Meyer

The SAA Archaeological Record, 2023

arch 31 is the annual International Transgender Day of Visibility. This date in 2023 landed withi... more arch 31 is the annual International Transgender Day of Visibility. This date in 2023 landed within the period of the 88th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, in Portland, Oregon. Fittingly, as I moved through the exhibit hall and sessions at the conference, it seemed the SAA's transgender and non-binary members were more visible than ever. Some of them were first-time conference attendees, many of them brave undergraduate or graduate students seeking to make professional connections outside their home institutions; others were seasoned veterans of the field, lab, and classroom. Importantly, among their number was a very visible member of the SAA Board of Directors.

In this chapter, we introduce our volume and focus on defining the various ways in which the term... more In this chapter, we introduce our volume and focus on defining the various ways in which the term community is used by bioarchaeologists in this volume, especially with respect to the theoretical ideas within the emerging social and theoretical bioarchaeology. We also provide an initial summary concerning each of the chapters and how each author, or set of authors, focuses on community within their research. Our goals are: (1) to discuss the possibilities and limitations of identifying different types of past community or communities; (2) to expand on methods in bioarchaeology that can be used to identify community; and (3) to develop theoretically based bioarchaeological research on community in order to elucidate meaningful relationships that structured past people’s lives. [Theoretical bioarchaeology, Community, Social relationships, Daily life, Agency, Practice approach, Group membership] B ioarchaeology, as a scholarly field, questions how people lived in the past using human s...

European first millennium BC studies have witnessed an increasing theoretical divide between the ... more European first millennium BC studies have witnessed an increasing theoretical divide between the approaches adopted across different European countries. Whilst topics such as ethnicity, identity, a ...

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, 2014

The Journal of Rural Health, 2007

While literature exists on sexual risks for HIV among rural populations, the specific role of sti... more While literature exists on sexual risks for HIV among rural populations, the specific role of stimulants in increasing these risks has primarily been studied in the context of a single drug and/or racial group. Purpose: This study explores the use of multiple stimulants and sexual risk behaviors among individuals of different races and sexual identities in rural North Carolina. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 41 individuals in 3 rural North Carolina counties between June 2004 and December 2005. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and reviewed for accuracy. Edited interviews were imported into Atlas.ti and askSam for analysis. Findings: Along with marijuana, stimulants-including powder cocaine, crack, and methamphetamine-were the most frequently used illicit drugs in these counties. Powder cocaine use was more closely associated with white participants, crack with African Americans, and both were more commonly used by female participants. Participants reported 3 overlapping behaviors involving stimulant use that may be associated with increased risk of HIV infection: engaging in sex while using drugs, sex trading and group sex. Nearly half of participants reported engaging in group sex activity. Conclusions: HIV risk through injection appears to be low in these rural counties. However, nearly all study participants reported some form of sexual risk behavior that may increase transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Further research is warranted focusing on the nexus between substance abuse and risky sexual behaviors.

Culture, Health & Sexuality, 2010

This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or sy... more This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

AIDS Care, 2009

There is concern that the tremendous economic, social, and political upheavals that the Republic ... more There is concern that the tremendous economic, social, and political upheavals that the Republic of Georgia has undergone in the years since the fall of the Soviet Union may have created an environment fertile for HIV transmission. Notably absent from official statistics and HIV-related research in Georgia is discussion of men who have sex with men (MSM) and, therefore, little is known about the MSM population or its potential to acquire or transmit HIV. Data were collected from 30 MSM recruited through a testing and counseling center in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Two focus groups with six men each and 18 individual in-depth interviews were conducted between October 2006 and February 2007. The study participants described a Georgian culture that is largely intolerant of sexual contact between men. In describing the various forms of discrimination and violence that they would face should their sexual identities be discovered, the MSM in this sample described a variety of behaviors that they and other Georgian MSM undertake to conceal their sexual behavior. Many of these could put these men and their partners at risk for HIV. Although official HIV rates in Georgia are still low, results from this qualitative study indicate that efforts to educate and to provide unobtrusive and anonymous testing and counseling services to MSM may be critical to the deterrence of an HIV epidemic in the Republic of Georgia.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 2007

This study examined the association between event-level methamphetamine use and heterosexual risk... more This study examined the association between event-level methamphetamine use and heterosexual risk behaviors. Data on 1213 heterosexual encounters were collected using audio-computer assisted self interviews from 703 injecting drug users in North Carolina. Data were obtained by asking participants a series of questions about the last time that they had sex (oral, vaginal, and/or anal). Although participants were interviewed at up to 3 time points, data were analyzed at the event level rather than as longitudinal because we were interested in the co-occurrence of methamphetamine use and sexual risk behaviors. Multivariate generalized estimating equations models were developed to examine the association between co-occurring methamphetamine use and each of 6 heterosexual risk behaviors. Methamphetamine was used in 7% of encounters. Methamphetamine use by either or both partners was associated with an increased likelihood of anal intercourse (odds ratio [OR] = 2.41, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.29-4.53), vaginal and anal intercourse (OR = 2.41, 95% CI = 1.22-4.77), and sex with a new partner (OR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.09-3.61). In addition to these behaviors, methamphetamine use by both partners was also significantly associated with unprotected intercourse with a new partner (OR = 5.20, 95% CI = 2.09-12.93) and unprotected anal intercourse (OR = 4.63, 95% CI = 1.69-12.70). Methamphetamine use during heterosexual encounters appears to increase sexual risk-taking, especially when both partners are using it.

Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association, 2017

From the perspective of social archaeology, it seems bioarchaeology has been slow to recognize it... more From the perspective of social archaeology, it seems bioarchaeology has been slow to recognize its social-interpretive potential. However, I think that “community” might be the key to unlocking this potential. As an interested outsider, I try here to explain the motivations and priorities of social-interpretive archaeologies, and to place the papers in this volume within the broader network of anthropological and archaeological theory. I also comment on the issues of boundaries and boundedness, scale, metaphor, and memory, all of which, one might argue, are social topics that have remained just beyond the reach of “traditional” bioarchaeology.

In this paper, I discuss how agricultural change impacts the Bronze and Iron Age burial mounds of... more In this paper, I discuss how agricultural change impacts the Bronze and Iron Age burial mounds of southern Burgundy. Professional archaeology may be ill-equipped to mitigate this impact. I suggest changes to the discipline that might allow for better site protection, including the adoption of an ethnographic approach. Creating effective heritage management plans for the future will involve altering how we practice archaeology, expanding what constitutes archaeology, and recognizing the important role played by various stakeholders as allies in the preservation of archaeological resources.

In this contribution, we advance historical ecology as one in a number of approaches to new studi... more In this contribution, we advance historical ecology as one in a number of approaches to new studies of the first millennium BCE. Crumley and her colleagues have elaborated this cluster of concepts over 30 years of fieldwork in southern Burgundy, integrating the methods and theories of several disciplines. In the later part of this essay, we provide a guideline for how a research team might organize an historical ecological project (in this case, a study of Atlantic Europe during the first millennium BCE). We intend this outline to fill a gap in the current literature by providing a ‘scalable’ model for future studies in historical ecology; one useful at any number of geographic and/or temporal scales.

Men who have sex with men remain largely absent from the health statistics of many Eastern Europe... more Men who have sex with men remain largely absent from the health statistics of many Eastern European countries. This relative dearth compared to other parts of the world may be attributed to the generally hidden nature of this population. The tendency to employ Western sexual identity labels, rather than locally meaningful categories of identity, may also make it difficult to identify men who have sex with other men. In a pilot study of HIV risk in Tbilisi (Georgia), we used a suite of qualitative techniques - focus groups, individual semi-structured interviews and pile-sort exercises - to probe the opinions, knowledge and experiences of 65 Georgian men. We identified locally meaningful men-who-have-sex-with-men types, demonstrating a complex intersectionality of sexual preference, socio-economic status, behaviour and geography. Positioning within these types appeared to impact a man's exposure to the social stigma of homosexuality; the sexual, physical and mental health risks that he faced; and his access to treatment and counselling. Our results suggest the use of imported identity categories limits researchers' ability to identify men who have sex with other men in Georgia and that further research aimed at elucidating locally meaningful categories is needed - research likely to lead to more-effective group interventions and facilitate a better understanding of holistic individual health needs.

Keywords: men who have sex with men (MSM); culture; self-identification; Georgia

CONTEXT: While literature exists on sexual risks for HIV among rural populations, the specific ro... more CONTEXT: While literature exists on sexual risks for HIV among rural populations, the specific role of stimulants in increasing these risks has primarily been studied in the context of a single drug and/or racial group.
PURPOSE: This study explores the use of multiple stimulants and sexual risk behaviors among individuals of different races and sexual identities in rural North Carolina.
METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with 41 individuals in 3 rural North Carolina counties between June 2004 and December 2005. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and reviewed for accuracy. Edited interviews were imported into Atlas.ti and askSam for analysis.
FINDINGS: Along with marijuana, stimulants-including powder cocaine, crack, and methamphetamine-were the most frequently used illicit drugs in these counties. Powder cocaine use was more closely associated with white participants, crack with African Americans, and both were more commonly used by female participants. Participants reported 3 overlapping behaviors involving stimulant use that may be associated with increased risk of HIV infection: engaging in sex while using drugs, sex trading and group sex. Nearly half of participants reported engaging in group sex activity.
CONCLUSIONS: HIV risk through injection appears to be low in these rural counties. However, nearly all study participants reported some form of sexual risk behavior that may increase transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Further research is warranted focusing on the nexus between substance abuse and risky sexual behaviors.

Objective: This study examined the association between event-level methamphetamine use and hete... more Objective: This study examined the association between event-level methamphetamine use and heterosexual risk behaviors.
Method: Data on 1213 heterosexual encounters were collected using audio-computer assisted self interviews from 703 injecting drug users in North Carolina. Data were obtained by asking participants a series of questions about the last time that they had sex (oral, vaginal, and/or anal). Although participants were interviewed at up to 3 time points, data were analyzed at the event level rather than as longitudinal because we were interested in the co-occurrence of methamphetamine use and sexual risk behaviors. Multivariate generalized estimating equations models were developed to examine the association between co-occurring methamphetamine use and each of 6 heterosexual risk behaviors.
Results: Methamphetamine was used in 7% of encounters. Methamphetamine use by either or both partners was associated with an increased likelihood of anal intercourse (odds ratio [OR] = 2.41, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.29-4.53), vaginal and anal intercourse (OR = 2.41, 95% CI = 1.22-4.77), and sex with a new partner (OR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.09-3.61). In addition to these behaviors, methamphetamine use by both partners was also significantly associated with unprotected intercourse with a new partner (OR = 5.20, 95% CI = 2.09-12.93) and unprotected anal intercourse (OR = 4.63, 95% CI = 1.69-12.70).
Conclusions: Methamphetamine use during heterosexual encounters appears to increase sexual risk-taking, especially when both partners are using it.