Doctoral Dissertation Research: Agricultural Oasis Socio-Political Organization

This doctoral dissertation project uses archaeobotany, the study of ancient plant remans, to examine the relationship between agricultural production systems, the local environment, and socio-political organization. The project tests whether pre-existing models of hydraulic agriculture accurately represent small-scale agriculture in dry summer oases which necessitate irrigation to support agricultural production.

The project tests whether these dry summer oases require complex hierarchies to organize irrigation by reconstructing agricultural production, environment, and socio-political organization using archaeological plant remains. The project further explores the relationship between agricultural production and the local environment. Archaeological plant remains are well suited to address the impact of local environmental change on agricultural production systems as well as social aspects of agricultural production systems such as harvesting schedules, labor organization, and grain storage.

This research integrates multiple lines of data to address these questions, including ancient microscopic and macroscopic plant remains in comparison to environmental proxies and the relevant archaeological record. Dissemination of results will be accomplished through peer reviewed journals and an open access platform. The project fosters participation through undergraduate student training in archaeobotanical methods and presents opportunities for students to participate in firsthand archaeological research.

The research team analyzes archaeological plant remains, including carbonized and mineralized plant remains (seeds and plant parts) and phytoliths (microscopic silica bodies that form within and between plant cells), and integrates environmental proxies including wood charcoal and pollen data with the archaeological record. These archaeological plant remains serve as proxies to reconstruct the ancient environment and to study past agricultural production systems during transitions between important past eras.

This transition is marked by broad environmental change in multiple locations. The doctoral student seeks to answer the central question of how agricultural production systems were adapted to known periods of environmental change as along with socio-political organization.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.