Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Effect of Contact on Culture Change

This doctoral dissertation project investigates processes of cultural change in the past that take place when multiple complex societies coalesce and re-shape social and economic ways of life. Given present day situations as a consequence of population movement as a result of war and violence, archaeology can help to understand how such populations negotiate aspects of their lives through material culture over multiple centuries.

Archaeological ceramic analysis is well suited to study this phenomenon because it can yield information on how communities’ choices in production, consumption, and use changed or stayed the same before and after cultural contact events. These choices often reflect social and economic affiliations of group members. Data from this project offers insights into how human populations adapt to social change, providing valuable perspectives for contemporary issues of migration and cultural integration.

This study contributes to a growing body of evidence showing societies have a wide range of responses to both external stimuli and internal negotiations. The project produces new knowledge on adaptations to growing issues of culture contact experienced today and provides information to partners on ancestral practices and land use. The researchers are working with community organizations to integrate analytical perspectives, give local presentations and museum exhibits, and improve public understanding of archaeological science and the scientific method.

The research examines how choices in ceramic production, consumption, and use were mediated when inhabitants interacted with a very early city site. The project examines the specific ways in which societies created pottery before and after this period of flux. Potting choices are examined using macroscopic, microscopic, and geochemical analyses.

This project integrates chemical data collected via neutron activation analysis (NAA) and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) as well as mineralogical data collected from ceramic petrography. These analyses create a detailed picture of natural resource utilization through time and highlight how social learning and technological choices were negotiated.

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.