Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Development of Social Complexity.

Social scientists seek to understand the processes through which small-scale societies transform into politically complex, large-scale societies which integrate multiple communities. The archaeological record provides an opportunity to analyze these processes across time and space allowing one to better understand how they developed and continue to shape societal trajectories today. Within this context, this project examines the emergence of social complexity through a study of socio-economic networks and the associated impacts of local and regional political dynamics in a past culture. Social complexity can be conceived as a network phenomenon and modeled through formal Social Network Analyses. This approach takes into consideration the feedback between the local political and regional socio-economic processes which can drive societal change as interaction between diverse communities increases. Throughout the project, students will be trained in laboratory and analytical methods, data interpretation, and network methods. Furthermore, the project also builds and furthers collaborations with local communities and other archaeologists in the region. This project focuses on the question: How does the relationship between local political strategies and regional socio-economic networks contribute to the development of complex organizational structures? The development of complex structures in this archaeological case was likely related to internal political negotiations between commoner collectives and burgeoning elites as well as site-level differences in regional interaction. To investigate this question, the researchers employ not only formal Social Network Analysis but also Neutron Activation Analysis of pottery, and an analysis of material remains and architecture. While Social Network Analysis methods are used to reconstruct ancient socio-economic networks in one geographic region, Neutron Activation Analysis provides the necessary data to trace the exchange of pottery – a proxy for economic interaction – between communities. 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.