Enlarged Network Integration As A Response To Social Change

University Of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington KY

Investigators

Abstract

Population movement and social transformation are the tangible expressions of societal response to systemic stress. Whether studying these processes at the local or global level, today or in the past, these are issues that are relevant to gaining a deeper understanding of the human condition. Just as groups with different backgrounds and histories come together today in response to particular developments or crises to form new collective social identities, so, too, did groups in the past. This project is a case study that investigates how one kind of society, small-scale farming groups, created a new collective social identity and restructured external relationships in response to cultural and environmental stress. The goal of this project directed by a research team consisting of Drs. David Pollack, Gwynn Henderson and Heather Worne, is to understand the processes by which new social identities are created. Archaeology is particularly well positioned to address this issue, as its forte is the study of change over long periods of time. Contemporary social theoretical approaches structure the researchers' investigation into how collective social identity and external relationships change. The results of this project will provide a better understanding into how communities and regional populations reacted and responded to changing cultural and environmental conditions. In so doing, this project will expand understanding of one of the most fundamental of all historical processes - how societies respond to change. The late fourteenth to early fifteenth century was a period of change for Ohio Valley farmers. Downstream, Mississippian polity collapse led to widespread population dispersal. In the Valleys middle reaches, the response was much different. Here, ca. A.D. 1400, Fort Ancient farming groups chose to aggregate within large villages. Exploring one Fort Ancient community's response to this process contributes to understanding of the factors at play in this region as a whole. In this manner, researchers can begin to understand human perseverance during a period of change and why, throughout history, Fort Ancient people maintained a separate and distinct identity from their neighbors. Educating and training undergraduate/graduate students and avocational archaeologists is an important element of this research project. It will provide an opportunity for students to participate in all aspects of the research: field and laboratory work, analysis, report preparation, and presenting research results (to the public and to professionals). Through a field school and paid project internships or enrollment in independent study courses, University of Kentucky undergraduate/graduate students will gain vital hands-on educational experiences and training in a real research context. This is especially important for University of Kentucky undergraduate students, a population that includes individuals from rural Kentucky areas who are economically underprivileged; their participation in this research project will expose them to aspects of scientific research. The laboratory at UK's Archaeology Facility will be open for students and the interested public to participate in washing, cataloguing, and analyzing the materials recovered. Dissemination of research results to professionals will occur at conferences and through journal publications; and to the public through public-oriented publications. Professionals and the public alike will be able to follow project discoveries through the project webpage, where brief reports and short video clips will be posted.