The Role Of Population Movement In The Origin Of Complex Society

University Of Montana, Missoula MT

Investigators

Abstract

Societies change and grow due to a variety of different reasons. In certain locations, it seems that this process is due to a local shift and intensification in specific resources and technologies. In others, an outside influence, potentially through migration, can catalyze growth and change. Clear shifts in material culture can be identified in the archaeological record, but the reasoning behind them may not be quite as obvious. The archaeological site of Paquim, in Chihuahua, Mexico, is a site that underwent a dramatic fluorescence around 1200 A.D. The reasons for this change have been suggested to be an aggregation of local populations into the city center, or perhaps due to an influx of migrants from the southern civilizations in Mexico. Using ancient DNA studies, this research will contribute to understanding the role of migration in the Greater Southwest and specifically in the Casas Grandes area, which can be extended to other regions where migration potentially influenced the development of social complexity and worked as a catalyst for significant changes in established cultural fabrics. Outreach will include the introduction of methods related to the STEM sciences to K-12 students. Also, a summer program will allow for hands-on training for interested university students. A doctoral student will also be funded to aid in their degree completion. Migration is a fundamental human act. How it may influence populations, and in particular spur creative and economic growth, is something one can better understand by looking at human history. The researchers will utilize some of the most recent technologies to collect genetic data from different time periods to detect changes in the occupancy of the Paquim region. In particular, does genetic data suggest that migration was a potential reason for the significant shift in the Casas Grandes region? Or does genetic homogeneity between populations during different time periods suggest a local impetus for the cultural fluorescence? 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.