Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Community Development and Culture Negotiation

Board Of Regents, Nshe, Obo University Of Nevada, Reno, Reno NV

Investigators

Abstract

The Early Bronze Age (EBA) in the Near East is characterized by marked sociopolitical and economic changes. In particular, social stratification, urbanization, extensive intra- and interregional trade networks, and population movement and densification are notable features of this period. While archaeological investigations have bolstered understanding of each of these aspects, bioarchaeological investigations are in a unique position through the use of human remains to address questions of population interaction, social organization, and community formation. This research will investigate the complex interaction between population density, population diversity, and culture contact in the development of incipient urbanization, migration, and the production of community identities. Such research has modern-day implications regarding the human response to population density and diversity, urban and neighborhood development, migration, and inter-population interaction. International collaboration will be fostered between several institutions in both the United States and Turkey. This project will also contribute to the training of an undergraduate student in bioarchaeological and statistical skills and encourage the participation of underrepresented groups in biological anthropology. Results from this research will be shared through publication in several academic journals, international and domestic lectures, and data will be shared in the digital data repository, ScholarWorks. This research will examine the community formation practices and demographic processes of EBA Anatolia using the site Karata-Semay (c. 2800-2300 BCE) in southwestern Anatolia. This settlement exhibits evidence of emerging hierarchy, neighborhood formation, homogenous architectural and burial practices, and involvement in the interregional trade networks of the Eastern Mediterranean. Utilizing dental metric and morphological data collected on both permanent and deciduous dentitions, this research will conduct intra- and inter-site analyses to investigate biological relatedness between individuals and sites, respectively. Such analyses contribute to understanding of the social organization of individuals within a single community; postmarital residence practices; kinship construction; extent of biological and, by proxy, cultural diversity; and region of origin. This information, in conjunction with archaeological and mortuary data, will be used to identify how early settlements developed and how individuals negotiated common community identities and formed social units. This research will further anthropological understanding of early urban development, population movement, social organization, and human reaction to diversity during the EBA. 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.