Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Role of Monuments in Community Building

University Of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

In this doctoral dissertation research project the student together with other researchers, examine monument construction and use by early mobile pastoralist communities. Monument construction has long been associated with the rise of early civilizations and states. However, recent archaeological investigations have also identified the crucial role of monuments in processes of social integration among small, mobile populations who have traditionally been excluded from discourse surrounding monumentality. A detailed archaeological study of these important social dynamics, focused on the transition to early forms of mobile pastoralism, provides a new understanding of how monument construction and use reflected changing patterns of social organization, territoriality, and social integration among small scale, dispersed communities. This research will contribute importantly to comparative studies of monument use among early pastoralists. Regional early stone monuments have been significantly impacted by looting and are endangered due to mining and increasingly intensive agricultural practices. This research will provide a comprehensive investigation of such sites and an important contribution to cultural heritage efforts. Furthermore, it creates a valuable opportunity for training archaeology students in advanced field techniques, including archaeological geophysical and geochemical surveys. The student and collaborators investigate how the construction and use of monuments by small, dispersed communities may reflect those changing patterns of social and political organization. Researchers have been conducting studies in the region for over a decade, working to create a better understanding of early pastoralism. Building on this previous research, investigators will employ a new, innovative multi-methods approach to monument study utilizing: (1) targeted near surface multi-method geophysical surveys (fluxgate gradiometry, soil magnetic susceptibility, and electrical conductivity), (2) soil chemistry analysis using portable XRF technology, (3) targeted stratigraphic excavation, (4) artifact and ecofact analysis, and (5) radiocarbon dating. These methods provide a comprehensive approach to understanding the construction and long-term use of these monuments, as well as how associated community activities may have changed over time. Researchers therefore contribute an important new case study and multi-method approach to the investigation and interpretation of monument use by small-scale, dispersed communities that underwent significant shifts in social organization, economic subsistence patterns, and wider community interaction during the transition to mobile pastoralism. 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.