Innovating Studies of Agricultural Economies

University Of Akron, Akron OH

Investigators

Abstract

The research team studies agrarian economies and land-use impacts, focusing on how people bring new areas under cultivation, how agriculture shapes economic supply chains, and the impact of new settlements, population growth, and agricultural extensification on regional land-use. The results of this study will provide a technologically informed model for the study of agrarian economies. The microbotanical and biomolecular methods employed in the study (of stables isotopes, animal aDNA, proteomic analysis of animal proteins, and phytoliths) advance priorities in the adoption of biotechnological innovation. The project also creates training opportunities for students. The project addresses three immediate and specific research questions. First, how did the economic functions of settlements vary by size and proximity to resources? Second, to what degree were resources shared between settlements, or conversely, to what degree did the inhabitants of each settlement specialize in specific domesticates and craft production? Third, what groups populated the settlements? Fieldwork techniques include surface survey, geophysical survey, and excavation. The team systematically collects zooarchaeological, paleobotanical, and residue samples to generate a detailed database of the local environmental zones, and the economy and diet of inhabitants. Previous archaeological excavations in the region of study have primarily focused on towns and cities, a top-down perspective in current models of agrarian economies. This project provides a complementary bottom-up perspective on territorial agrarian economies and the impact of agricultural extensification. This research design provides an opportunity to compare multiple similar sites within constrained geographic and temporal frameworks, and supplements the rich database derived from the excavation of larger sites. 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.