This $268,083 federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (CFDA 47.075) program will fund an international team to investigate how an ancient community adapted their social relationships and subsistence strategies to overcome disappearing water resources and increasing economic pressures during a period of early state formation. The key products and services to be delivered include:
In-depth archaeological case studies analyzing architectural developments, material culture production, pottery design and exchange, use of cultivated and wild plants, and domesticated livestock and hunting to understand how the community actively resilied to adverse climate conditions and economic pressures.
Interpretation focused on the agency-based active resilience of the ancient community members rather than a passive adaptation.
Open-access publication of detailed archaeological and ecofact sequence data to enable regional comparative studies.
Collaborative development of community-based participatory archaeology approaches that can be applied globally.
Special efforts to encourage full participation of local women who are often excluded from archaeological work, including through collaborative training resources produced by the international majority-women excavation team and undergraduate students.
This project will be conducted by the Cal Poly Corporation, a non-profit auxiliary organization serving California Polytechnic State University, over the period of July 1, 2024 to August 31, 2027.