Dissertation Improvement Grant: Colorado River Archaeology

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Under the direction of Dr. Keith Kintigh, Mr. Andrew Duff will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will examine a sample of archaeological ceramics from late prehistoric sites in the Upper Little Colorado River (ULCR) region of East-Central Arizona as well as others from related sites in adjacent areas. To accomplish this, samples will be analyzed by neutron activation at the University of Missouri reactor. The elemental determinations which result will allow Mr. Duff to determine which ceramics came from the same sources and on this basis to reconstruct patterns of trade and social interaction. Mr. Duff wishes to examine links among the different pueblos located in the and their differential ties with the larger prehistoric world. Preliminary work, based on analysis of ceramic design, suggests that although ULCR communities were spatially close, their trade networks varied significantly. A considerable degree of social complexity was reached in the prehistoric Southwest and given no other form of transportation than foot travel, archaeologists wish to understand how individual communities achieved and maintained links with other groups. A second interesting question concerns social strategies which permitted survival in a highly variable and unpredictable desert environment. Researchers hypothesize that systems were designed to allow the movement of goods to compensate for the spatial variation in rainfall and productivity which characterize deserts. To examine this question scientists must reconstruct interaction networks and they use archaeologically recovered material remains to accomplish this goal. Because clays from different deposits often vary in chemical composition they can often be used to trace movements of goods and Mr. Duff's research takes advantage of this fact. His work is important for several reasons. It will shed new light on human adaptation to unpredictable environments. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and will also assist in the training of a promising young scientist.