Diverse and Sustainable Resource Management in a Salvage Context

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This project will explore how a long term society sustainably farmed for thousands of years without massive deforestation. Preliminary data show that the area under consideration was occupied for over a millenium and that the inhabitants interacted with the environment in such a way so as not to destroy the resources upon which they relied—fertile soils, water, and a forest with diverse flora and fauna. Results will provide strategies for more sustainable resource management globally. This project is comprised of diverse researchers including women and underrepresented minorities, as well as local foremen and field assistants. Students will benefit through gaining research experience, collecting dissertation data, participating in community engagement, and authoring reports and articles. By exploring the hypothesis that people practiced long-term diverse and sustainable practices without deforesting the landscape the team can contribute to devising potential agricultural strategies relevant today. Because the region is slated for agricultural development, this archaeology program will collect as much information as possible before it is plowed away. Analyses will be conducted to assess the three test implications (long-term occupation, diverse subsistence strategies, and use of forest resources) including artifact analyses, AMS C14 dating, settlement distribution, faunal remains, human remains, and micro- and macro-botanicals. The research team will run three concurrent operations to excavate 15 sites over multiple field seasons. Newly cleared areas will be mapped using a drone and ground-checked. Personnel will conduct ceramic analysis, osteological analysis and identification of faunal remains. The team will evaluate maps and artifacts to assess agricultural practices, settlement patterns, chronological distribution, interactions, and population size. The project, by combining research and rescue archaeology, can serve as a model for future endeavors.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.