Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award: Village Organization in Non-complex Societies

觅食者和农学家之间的相互作用被广泛认为是全球文化，技术，语言和遗传变化的关键过程。这篇博士论文研究评估了狩猎采集群体对首次引入农民及其产品的反应。这不仅对理解这些相互作用的性质具有重要意义，而且对重建现代后代人口变化的分水岭时刻也具有重要意义。该项目的成果将用于为州和联邦一级的遗产组织，特别是国家公园管理局编写新的解释材料。此外，研究人员将在北达科他州的州历史学会为公众和土著社区成员提供基本动物识别和分析方面的培训。这些产出将提高科学素养和参与度。这项研究涉及与曼丹、Hidatsa和Arikara部落成员制定一项合作计划，计划为部落学校举办讲座和/或编制课程。 因此，更广泛的影响将是学术界，公共遗产组织和原住民nations.This研究之间的伙伴关系增加调查狩猎采集者和北美大平原上的农民之间的接触的性质使用同位素和古代DNA分析狗仍然从17个先前挖掘的网站从公元前6450年到公元1880年。 它将通过跟踪社区在首次引入农业之前、期间和之后对玉米的使用情况来做到这一点，方法是使用狗的饮食作为玉米存在的代表。古老的DNA分析将区分狗与狼和郊狼，稳定同位素分析将确定狗的饮食中玉米的程度。在北方平原上几乎所有的考古遗址中都能发现狗，它们和今天一样，吃主人生产的食物和废物。这些数据集，当与考古数据配合使用时，将有助于说明觅食者-农民相互作用的性质，主要是拒绝，经济交换，采用。具体来说，这项研究解决了这些关系最初是如何以及何时形成的，以及它们如何随着时间的推移而变化。本项目使用犬代孕方法作为识别这些相互作用的新工具。虽然狗对许多不同历史上的北美土著群体的生计至关重要，但对大平原狗的古代DNA研究有限。古老的DNA，虽然主要用于这项研究，以确定狗仍然从野生郊狼和狼，这也将有助于更好地了解美洲犬的变异性，并可能揭示与非犬种繁殖的时机。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响进行评估，被认为值得支持审查标准。

Interactions between foragers and agriculturalists are widely recognized as pivotal processes of cultural, technological, linguistic, and genetic changes worldwide. This doctoral dissertation research assesses the responses of hunter-gatherer groups to the first introduction of farmers and their products. This is not only significant to understanding the nature of these interactions, but also for reconstructing watershed moments of change for modern descendant populations. Outputs from this project will be used to develop new interpretive materials for heritage organizations at the state and federal levels, especially the National Park Service. Additionally, the researchers will provide training on basic animal identification and analyses at the State Historical Society of North Dakota to the public and Indigenous community members. These outputs will increase scientific literacy and engagement. This research involves the formulation of a collaboration plan with members of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, with planned lectures and/or curriculum development for tribal schools. As such, a broader impact will be increased partnership between academia, public heritage organizations, and Indigenous nations.This research investigates the nature of contact between hunter-gatherers and farmers on the North American Great Plains using isotopic and ancient DNA analysis of dog remains from 17 previously excavated sites spanning from BC 6450 to AD 1880. It will do so by tracking the use of maize by communities, before, during, and after the first introduction of farming by using dog diet as a proxy for maize presence. Ancient DNA analyses will differentiate dogs from wolves and coyotes, and stable isotope analyses will determine the degree of maize in the dogs’ diets. Dogs are found in almost all archaeological assemblages on the northern Plains and consumed food and waste produced by their owners just as they do today. These datasets, when used in concert with archaeological data, will help illustrate the nature of forager-farmer interactions, mainly rejection, economic exchange, adoption. Specifically, this research addresses how and when these relationships originally formed, and how they changed over time. This project uses the Canine Surrogacy Approach as a new tool for identifying these interactions. Although dogs were crucial to the livelihoods of many different historic North American Indigenous groups, ancient DNA research of dogs from the Great Plains is limited. Ancient DNA, while used primarily in this research to identify dog remains from wild coyotes and wolves, will also contribute to the greater understanding of the variability of dogs in the Americas and potentially shed light on the timing of breeding with non-indigenous breeds from Europe.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.