Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Development of Social Complexity.

社会科学家试图了解小规模社会转变为政治复杂的大规模社会的过程，这些社会整合了多个社区。考古记录提供了一个跨越时间和空间分析这些过程的机会，使人们能够更好地了解它们是如何发展并继续塑造今天的社会轨迹的。在这一背景下，该项目通过研究社会经济网络以及过去文化中地方和区域政治动态的相关影响，审查了社会复杂性的出现。社会复杂性可以被认为是一种网络现象，并通过正式的社会网络分析进行建模。这一办法考虑到了当地政治进程和区域社会经济进程之间的反馈，随着不同社区之间互动的增加，这些进程可以推动社会变革。在整个项目中，学生将接受实验室和分析方法、数据解释和网络方法方面的培训。此外，该项目还建立并促进了与该地区当地社区和其他考古学家的合作。该项目侧重于这样一个问题：地方政治战略和区域社会经济网络之间的关系如何有助于复杂组织结构的发展？这起考古案件中复杂结构的发展很可能与平民集体和新兴精英之间的内部政治谈判以及区域互动中遗址层面的差异有关。为了研究这个问题，研究人员不仅使用了正式的社会网络分析，还使用了陶器的中子激活分析，以及对材料遗迹和建筑的分析。虽然社会网络分析方法被用来重建一个地理区域内的古代社会经济网络，但中子激活分析提供了必要的数据来追踪社区之间的陶器交换-经济互动的代理。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Social scientists seek to understand the processes through which small-scale societies transform into politically complex, large-scale societies which integrate multiple communities. The archaeological record provides an opportunity to analyze these processes across time and space allowing one to better understand how they developed and continue to shape societal trajectories today. Within this context, this project examines the emergence of social complexity through a study of socio-economic networks and the associated impacts of local and regional political dynamics in a past culture. Social complexity can be conceived as a network phenomenon and modeled through formal Social Network Analyses. This approach takes into consideration the feedback between the local political and regional socio-economic processes which can drive societal change as interaction between diverse communities increases. Throughout the project, students will be trained in laboratory and analytical methods, data interpretation, and network methods. Furthermore, the project also builds and furthers collaborations with local communities and other archaeologists in the region. This project focuses on the question: How does the relationship between local political strategies and regional socio-economic networks contribute to the development of complex organizational structures? The development of complex structures in this archaeological case was likely related to internal political negotiations between commoner collectives and burgeoning elites as well as site-level differences in regional interaction. To investigate this question, the researchers employ not only formal Social Network Analysis but also Neutron Activation Analysis of pottery, and an analysis of material remains and architecture. While Social Network Analysis methods are used to reconstruct ancient socio-economic networks in one geographic region, Neutron Activation Analysis provides the necessary data to trace the exchange of pottery – a proxy for economic interaction – between communities.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.