# Doctoral Dissertation Research: Insight into Long Term Societal Interaction

> **NSF 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT** · SUNY at Binghamton (NY) · $24,658

## Abstract

This doctoral dissertation project investigates culture contact, conflict, and shifting regional dynamics in the American Southwest. The goal of this project is to understand how the cultural groups came to take their present-day forms by adapting to shifting political, social, and environmental pressures. It asks specifically what changes were related to exogenous forces, and what were the result of strategic choices made in a shifting social landscape. The project trains a graduate student in scientific methods of archaeological data collection and analysis. 

The study contributes to broader anthropological questions about how new groups form through adopting, rejecting, or blending different cultural practices. The project includes field surveys and uses drone-based mapping to document architectural features, perform GIS line-of-sight studies to assess visibility between fortified settlements, applies ceramic analysis and petrography to distinguish locally produced from imported pottery, uses dendrochronology to date construction episodes, and interviews local community members about their oral histories of these sites. These methods help to unravel patterns of movement, defense, refuge, and regional exchange systems, offering a more complete understanding of the complex landscape of the American Southwest.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impac

## Key facts

- **NSF award ID:** 2533869
- **Awardee organization:** SUNY at Binghamton (NY)
- **SAM.gov UEI:** NQMVAAQUFU53
- **PI:** Ruth M Van Dyke
- **Primary program:** 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
- **All programs:** ARCHAEOLOGY, GRADUATE INVOLVEMENT
- **Estimated total:** $24,658
- **Funds obligated:** $24,658
- **Transaction type:** Standard Grant
- **Period:** 08/15/2025 → 07/31/2027

## Primary source

NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2533869

## Citation

> US National Science Foundation, Award 2533869, Doctoral Dissertation Research: Insight into Long Term Societal Interaction. Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-07 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nsf/2533869. Licensed CC0.

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