| main | current projects | curriculum vitae | photos | links | Resources for Archaeological Research |
 
 



Social Transformations and Regional Scales of Social Identity in the Cibola World (A.D. 1100-1325) [click here for more info]

On-going dissertation research:
This research is concerned with the interrelationships between major social transformations and collective social identities at regional scales. Using archaeological data from the Cibola/Zuni region of the North American Southwest (ca. AD 1100-1325), I develop methods for operationalizing contemporary theoretical models to better understand how changes in the mechanisms of collective social identification influence the trajectories of large-scale social transformations. The period considered here was marked by a well documented shift from relatively dispersed hamlets, to clustered villages, and eventually, to large nucleated towns. The creation of larger settlements both concentrated populations in smaller portions of the region and created vast empty expanses, providing an ideal context for the exploration of social transformation at a regional scale. I use insights based on contemporary theoretical models focused on social movements to investigate a key question: What is the relationship between changes in collective social identities and major social transformations observed in the archaeological record (e.g., aggregation, nucleation, community reorganization)?

This project is supported by a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (#09043134), a Wenner-Gren Foundation Dissertation Fieldwork Grant (#09094295), by the School of Human Evolution & Social Change at Arizona State University, and by the Arizona State University Museum of Anthropology.		  
       
       
  Long Term Patterns of Settlement Movement along the Zuni River Drainage [click here for more info] 
with Greg Schachner

The Zuni region of New Mexico and Arizona has frequently been cited as an example of a region characterized by long term regional settlement stability. More recently, however, detailed studies of particular areas within the region have revealed substantial local variation in settlement through time. Using a large database of sites from all available full coverage surveys throughout the region, we attempt to integrate this picture of regional stability and local variation. We suggest that, although the region was continuously occupied throughout the prehistoric period, there were long term, patterned changes in the focal areas of settlement along the Zuni River through time.

Poster presented at the 2008 SW Symposium Meeting in Tempe, AZ [online version].		  
       
       
 

Population and Settlement in the Mimbres Region of New Mexico

Human environmental interaction has been a major focus of research in Mimbres region of New Mexico. A number of recent studies have found evidence of major environmental changes in the Mimbres Valley relating to prehistoric occupation, including depletion of plant and animal species, stream down-cutting, and soil nutrient depletion. Population estimates for the Mimbres Valley proper, along with these changes, have previously been used to argue that the regional population may have been at or near carrying capacity. Despite the continuing importance of demographic variables in explanations of social and environmental change throughout the Mimbres region, there has not yet been a published attempt to estimate population across the entire Mimbres region over time. The goal of this study is to develop population estimates of the most densely occupied portions of the Mimbres region (Mimbres Valley, Upper Gila, and the Rio Grande) across the major period of prehistoric agricultural settlement (ca. A.D. 550-1400).

This project is part of the NSF Biocomplexity project headed by Margaret Nelson.
Long-term Coupled Socioecological Change in the American Southwest and Northern Mexico

 
       
       
 

The Role of the Antebellum Black Press in the Political Mobilization and Empowerment of African Americans, 1830-1860 [click here for more info]

By the beginning of the Civil War, the African American newspaper had already proved to be an indispensable ally in the struggle for the rights of African Americans throughout the United States. In the antebellum period, as many as 100 African American newspapers were printed and distributed throughout the nation and beyond. The goal of this study is to delineate how and why the antebellum African American newspapers of the mid-nineteenth century became important as platforms of political agency, intended for those who were largely denied conventional means of participation within the United States government. In particular, I focus on four main avenues through which the African American newspapers were utilized to afford political agency to African Americans: (1) the material and rhetorical support of black suffrage, (2) the promotion and facilitation of public protest, (3) the promotion of material and moral elevation, (4) and the creation of a black national and historical identity.

Peeples, Matthew A.
2008. Creating Political Authority: The Role of the Antebellum Black Press in the Political Mobilization and Empowerment of African Americans. Journalism History 34(2):76-86. [PDF]

  
  Older projects