NSF Org:	BCS Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences
Recipient:	WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, THE
Initial Amendment Date:	May 16, 2008
Latest Amendment Date:	May 16, 2008
Award Number:	0827097
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	John Yellen jyellen@nsf.gov  (703)292-8759 BCS  Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences SBE  Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences
Start Date:	July 1, 2008
End Date:	June 30, 2010 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$11,228.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$11,228.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2008 = $11,228.00
History of Investigator:	Tristram Kidder (Principal Investigator) trkidder@wustl.edu Lee Arco (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	Washington University 1 BROOKINGS DR SAINT LOUIS MO  US  63130-4862 (314)747-4134
Sponsor Congressional District:	01
Primary Place of Performance:	Washington University 1 BROOKINGS DR SAINT LOUIS MO  US  63130-4862
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	01
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	L6NFUM28LQM5
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	Archaeology
Primary Program Source:	01000809DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s):	1391, 9179, SMET
Program Element Code(s):	139100
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.075

ABSTRACT

Archaeological research of the Poverty Point culture (ca. 3800-3000 Cal B.P.) in the Lower Mississippi Valley (LMV) has contributed much to the understanding of prehistoric hunter and gatherer social organization. During the Late Archaic Poverty Point Period, construction of monumental architecture, extensive long-distance trade, technological developments, and elaboration of lapidary arts reached scales unprecedented in the prehistory of eastern North America. Recent archaeological and geologic investigations in the LMV have identified evidence of catastrophic flooding and attendant fluvial reorganization (ca. 3000-2500 Cal B.P.) that are thought to be implicated in the dissolution of the Poverty Point culture. However, our understanding of this exceptional hunter-gatherer culture and the fluvial events temporally correlated with its demise are primarily based on research conducted at the Poverty Point site and proximate settlements and/or regions within the Tensas Basin of northeast Louisiana. The lack of comprehensive data sets from more distant communities and regions throughout the LMV has limited understanding of Poverty Point society and the interplay between the dynamic alluvial environment of the Mississippi River and prehistoric settlement, human behavior, and cultural processes in the region.

The proposed dissertation research project will employ geoarchaeological methods to investigate the occupation chronology, intra-site stratigraphy, and the depositional and geomorphologic history of the Jaketown site in the Yazoo Basin of west-central Mississippi. Jaketown is the second largest extant Poverty Point settlement and the Yazoo Basin contains the majority of all known Poverty Point sites. However, many questions related to the site remain unanswered and much about the Late Archaic culture in the region remains unclear. The site-scale data acquired from Jaketown will represent one of the few comprehensive data sets on a Poverty Point site and constitute a first step towards expanding our regional understanding of Poverty Point culture and knowledge of prehistoric human-landscape interactions in the dynamic LMV floodplain.

Fundamental goals of archaeological research include the explanation of cultural processes and transformations as well as the investigation of sources and roles of change within social, political, economic, and cultural systems. In addition to refining understanding of Jaketown, the site-scale data acquired through the proposed research will allow these broader research issues to be addressed on a regional scale. Results of the proposed project will permit comparative analysis of the occupation histories of Jaketown and the Poverty Point site, advancing understanding of the regional chronology, diachronic development, and trajectory of the two principal settlements within the Poverty Point interaction sphere.

In addition to addressing these archaeological issues, the research at Jaketown will have several broader beneficial impacts. Results of the project will be widely disseminated to the academic and public communities and will provide updated archaeological information, maps, and photographs for the local Jaketown interpretive museum in Belzoni, Mississippi. Field investigations will integrate undergraduate student participation, providing the irreplaceable educational experience of field-based research. Students will receive training in archaeological field methods, will learn about the archaeology of the region, and will be well-informed of the research project in which they are engaged. The research at Jaketown will also promote public interest and education in archaeology through collaboration with the Jaketown interpretive museum and through interaction with the local community during field investigations.

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