Dr. Kohler and his colleagues will conduct two seasons of archaeological research in the Bandelier National Monument, a national park located in New Mexico. The park contains numerous cliff dwellings and other archaeological remains. Prior archaeological work indicates that Anasazi peoples were present in the park between approximately 1,200 and 1,500 A.D. The data also indicate that over this time period small scattered settlements gave way to larger aggregated groupings, and a similar pattern is seen in other parts of the Southwestern United States. Dr. Kohler and his colleagues wish to document this trend and discover its cause. To do this, they will conduct two seasons of excavation in sites which have been located during prior work. They will collect ceramic materials to construct a fine grained chronology. This will permit them to determine how population changed over time. Faunal and floral remains will allow reconstruction of both diet and changing environment over this roughly 300 year interval. On this basis the interactions between climate, diet, environmental degradation, and social change can be examined. Although archaeologists for many years have recognized that a process of population aggregation occurred in the prehistoric Southwest, it has been difficult to isolate the forces which underlay this development. Dr. Kohler believes that population growth led to the depletion of wild resources and the need to intensify agricultural production. These factors in turn elicited social responses that favored the development of aggregation. This project will provide data to test the hypothesis. This research is important for several reasons. It will shed light on the factors which led to the development of complex societies, such as our own. It will also increase our understanding of native American prehistory and provide useful environmental data for the management of Bandelier national park. Finally, since this research will be conducted in conjunction with an archaeological summer field school, it help to train students and encourage them to pursue careers in science.
