Projects
The projects listed on this page are all in varying stages of development. Each would provide many opportunities for involvement by potential collaborators, graduate students, or undergrads. While the primary geographic focus of the SAHND Lab is eastern North America, researchers and projects operating outside of this scope that align with SAHND Lab research themes or that deploy similar analytical approaches are welcome!
The Southern Appalachian Networks Project
Through the synthesis of over 100 archaeological sites, c. 350,000 ceramic sherds, and over 100 new dates across northern Georgia and eastern Tennessee, the Southern Appalachian Networks Projects aims to reconstruct c. 1,000 years of changes to social networks and the relationships between these changes and Indigenous sociopolitical histories.
Santa Elena: The First Capital of Spanish La Florida
Located on Parris Island along the coast of South Carolina, Santa Elena was the first permanent European settlement in what is today the United States. Work at Santa Elena aims to illuminate the organization of, and life in, the early colonial towns of Spanish La Florida. Of particular interest is the potential for exploring some of the earliest sustained interactions between Indigenous groups and Spanish colonizers in the American southeast.
Institutional Histories of the Oconee Valley
Revisiting and dating collections from sites across the Oconee Valley in northern Georgia, we’ve highlighted the endurance of Indigenous institutions beyond the arrival of Spanish colonizers and have identified the earliest expression of Muskogean council houses to date. Work will continue to explore the historical context of this early democratic institution.
The Colonial Landscapes Archaeological Synthesis Project (CLASP)
CLASP is designed to yield insight into the structure and transformation of Indigenous social networks across the southeastern U.S. at the time of Spanish contact by way of a large scale synthesis of extant archaeological data, new quantitative and modeling approaches, and high resolution radiocarbon dating. The primary aim is to understand how the structures of Indigenous networks framed and drove interactions with Spanish colonizers and directed flows of materials, ideas, and pathogens.
Riverine Histories: Long-Term Settlement in the Lower Illinois Valley
Both field and collections-based investigations at sites spanning a 1,500 year history, between c. 250 BC and AD 1300, are aimed at understanding the long-term evolution of socioeconomic and politico-ritual institutions in the Lower Illinois Valley. Of particular interest is the complex articulation of local histories and practices with broader regional trends.
Demographic Pressure, Public Goods, and Socioecological Capacity on the Georgia Coast
This project is currently in development. The aim is to explore the relationship between demographic transitions, community organization, cooperative resource management, and collective action along the Georgia coast. The core of this work will be undertaken at the site of Middle Place on Ossabaw Island, one of the largest archaeological sites along the Georgia Bight. Work will include large-scale geophysical surveying, extensive shovel test survey and excavation, high resolution chronological modeling, and environmental archaeology exploring resource exploitation and ecological impacts.