Date Awarded
2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Department
Anthropology
Advisor
Martin D Gallivan
Committee Member
Danielle Moretti-Langholtz
Committee Member
Scott Strickland
Abstract
This thesis investigates what information accumulations research can provide on settlement population and sedentism in the Late Woodland Potomac River Valley. Accumulations research is a flexible method that mathematically models the relationships between past populations and the archaeological record they leave behind using the discard equation. This study reviews the available data for several different variables in accumulations research, including settlement population, use duration (occupation length) and residential stability (seasonality), and uses the discard equation to evaluate the data. My research focuses on five archaeological sites in the Potomac River Valley, which was home to several different cultural groups during the Late Woodland Period (A.D. 900 – 1600). The results provide new insight into the cultural and demographic developments of the Potomac Piedmont’s Late Woodland cultural history.
DOI
https://dx.doi.org/10.21220/s2-222r-h385
Rights
© The Author
Recommended Citation
Borden, Matthew Anthony, "An Unsettled History: Measuring Settlement Population And Sedentism In The Late Woodland Potomac River Valley" (2023). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. William & Mary. Paper 1686662703.
https://dx.doi.org/10.21220/s2-222r-h385
