Rachel Most


Rachel Most Professor / Assistant Dean Ph.D. Arizona State University 1987 Garrett Hall, Room 210
My primary research interests are concerned with the study of change over time in prehistoric economic and settlement systems. I am particularly concerned with the study of spatial and technological organization of prehistoric foraging societies, the impact of the adoption of agricultural strategies by foraging societies, and the role of hunting in emergent complex societies. My avenue into the study of these processes has been the systematic study of stone tool procurement, production, and use. My field research has been primarily in the Southwestern United States, where I worked in the Mogollon Rim (Pinedale/Snowflake) and southern desert areas of Arizona. Prior to my research in Arizona, I was involved in historic and prehistoric archaeological research in the northeastern United States, and spent one year on the staff of the South Carolina Institute for anthropology and Archaeology. Since coming to Virginia I have also become involved in historical archaeology, serving as a statistical and computer consultant to the archaeological program at Monticello, and compiling and editing two books on historic archaeology. I am presently an assistant dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and teach one course each semester in Anthropology. Specializations Lithic analysis; quantitative methods; Southwestern archaeology; North American archaeology; prehistoric economic systems; foraging societies. Graduate Courses Quantitative Methods; Laboratory Methods; Lithic Analysis; North American Archaeology Selected Publications 1990 - (with William Kelso, eds.). Earth Patterns: Archaeology of Early American and Ancient Gardens and Landscapes. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia. 1989 - (with Kent G. Lightfoot). Interpreting Settlement Hierarchies: A Reassessment of Pinedale and Snowflake Settlement Patterns. In The Sociopolitical Structure of Prehistoric Southwestern Societies. S. Upham, K. G. Lightfoot, and R. A. Jewett, eds. pp. 389-418. Boulder: Westview Press. 1986 - Felsite Procurement in the Picacho Mountains: The Tucson Aqueduct Quarry Sites. In Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers of South Central Arizona: The Picacho Reservoir Archaic Project. pp. 191- 217. Arizona State University Anthropological Field Studies, 13. 1985 - (with Jeffrey Hantman). Hunting Strategies and Lithic Variability: Inferring Patterns of Puebloan Economic Diversity. In Papers from the Second Annual Mogollon Conference. S. Upham, F. Plog, and D. Batcho, eds. pp. 1-12. Las Cruces: New Mexico State University Press. 1982 - (with Sylvia W. Gaines, eds.). Computerized Data Sharing: The SARG Example of Cooperative Research. Conference on Computer Applications in Archaeology. pp. 19-32.

Professor / Assistant Dean
Ph.D. Arizona State University 1987

Garrett Hall, Room 210

My primary research interests are concerned with the study of change over time in prehistoric economic and settlement systems. I am particularly concerned with the study of spatial and technological organization of prehistoric foraging societies, the impact of the adoption of agricultural strategies by foraging societies, and the role of hunting in emergent complex societies. My avenue into the study of these processes has been the systematic study of stone tool procurement, production, and use. My field research has been primarily in the Southwestern United States, where I worked in the Mogollon Rim (Pinedale/Snowflake) and southern desert areas of Arizona. Prior to my research in Arizona, I was involved in historic and prehistoric archaeological research in the northeastern United States, and spent one year on the staff of the South Carolina Institute for anthropology and Archaeology. Since coming to Virginia I have also become involved in historical archaeology, serving as a statistical and computer consultant to the archaeological program at Monticello, and compiling and editing two books on historic archaeology. I am presently an assistant dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and teach one course each semester in Anthropology.

Specializations

Lithic analysis; quantitative methods; Southwestern archaeology; North American archaeology; prehistoric economic systems; foraging societies.

Graduate Courses

Quantitative Methods; Laboratory Methods; Lithic Analysis; North American Archaeology

Selected Publications

1990 - (with William Kelso, eds.). Earth Patterns: Archaeology of Early American and Ancient Gardens and Landscapes. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia.
1989 - (with Kent G. Lightfoot). Interpreting Settlement Hierarchies: A Reassessment of Pinedale and Snowflake Settlement Patterns. In The Sociopolitical Structure of Prehistoric Southwestern Societies. S. Upham, K. G. Lightfoot, and R. A. Jewett, eds. pp. 389-418. Boulder: Westview Press.
1986 - Felsite Procurement in the Picacho Mountains: The Tucson Aqueduct Quarry Sites. In Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers of South Central Arizona: The Picacho Reservoir Archaic Project. pp. 191- 217. Arizona State University Anthropological Field Studies, 13.
1985 - (with Jeffrey Hantman). Hunting Strategies and Lithic Variability: Inferring Patterns of Puebloan Economic Diversity. In Papers from the Second Annual Mogollon Conference. S. Upham, F. Plog, and D. Batcho, eds. pp. 1-12. Las Cruces: New Mexico State University Press.
1982 - (with Sylvia W. Gaines, eds.). Computerized Data Sharing: The SARG Example of Cooperative Research. Conference on Computer Applications in Archaeology. pp. 19-32.