R. J. Sinensky

My research explores how and why diverse foodways and property management arrangements developed in early farming societies, and how communal food cultivation, storage, processing, and consumption practices contributed to the maintenance of such institutions. Archaeology provides one of the few opportunities to study the long-term sustainability, resiliency, and equitability of different resource management arrangements in precapitalist societies and can provide a greater historical context for modern strategies. My research also explores stability and change in food cultivation practices, preparation techniques, and consumption practices prior to and immediately following the appearance of sedentary villages in the US Southwest and Mesoamerica.