Archaeology and Archaeometry

The goal of the Archaeology Program is to fund research which furthers anthropologically relevant archaeological knowledge. In accordance with the National Science Foundation’s mission such research has the potential to provide fundamental scientific insight. While within the broad range of “archaeology” the focus is on projects judged to be significant from an anthropological perspective, the Program sets no priorities based on time period, geographic region or specific research topic. The Program administers four competitions each of which is described below. It also supports projects submitted under NSF-wide competition guidelines. These include CAREER, EAGER, RAPID and Research Experiences for Undergraduates Supplement requests. Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Awards (DDRI) For a detailed description of the Archaeology Program DDRI competition, see Solicitation NSF 15-554 which can be accessed via the Archaeology DDRI web site. It contains additional rules not presented in this synopsis. The DDRI competition provides up to $20,000 (+ university indirect/overhead costs) to permit graduate students enrolled in US universities to conduct dissertation research. The student need not be a US citizen or national. While the student writes the proposal and conducts/supervises the research, the dissertation advisor serves as the Principal Investigator and the student is listed as the Co-PI. Salary and normal living expenses are not eligible costs but per diem and most other research expenses are allowable. Both field and non-field projects are funded. Proposals may be submitted at any time and applicants are normally informally notified of the likely outcome within three months. Applications are sent for evaluation to six individuals (“ad hoc reviewers”) specifically selected for subject matter expertise. Students are allowed to resubmit one time if their original proposal is declined. Unless Program Officer dispensation is obtained, a student, through their advisor, may submit only two proposals (an original submission and a resubmission if necessary). Senior Archaeological Research The Archaeology Program holds a twice yearly competition to provide support for senior investigator archaeological research. The target dates, as noted above, are July 1 and December 20. (In contrast to “deadlines”, “target dates” permit leeway as determined by the...