I study significant transitions in human history, specializing in the application of archaeological science to the study of collective social formations and the historical ecology of wetland and coastal environments. In the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts, my recent research focuses on socioecological histories and zooarchaeological indicators to achieve high resolution, localized histories of human-climate dynamics. More broadly, my work centers on the nature of Indigenous governance by addressing cases that demonstrate the variability in the forms that democratic institutions might take. I am also engaged with NAGPRA (Native American Graves and Repatriation Act, to make sure that ancestors cared for by UGA are treated respectfully and repatriated to their descendent communities.
Research
- Collective action
- Indigenous governance
- Historical ecology
- Native American Archaeology
- Radiocarbon dating
- Shell midden archaeology
- Stable oxygen isotopes
- Remote sensing
- Geographic Information Systems
- Southeastern Archaeology
Selected Publications
Thompson, Victor D. (2022) Considering Ideas of Collective Action, Institutions, and “Hunter-gatherers” in the American Southeast. Journal of Archaeological Research. (in press)
Thompson, Victor D., Jake Lulewicz, RaeLynn Butler, Turner Hunt, LeeAnne Wendt, James Wettstaed, Mark Williams, Richard Jefferies, Suzanne K. Fish (2022) The Early Materialization of Democratic Institutions among the Ancestral Muskogean of the American Southeast. American Antiquity. 1-20. doi:10.1017/aaq.2022.31.
Thompson Victor D., Torben Rick, Carey J. Garland, Karen Y. Smith, David Hurst Thomas, Matt Sanger, Bryan Tucker, Isabelle Lulewicz, Anna M. Semon, John Schalles, Christine Hladik, Clark Alexander, Brandon T. Ritchison (2020) Ecosystem Stability and Native American Oyster Harvesting along the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Science Advances 6:eaba9652
Grants
2022 $20,700. University of Georgia, Faculty Research Grants Program for the project: The Timing of Community at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park. (Turner Hunt, Raelynn Butler, LeeAnn Wendt, Jennifer Birch co-P.I.s).
2022 $90,183. Integrating Oaxaca Survey Data to Improve Models of State and Urban Origins. National Science Foundation, Victor D. Thompson (P.I.), Stephen Kowalewski (co-P.I.), Richard Blanton, (co-P.I.), Gary Feinman (co-P.I.), Linda Nicholas (co-P.I.).
2021 $78,694. NAGPRA Consultation Grant, Evaluating UGA’s Existing Holdings. National Park Service. Victor Thompson (P.I.), co-P.I. Amanda Roberts Thompson.
Education
PhD, Anthropology, University of Kentucky, 2006
