Biography
Dr. Spielmann's current research concerns socio-ecological systems. She leads a collaborative team of archaeology and ecology faculty and students investigating the long-term ecological changes on Perry Mesa, Agua Fria National Monument, north of the Phoenix Basin that resulted from a pulse of occupation by farmers in the A.D. 1200s and 1300s. Other research interests are in archaeology, bioarchaeology, economic anthropology, exchange and social networks, and ritual economies in small-scale societies. Dr. Spielmann has focused much of her career on prehistoric economies, primarily in North America. She is especially interested in the ways in which economic intensification is fueled by increasing demands for food and goods in ritual, political, and social contexts. One of her primary contributions has been to demonstrate the variety of conditions under which small-scale societies with relatively simple political systems develop complex, specialized economies. She is also interested in the relationship between diet and health under different subsistence regimes. Dr. Spielmann teaches courses on the human dimensions of sustainability, North American archaeology, and economic archaeology.
Education
- PhD, University of Michigan, 1982
- MA, University of Michigan, 1977
- AB, Harvard University, 1976
Expertise
Journal Articles
2018
Kintigh, K. W., K. A. Spielmann, A. Brin and K. Candan. 2018. Data integration in the service of synthetic research. Advances in Archaeological Practice 6(1):30-41. DOI: 10.1017/aap.2017.33. (link )
2014
Nakase, D. K., A. S. Hartshorn, K. A. Spielmann and S. J. Hall. 2014. Eolian deposition and soil fertility in a prehistoric agricultural complex in central Arizona, USA. Geoarchaeology 29(2):79-97. DOI: 10.1002/gea.21463. (link )
2011
Spielmann, K. A., M. C. Nelson, S. E. Ingram and M. A. Peeples. 2011. Sustainable small-scale agriculture in semi-arid environments. Ecology and Society 16(1):. DOI: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol16/iss1/art26/ES-2010-3814.pdf. (link )
2006
Briggs, J. M., K. A. Spielmann, H. Schaafsma, K. W. Kintigh, M. Kruse, K. Morehouse and K. Schollmeyer. 2006. Why ecology needs archaeologists and archaeology needs ecologists. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 4(4):180-188. DOI: 10.1890/1540-9295(2006)004[0180:WENAAA]2.0.CO;2. (link )
Book Chapters
2017
Spielmann, K. A. and R. M. Aggarwal. 2017. Household vs. national-scale food storage: Perspectives on food security from archaeology and contemporary India. Pp. 244-271 In: Hegmon, M. ed., The Give and Take of Sustainability: Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives on Tradeoffs. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 9781107078338.
Strawhacker, C., G. Snitker, K. A. Spielmann, M. Wasiolek, J. Sandor, A. P. Kinzig and K. W. Kintigh. 2017. Risk landscapes and domesticated landscapes: Food security in the Salinas Province. Pp. 83-118 In: Spielmann, K. A. ed., Landscapes of Social Transformation in the Salinas Province and the Eastern Pueblo World. University of Arizona Press. Tucson, AZ. ISBN: 9780816535699.
2016
Spielmann, K. A., S. J. Hall, M. R. Kruse-Peeples, D. K. Nakase and J. E. Trujillo. 2016. Soil texture and agricultural resilience in the prehistoric Southwest: Farming on Perry Mesa, Arizona. In: Foster II, H. T., L. M. Paciulli and D. J. Goldstein eds., Viewing the Future in the Past: Historical Ecology Applications to Environmental Issues. University of South Carolina Press. Columbia, SC. ISBN: 978-1-61117-586-8.
2012
Nelson, M. C., M. Hegmon, K. W. Kintigh, A. P. Kinzig, B. A. Nelson, J. M. Anderies, D. A. Abbott, K. A. Spielmann, S. E. Ingram, M. A. Peeples, S. A. Kulow, C. A. Strawhacker and C. A. Meegan. 2012. Long-term vulnerability and resilience: Three examples from archaeological study in the Southwestern U.S. and Northern Mexico. In: Cooper, J. and P. Sheets eds., Learning to Live with Climate Change: Understanding Hazards, Mitigating Impacts, Avoiding Disasters.
2011
Spielmann, K. A., M. C. Nelson, S. E. Ingram and M. A. Peeples. 2011. Mitigating environmental risk in the US Southwest. Pp. 180-211 In: Miller, N. F., K. M. Moore and K. Ryan eds., Sustainable Lifeways: Cultural persistence in an ever-changing environment. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Philadelphia.
2010
Kruse, M., H. Schaafsma, K. A. Spielmann and J. M. Briggs. 2010. Landscape legacies of prehistoric agriculture land-use in the Perry Mesa region, Central Arizona. In: Dean, R. ed., Anthropogenic Landscapes: Archaeological Perspectives. Southern Illinois University Press.
2008
Abbott, D. R., S. E. Ingram and K. A. Spielmann. 2008. Warfare and farming: National Science Foundation research on the late prehistoric occupation of Perry Mesa. Pp. 20.1-20.11 In: Robinson, C. K., C. Breternitz and D. R. Mitchell eds., Prescott to Perry Mesa: 4,000 Years of Adaptation, Innovation, and Change in Central Arizona. Sharlot Hall Museum Press. Prescott.
1995
Spielmann, K. A. and E. Angstadt-Leto. 1995. Hunting, Gathering , and Health in the Prehistoric Southwest.. Pp. 79-106 In: Tainter, J. A. and B. B. Tainer eds., Addison-Wesley Reading. MA.
Posters
2010
Taylor, C., R. M. Aggarwal, H. Eakin and K. A. Spielmann. 2010. Local food in the Phoenix metropolitan area: Barriers and enablers as perceived by food system stakeholders. Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. Poster presented at the January 14, 2010 12th Annual Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research Poster Symposium, Global Institute of Sustainability.
2008
Russell, W., H. Schaafsma and K. A. Spielmann. 2008. P.C. in the P-III (and beyond): Ceremonial racing as an integrative strategy in Central Arizona. Poster presented at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology meeting. Vancouver, BC Canada.
Schaafsma, H., M. Kruse, W. Russel, J. M. Briggs, K. A. Spielmann and S. J. Hall. 2008. Ancient agriculture of the Perry Mesa tradition in central Arizona: Interpreting ancient land-use and modern landscapes. Poster presented at 10 January 2008 CAP LTER 10th Annual Poster Symposium, Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. (link )
2006
Kruse, M., H. Schaafsma, K. Schollmeyer, J. M. Briggs, K. Horn, K. W. Kintigh, C. Lai, K. A. Spielmann and C. Wichlacz. 2006. Legacies on the landscape: Integrating ecology and archaeology on the Agua Fria National Monument, Arizona. Poster presented at the 19 January 2006 CAP LTER 8th Annual Poster Symposium, Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. (link )
Kruse, M., H. Schaafsma, K. Schollmeyer, J. M. Briggs, K. Horn, K. W. Kintigh, R. Lai and K. A. Spielmann. 2006. Legacies on the landscape: Integrating ecology and archaeology on the Agua Fria National Monument, Arizona. Poster presented February at the 7th Annual Meeting of the Graduates in Life, Earth and Social Sciences Research Symposium, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.
2005
Schollmeyer, K., J. M. Briggs, K. Horn, K. W. Kintigh, M. Kruse, C. Lai, H. Schaafsma, K. A. Spielmann and C. Wichlacz. 2005. Legacies on the landscape: Integrating ecology and archaeology on the Agua Fria National Monument, Arizona. Poster presented March 31-April 3 at the 70th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Salt Lake City, UT.
Presentations
2011
Ingram, S. E., A. Dugmore, J. Areborg, G. Hambrecht, M. Hegmon, K. W. Kintigh, T. H. McGovern, M. C. Nelson, R. Oram, M. Peeples, K. A. Spielmann and O. Vesteinsson. 2011. Climate hazards and social transformations in the North Atlantic region and in the U.S. Southwest, 900 to 1500 C.E. Presentation at the June 22-26 International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences Conference, Iceland.
2008
Spielmann, K. A., J. M. Briggs, S. J. Hall, M. Kruse and H. Schaafsma. 2008. Legacies on the landscape: The enduring effects of long-term human-ecosystem interactions. Presentation March 19 at the 20th Anniversary Southwest Symposium, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.
Spielmann, K. A., H. Schaafsma, J. M. Briggs, S. J. Hall and M. Kruse. 2008. Legacies on the landscape: The enduring effects of long-term human-ecosystem interactions. Presentation at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology meeting. Vancouver, BC Canada.
2007
Schaafsma, H., J. M. Briggs, S. J. Hall and K. A. Spielmann. 2007. Prehistoric anthropogenic changes in the Arizona landscape. Presentation as Key Note Address at the Southwest Vegetation Management Associations Annual Conference, Tucson, AZ.
Schaafsma, H., M. Kruse, J. M. Briggs, S. J. Hall and K. A. Spielmann. 2007. News from the landscape: Ongoing research on the Perry Mesa Culture of Central Arizona. Presentation at the 80th Pecos Conference, Pecos NM.
Conference Papers
2011
Trujillo, J. E., M. Kruse-Peeples, S. J. Hall, K. A. Spielmann and D. K. Nakase. 2011. Legacies on the landscape: Long-term socio-ecological interaction in the southwestern United States. In: Eaton, M. and P. Landres eds., May 24-28, 2010. Albuquerque, NM. Proceedings RMRS-P-000. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mount.
Reports
2009
Ingram, S. E. Spielmann, K. A., S. E. Ingram, S. A. Kulow, M. A. Peebles and C. M. Meegan eds. 2009. Salinas paleoclimate A.D. 1100 to 1700. Report submitted to the Western National Parks Association and Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument Aug 19, 2009.