Samantha Gallagher Fladd

SAMANTHA FLADD, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, was awarded a Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowship in September 2023 to aid research and writing on “Accumulating Identity in “Trash:” Spatial Modification and Spiritual Stewardship in Ancestral Hopi Villages. Today, we tend to view modifications to space as purely a practical endeavor. However, not all cultures view their association with space as ending once they move out of a room or building; for example, the Hopi who reside in northeastern Arizona view archaeological sites as powerful ancestral homes requiring care and respect. Instead of only asking why spatial modifications happen, what if we also considered how they were undertaken as practices of cultural stewardship of the past, present, and future? Through a detailed analysis of the Ancestral Hopi villages of the Homol’ovi Settlement Cluster, “Accumulating Identity” reconsiders the meaning making evident in modifications to space. The grantee reviews the material signatures of social investment in ancestral architectural spaces — their content and context — to highlight the repeated evidence for care often overlooked in the archaeological record. In doing so, common assumptions about trash and abandonment are challenged and readers are encouraged to reconsider their perspectives on the intersection of care and architectural space.