UWG Leads Apalachicola Ecosystems Project

The University of West Georgia recently received a three-year National Science Foundation award to take the lead on the Apalachicola Ecosystems Project. The project will fund 15 semesters of student and graduate student assistantships, project expenses and research efforts.

AEP is a collaborative effort with the University of Arizona, Columbus State University, Pennsylvania State University and the Muscogee Creek Nation. The grant, totaling $211,320, was awarded to the groups collectively.

The project was created to investigate how Native American populations adapted to changing biophysical and colonial frontier environments. Researchers hope to better understand Native American resilience in different ways during the historic period.

Public education is important to AEP’s research efforts. In collaboration with Creek Indian descendants, the AEP will develop educational programs for members in local and descendant areas on the findings of the project.

For more information, contact Thomas Foster, director of the Antonio J. Waring Archaeology Laboratory, at 678-839-6456, or at tfoster@westga.edu.