An Archaeological Survey of the Altar Valley, Sonora, Mexico

这笔赠款允许McGuire博士继续他对位于墨西哥索诺拉北部的祭坛谷地区的考古调查。初步工作证实，存在许多可追溯到约公元200年至1500年的Trinchera文化的遗址。Trinchera遗址似乎是多功能的，包括防御工程、农业梯田和居住结构。初步工作表明，史前历史相对复杂，适应、社会组织变化和地区间联系发生了重大变化。麦奎尔和他的团队将调查祭坛谷的选定部分，以确定地点。他们将记录网站的规模、特征和环境背景。他们将收集地表文物。主要由贝壳、陶瓷和石质遗骸组成。并分析这些。这项工作的目标是为长期实地项目奠定基础。这一地区之所以具有特殊的考古价值，是因为它位于墨西哥中部的“高”文化区和美国西南部之间，前者位于南部，后者位于北部。出现在西南遗址贸易物品上的贝壳在祭坛谷大量存在，这表明该地区在广泛的贝壳贸易中发挥了作用。很明显，在圣坛地区发展了一个复杂的社会，但贸易在多大程度上是一个因果因素尚不清楚。考古学家已经对贸易和这种社会复杂性的增长之间的关系进行了理论推导，而祭坛谷提供了一个很好的领域来研究这个问题。这一项目也将为史前西南文化的发展提供新的线索。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将为我们这样的复杂社会如何发展和维持这一问题提供新的线索。其次，美国西南部的考古研究有很长的历史。虽然格兰德河在很大程度上阻碍了墨西哥北部的调查，但在史前时代，这条河并不是屏障。因此，麦奎斯的工作将提供重要的新的考古学数据。

This grant permits Dr. McGuire to continue his archaeological survey of the Altar Valley region which is located in the northern part of Sonora, Mexico. Preliminary work has confirmed the presence of many sites referable to the Trincheras culture, which dates from approximately 200 to 1500 A.D. Trincheras sites seem to be multi.functional and include defensive works, agricultural terraces and habitation structures. Preliminary work indicates a relatively complex prehistory with major shifts in adaptations, changes in social organization and shifting inter.regional contactsMcGuire and his team will survey selected portions of the Altar Valley to locate sites. They will record site size, features and environmental context. They will collect surface artifacts . which consist primarily of shell, ceramic and lithic remains . and analyze these. The goal of this work is to establish the basis for a longer term field project. What makes this region of special archaeological interest is that it lies between the "high" culture areas in Central Mexico, to the South, and the Southwest U.S., to the North. Shell, which appears at a trade item in the Southwest sites is plentiful in the Altar Valley and this suggests that the region played a role in a widespread shell trade. It is clear that a complex society developed in the Altar region but the extent to which trade served as a causal factor is unclear. Archaeolologists have theorized about the relationship betwen trade and the growth of such societal complexity and the Altar Valley provides an excellent area to examine this question. This project should also shed a new light on the development of prehistoric Southwest cultures. This research is important for several reasons. It will shed new light on the question of how complex societies such as our own develop and are maintained. Secondly there is a long history of archaeological research in the Southwestern U.S. While the Rio Grande River has prevented, for the most part, investigation in Northern Mexico, the river did not serve as barrier in prehistoric times. Thus McGuires work will provide important new archeological data.