Archaeological Research at The Great Salt Spring

大盐泉考古研究

• 批准号: 8907424
• 负责人: Jon Muller
• 金额: $ 6.5万
• 依托单位: Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1989
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1989-07-01 至 1991-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=8907424&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Archaeological; Research; Great; Salt; Spring

Building on past seasons of archaeological fieldwork, Dr. Jon Muller and his colleagues will continue excavation at the site of Great Salt Spring located on the Saline River in Southern Illinois. Occupied during the Mississippian period (ca. 900 - 1500 A.D.), this large complex site served as a focus for salt production. Consisting of a bluff area overlying a salt spring, excavation in the spring area has revealed large amounts of utilitarian pottery which was used to extract salt from the saline water. Salt was much valued as a trade item. Much less is known about the habitation area situated on the overlying bluff, and Dr. Muller will conduct both survey and excavation in this area. This will consist of mapping followed by auger, soil probe, and small-scale shovel testing. Based on the results, a sampling strategy will be formulated and followed by small scale excavation. Promising areas will then be excavated at a larger scale. The goal of this research is to set salt production into a broader social context. Mississippian society reached a chieftain scale of organization, where an egalitarian society had developed into a more hierarchical form of organization. Archaeologists disagree, however, on whether at this scale of centralization specialization of labor takes place or whether specific tasks, such as salt production, are carried out by "ordinary" group members on a part time basis. Excavation in habitation areas at Great Salt Spring should help to answer this question. This research is important because it increases our understanding of how complex societies such as our own develop. Anthropologists know that as population increases and societal organization becomes more hierarchical, at some point craft specialization emerges. Just when this occurs, however, is unclear. It has been postulated that Mississippian salt making stands as an early example. This contention, however, has been disputed and Dr. Muller's work should provide an answer. It will also increase our understanding of an important but poorly understood chapter of Native American prehistory.

在过去几个季度的考古实地工作的基础上，乔恩·穆勒博士和他的同事将继续在位于伊利诺伊州南部盐河的大盐泉遗址进行挖掘。 这个大型复杂遗址在密西西比时期（约公元 900 - 1500 年）被占领，是盐生产的中心。 该地区由盐泉上方的悬崖区域组成，在泉水区域的挖掘工作中发现了大量用于从咸水中提取盐的实用陶器。 盐作为一种贸易物品非常有价值。 人们对位于上覆悬崖上的居住区知之甚少，穆勒博士将在该地区进行调查和挖掘。 这将包括测绘，然后进行螺旋钻、土壤探针和小规模铲子测试。 根据结果​​，将制定取样策略并进行小规模挖掘。 然后将更大规模地挖掘有前景的区域。 这项研究的目标是将盐生产纳入更广泛的社会背景。 密西西比社会达到了酋长的组织规模，平等主义社会发展成为等级更高的组织形式。 然而，对于在这种集中化规模下是否发生了劳动专业化，或者盐生产等特定任务是否由“普通”群体成员兼职执行，考古学家们意见不一。 大盐泉居住区的发掘应该有助于回答这个问题。 这项研究很重要，因为它增加了我们对像我们这样的复杂社会如何发展的理解。 人类学家知道，随着人口的增加和社会组织变得更加等级化，在某些时候就会出现工艺专业化。 然而，这种情况何时发生尚不清楚。 据推测，密西西比制盐是一个早期的例子。 然而，这一论点一直存在争议，穆勒博士的工作应该提供答案。 它还将增加我们对美洲原住民史前史中一个重要但鲜为人知的章节的理解。