Olmec Settlement and Subsistence at La Isla, Veracruz

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，David Grove， Susan Gillespie和他们的同事将在位于墨西哥韦拉克鲁斯的La Isla的奥尔梅克遗址进行考古研究。“La Isla”或“岛屿”的名称反映了这样一个事实，即两条河流将该遗址连接在一起，不幸的是，由于每条河床的横向侵蚀，该遗址正在遭到破坏。地表和流壁上丰富的材料支持了这个小遗址属于奥尔梅克人的说法。调查人员计划进行密集的地面调查，以定位和绘制物体密度和分布。这将为个别活动区域的性质提供线索，并在此基础上进行有限的挖掘。以溪壁材料为指导，考古队还将进行水平挖掘。除了陶器等文化材料外，植物和动物遗骸将成为研究的重要焦点，因为调查人员希望重建生存实践。公元前1200年至公元前500年，奥尔梅克社会在墨西哥南部海湾沿岸的热带低地发展并繁荣起来。大型奥尔梅克遗址包含了中美洲最早的大型公共建筑和巨大的石碑。奥尔梅克被称为“美洲第一文明”。然而，令人惊讶的是，人们对它们的了解相对较少，而且仅限于来自两个大型站点的旧数据。人们对奥尔梅克人的社会组织和生计知之甚少。考古学家已经认识到，要回答这些问题，最好是研究人们居住过的较小的地点，而不是把注意力集中在作为仪式活动焦点的大型仪式中心。这项研究是由博士。格罗夫和吉莱斯皮是第一个在这种情况下进行的。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将揭示奥尔梅克文明产生的因素。它还将为一大群考古学家提供感兴趣的数据。

With National Science Foundation support, Drs. David Grove, Susan Gillespie and their colleagues will conduct archaeological research at the Olmec site of La Isla which is located in Veracruz, Mexico. The name "La Isla" or "island" reflects the fact that two streams bound the site which, unfortunately, is being destroyed through lateral erosion by each stream bed. Material abundant on both the surface as well as stream walls supports the attribution of this small site to the Olmec. The investigators plan to conduct an intensive surface survey to locate and plot object densities and distributions. This should provide clues to the nature of individual activity areas and on this basis, limited excavations will be conducted. With the stream wall materials to guide them, the team will also conduct horizontal excavations. In addition to cultural materials such as pottery, both plant and animal remains will constitute an important focus of the research since the investigators wish to reconstruct subsistence practices. The Olmec society developed and flourished in the tropical lowlands of Mexico's southern Gulf coast between 1200 and 500 BC. Large Olmec sites contain Middle America's first large public architecture and massive stone monuments. Olmec has been termed the "America's first civilization." Surprisingly, however, relatively little is known about them and is limited to old data from two large sites. Very little is known about either Olmec social organization or subsistence. Archaeologists have learned that to answer such questions it is best to examine smaller sites where people lived rather than concentrate on large ceremonial centers which served as focus for ritual events. This research by Drs. Grove and Gillespie is the first to be conducted in such a situation. This research is important for several reasons. It will shed light on the factors which gave rise to the Olmec civilization. It will also provide data of interest to a large group of archaeologists.