Dissertation Research: Examination of Relationships Within the Casas Grandes Interaction Sphere

在Charles Redman博士的指导下，Ronna Bardley女士将分析大量考古材料，为她的博士论文收集数据。她将研究从墨西哥北部卡萨斯格兰德斯遗址和美国西南部的一些遗址出土的海洋贝壳和贝壳文物，以确定这些地区之间的相互作用。她希望追溯这一过程，从收集（在加利福尼亚湾）到制造、分销和消费。为了做到这一点，她将考察所代表物种的自然分布范围。由于单一物种的壳化学成分因地区而异，她将分析考古标本并将其与来自不同地理区域的样本进行匹配。最后，她将进行风格分析，以帮助确定生产地点。大约在公元1100年到1300年之间，墨西哥的奇瓦瓦州出现了大量人口，并以卡萨斯格兰德斯为中心。考虑到该遗址的规模和纪念性，很明显存在一个分层复杂的社会。在卡萨斯格兰德斯发现的许多外来材料表明，广泛的贸易发生了，事实上，这座城市可能主要是作为一个贸易中心。大约在同一时间，美国西南部也出现了大型遗址，考古学家质疑这些遗址是代表了一个独立的地方过程，还是直接受到中美洲人通过Casas Grandes的影响。通过对贝壳文物的化学和风格分析，布拉德利女士将直接研究这个问题。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将使人们对贸易和区域间交流在复杂社会出现中的作用有新的认识。它还将有助于开发一种新的壳采购方法，这种方法可能适用于各种各样的情况。最后，它将协助培训一位极有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Charles Redman, Ms Ronna Bardley will analyze a body of archaeological material to collect data for her doctoral dissertation. She will study marine shells and shell artifacts excavated from the site of Casas Grandes in Northern Mexico and from a number of sites in the U.S. Southwest to determine the interactions between these regions. She wishes to trace this process from collection (in the Gulf of California) through manufacture, distribution and consumption. To accomplish this, she will examine the natural ranges of species represented. Because within a single species shell chemical composition varies by region, she will analyze and match archaeological specimens with samples from different geographical areas. Finally, she will conduct a stylistic analysis to help determine where manufacturing took place. Between approximately 1100 - 1300 AD, a large population grew in Chihuahua, Mexico and was centered at the site of Casas Grandes. Given the size and monumental nature of the site, it is clear that a stratified complex society was present. The discovery of many exotic materials at Casas Grandes indicates that widespread trade occurred, and the city in fact may have served primarily as a trading center. At approximately the same time large sites also appeared in the Southwestern United States and archaeologists have questioned whether these represent an independent local process or rather result from direct Mesoamerican influence via Casas Grandes. Through chemical and stylistic analysis of shell artifacts, Ms Bradley will examine the issue directly. This research is important for several reasons. It will shed new light on the role of trade and inter-regional exchange in the emergence of complex societies. It will also help to develop a new approach to shell sourcing which may be applicable in a wide variety of situations. Finally, it will assist in the training of an extremely promising young scientist.