The Development of Complex Societies in Western Uganda

在国家科学基金会的支持下，Peter Robertshaw博士将对乌干达西部的Bunyoro-Kitara地区进行考古调查。虽然该地区的史前史并不为人所知，但有限的考古工作已经证明了意想不到的复杂遗址的存在，其中包括大型土方工程等特征。发掘表明，一个“国家”的发展，其根源目前可以追溯到公元13世纪。民族历史记载表明，直到最近，才存在这样一个拥有强大中央集权的大规模社会。然而，这个热带非洲国家的发展过程尚不清楚。罗伯特肖博士的探索性研究将为一个长期的大规模项目奠定基础。他的目标是将少数已知的大型遗址置于更广阔的区域背景中。为此，他将调查大约30-40%的地区。将采用随机抽样方法来分析每个地点的陶瓷，以便将其放置在时间框架中。通过考察地点在时间和空间上的分布，以及在一系列有限的时间点上比较地点的大小，应该有可能追踪国家发展的过程。这个项目之所以重要，有几个原因。考古学家希望了解社会复杂性发展背后的过程，以及导致大型复杂群体出现的过程。虽然在世界非热带地区做了很多工作，但由于诸如进入困难和茂密植被等实际限制，人们对热带地区国家的发展情况知之甚少。罗伯特肖博士的探索性工作应该有助于弥补这一缺陷。它还将为更大规模的工作奠定基础。

With National Science Foundation support Dr. Peter Robertshaw will conduct an archaeological survey of the Bunyoro-Kitara region of Western Uganda. While the prehistory of the region is not well known, limited archaeological work has demonstrated the presence of unexpectedly complex sites which include such features as massive earthworks. Excavations indicate the development of a "state" the roots of which can presently be traced back to the 13th century A.D. Ethnohistoric accounts indicate that such a large scale society with strong centralized authority existed until recent times. The process by which this tropical African state developed however is not understood. Dr. Robertshaw's exploratory research will lay the groundwork for a longer term large scale project. His goal is to set the few known large sites into a broader regional context. To do this he will survey approximately 30-40% of the region. Random sampling methods will be employed to analyze ceramics at each site located so it can be placed in a chronological framework. Through the examination of site distributions in both time and space and through comparison of site sizes at a series of limited points in time it should be possible to trace the process of state development. This project is important for several reasons. Archaeologists wish to understand the processes which underly the development of social complexity and which lead to the emergence of large complex groups. While much work has been done in non-tropical regions of the world, because of practical constraints such as difficulty of access and dense vegetation relatively little is known about how states developed in tropical regions. Dr. Robertshaws' exploratory work should help remedy this defect. It will also set the groundwork for larger scale work.