The Organization of Moche Ceramic Production: Excavations atthe Cerro Mayal Workshop, Chicama Valley, Peru

拉塞尔博士将在位于秘鲁北部沿海奇卡马山谷的Cerro Mayal遗址进行考古发掘。该遗址可以追溯到莫切时代，由一个陶瓷作坊组成，面积约5000平方米，有许多成堆的废弃陶瓷，突出在地面上高达一米。与此相关的还有一个居住区，在那里可以看到砖石建筑和土砖建筑的遗迹。在一季的实地考察中，罗素博士和他的同事们将在车间区域进行挖掘，以确定特征和文物的空间组织。他们希望重建陶瓷技术和相关的劳动组织。罗素还将在废品堆放区挖掘，回收工具、模具和部分竞争的容器。最后，他将重点介绍与研讨会相关的居住区。他希望了解这个小组是如何组织的，以及产品是如何在更广泛的地区分布的。罗素博士还将对来自Cerro Mayal和奇卡马山谷其他遗址的粘土和陶瓷材料进行实验室分析，试图重建贸易网络。奇卡马山谷是莫切文化的中心，莫切文化以寺庙和相关的居住综合体的形式建造了不朽的建筑。他们还制作了精美的工艺品。莫契河分布在一大片地区，控制着大量的人口，开挖和管理着一个广泛的运河系统，从安第斯山脉收集水，允许在这种极端干燥的沙漠环境中进行农业。目前尚不清楚像这样的大型社会是如何产生和维持的，许多考古学家认为，对制造业和贸易的控制在这一过程中发挥了重要作用。Cerro Mayal很重要，因为它的巨大规模表明，陶器生产处于集中控制之下。这项研究将有助于确定这一假设是否正确。该项目将产生许多考古学家感兴趣的数据，并将增加我们对复杂社会如何产生和维持的理解。

Dr. Russell will conduct archaeological excavations at the site of Cerro Mayal which is located in the Chicama Valley of northern coastal Peru. The site, which dates to Moche times, consists of a ceramics workshop, a ca. 5000 square meter area with numerous piles of wasted ceramics which protrude up to one meter above the ground surface. Also associated with this is a habitation area where the remains of buildings of both masonry and adobe brick architecture can be discerned. During a single season of fieldwork, Dr. Russell and colleagues will excavate in the workshop area to identify the spatial organization of features and artifacts. They hope to reconstruct the ceramic technology and associated labor organization. Dr. Russell will also dig in the waste pile area to recover tools, molds and partially competed vessels. Finally, he will focus on the habitation zone associated with the workshop. He hopes to learn how this group was organized and how the products were distributed over a broader area. Dr. Russell will also conduct laboratory analysis of clays and ceramic materials from both Cerro Mayal as well as other Chicama Valley sites in an attempt to reconstruct the trade network. The Chicama Valley served as the focus for the Moche culture which built monumental architecture in the form of temples and associated habitation complexes. They also produced fine craft items. The Moche spread over a large area, controlled large numbers of people and dug and administered an extensive system of canals which captured water from the Andes Mountains and permitted agriculture in this extremely dry desert environment. It is unclear how large societies such as this arise and are maintained and many archaeologists believe that control of manufacturing and trade play an important role in this process. Cerro Mayal is important because its large size suggests that pottery production was under centralized control. This research will help to determine whether this hypothesis is correct. The project will produce data of interest to many archaeologists and will increase our understanding of how complex societies arise and are maintained.