Political Hegemony and the Archaeology of Early Cahokia

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，Timothy Pauketat博士和他的合作者将在卡霍基亚遗址及周边地区进行为期三个季节的考古发掘。这个位于密苏里州圣路易斯市郊区的大型遗址由一系列大土丘组成，代表了北美最大规模的史前建筑之一。先前的研究表明，卡霍基亚政体在公元第一个千年发展起来，并在公元1000年左右达到顶峰。随后，早在欧洲人到达新大陆之前，该遗址就衰落了。在该区域先前工作的基础上，Pauketat博士希望了解导致卡霍基亚崛起的过程。在三个野外季节的支持下，他将收集一系列数据。因为他关注的是中央集权的崛起，他将从精英占据的部分遗址中挖掘和收集文化材料。其次，他将进行一项区域调查，以确定同一时期的所有较小的考古发现，这将使他能够将卡霍基亚置于更广泛的区域背景中。最后，他将在四个已知的附属遗址进行挖掘，以确定它们与中心遗址的关系。虽然考古学家已经追踪了世界上许多地方复杂的中央集权社会的兴起，但他们仍然不了解其中的潜在过程。在早期阶段，社会不平等变得明显，以较简单的先前群体为特征的平均主义让位给社会分层。有几种理论可能解释“酋长”或“大人物”的兴起。一种观点强调可能的支配作用，而另一种观点则认为首席是“管理者”，主要负责协调活动和重新分配财富。因为他采用了一种区域方法，可以直接比较卡霍基亚的精英和非精英部分，并且可以将卡霍基亚本身置于更广泛的区域背景中，所以Pauketat博士希望解决这个问题。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将为史前美洲原住民发展的巅峰提供新的视角。它将为许多考古学家提供感兴趣的数据，并增加我们对社会复杂性出现的理解。

With National Science Foundation support Dr. Timothy Pauketat and his collaborators will conduct three seasons of archaeological excavation at the site of Cahokia and the surrounding region. This large site located on the outskirts of St. Louis Missouri consists of a series of large mounds and represents one of the most massive prehistoric constructions in North America. Prior work indicates that the Cahokia polity developed in the first millennium AD and reached its height around 1000 AD. The site subsequently underwent decline well before Europeans reached the New World. Building on prior work in the region, Dr. Pauketat wishes to understand the processes which led to the rise of Cahokia. With support for three field seasons, he will collect a range of data. Because his focus is on the rise of centralized power he will excavate and collect cultural material from a portion of the site occupied by elites. Secondly he will conduct a regional survey to locate all smaller archaeological occurrences which date to the same period and this will allow him to set Cahokia into a broader regional context. Finally he will excavate at four known subsidiary sites to determine their relationship to the central one. While archaeologists have traced the rise complex centralized societies in many parts of the world they still do not understand the underlying processes involved. At an early stage social inequality becomes evident and the egalitarianism which characterizes simpler antecedent groups gives way to social stratification. Several theories exist which may potentially explain the rise of "chiefs" or "big men." One emphasizes the possible role of dominance while another views chiefs as "managers" who serve essentially to coordinate activities and redistribute wealth. Because he adopts a regional approach in which elite and non-elite portions of Cahokia can be directly compared and Cahokia itself can be set into a broader regional context, Dr. Pauketat hopes to address this issue. This research is important for several reasons. It will shed new light on a pinnacle of prehistoric Native American development. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and increase our understanding of the emergence of social complexity.