The Settlement Pattern of Caracol

在国家科学基金会的支持下， 将继续在卡拉科尔遗址进行考古研究 位于中美洲的伯利兹。在海拔500米以上的地方 它是玛雅低地最高的地方之一。现场 大约在55年前被重新发现 开始他们的项目很少有人知道它。调查工作已经 显示这个地方相当大。核心是保守的 估计有88平方公里它包含至少10个内部- 场地堤道像车轮的辐条一样向外延伸， 网站核心已记录了3000多个结构， 数字还远远没有完成。证据表明， 从公元前300年到公元前300年的占领。公元1150年，很明显， 卡拉科尔在该地区的玛雅史前史中发挥了重要作用。 是什么使该网站特别有趣的是雕刻的石碑或 已收回的手写板。这些允许部分 历史重建和表明卡拉科尔出现胜利 在两大战役中。两位主要研究人员计划将重点放在 他们在城市的一个部门的努力，并进行调查工作 以及试验和大规模挖掘他们希望 我们要做的就是将这些数据与其他信息结合起来， 重建该网站的人口统计历史， 建设时期与战争时期的关系。 虽然在大型玛雅遗址上已经做了很多工作， 我仍然不知道他们是否真的整合了 城市，其中有多少在一个单一的时刻被占领， 以及它们的成长和发展是如何被整合到一个更大的 区域和政治背景。唯一能回答这个问题的方法 问题是通过大规模，长期的挖掘和 多年来，追逐者一直在追求这个目标。附加 他们计划收集的数据将有助于阐明 和运作的方式。 这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将提供 关于一个主要的玛雅中心的数据，并揭示了新的因素， 这导致了城市文明的兴起。

With National Science Foundation support Drs. Diane and Arlen Chase will continue their archaeological research at the site of Caracol located in Belize, Central America. At an altitude of over 500 meters it is among the highest sites in the Maya lowlands. The site was rediscovered approximately 55 years ago and until the Chases began their project little was known about it. Survey work has shown the site to be quite large. The core is conservatively estimated at 88 square kilometers. It contains at least 10 intra- site causeways which run outward like the spokes of a wheel from the site core. Over 3000 structures have been recorded and the number is far from complete. Excavations have provided evidence of occupation from ca 300 B.C. to ca. 1150 A.D. and it is clear that Caracol played a major role in the Mayan prehistory of the region. What makes the site especially interesting are the carved stelae or written tablets which have been recovered. These permit a partial historical reconstruction and indicate Caracol emerged victorious in two major battles. The two principal investigators plan to focus their efforts in one of the city's sectors and conduct survey work as well as both trial and extensive excavation. What they wish to do is use these data, in conjunction with other information to reconstruct the demographic history of the site and to search for relationships between periods of construction and warfare. While much work has been done on large Mayan sites, archaeologists still do not know whether they functioned as true integrated cities, how much of them were occupied at a single moment in time, and how their growth and development were integrated into a larger regional and political context. The only way to answer such questions is through large scale, long term excavation and the Chases have pursued just that goal for many years. The additional data they plan to collect will help to illumine both the history and functioning of this major Mayan site. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide data about a major Mayan center and shed new light on the factors which led to the rise of urban civilization.//