Oriental Institute Archaeological and Environmental Investigation of Yemeni Terraced Agriculture

9408714吉布森在国家科学基金会的支持下，麦奎尔·吉布森博士和托尼·威尔金森博士将在也门高原地区进行考古研究。以前的考古工作揭示了广泛存在的梯田，这些梯田可以追溯到史前时代，并可能用于农业目的。然而，他们的日期和文化背景并不为人所知。吉布森和威尔金森博士将使用航拍照片来定位这些复合体。然后，他们将进行地面测量和测绘。他们将进行试掘，以确定梯田的地貌特征，收集用于放射性碳测年的有机材料，并识别文化背景。这些数据将为更大规模、更长期的研究工作提供基础。考古学家希望了解复杂的文明是如何从较小规模的社会单位发展起来的。提出的几种理论侧重于农业过程和需要协调大量的个人来实现共同的目标。有人认为，在像近东这样的半干旱环境中，灌溉发挥着核心作用，因为修建灌溉渠需要大量的劳动力，而水的分配需要中央分级控制。也门的情况可能有所不同，因为初步迹象表明，梯田--这是一种小规模的活动--与日益增加的社会复杂性似乎是齐头并进的。吉布森和威尔金森博士希望研究这个问题。这项研究很重要，因为它将增加我们对人类如何适应半干旱地区的理解。它还将为复杂社会的发展提供新的线索。***

9408714 Gibson With National Science Foundation support, Drs. McGuire Gibson and Tony Wilkinson will conduct archaeological research in the highland region of Yemen. Previous archaeological work has revealed the presence of widespread terraces which date to prehistoric times and served, presumably, for agricultural purposes. However their dates and cultural affiliations are not well known. Drs. Gibson and Wilkinson will use aerial photographs to locate such complexes. They will then conduct on the ground survey and mapping. They will carry out trial excavation to determine the geomorphological characteristics of the terraces, to collect organic material for radiocarbon dating, and to discern cultural affiliation. These data will provide the basis for a larger, more long term research effort. Archaeologists wish to understand how complex civilizations developed from smaller scale social units. Several theories proposed focus on the agricultural process and the need to coordinate large numbers of individuals to achieve common goals. It has been argued that in semiarid environments, such as the Near East, irrigation plays a central role because the construction of irrigation canals requires large amounts of labor and the allocation of water necessitates central hierarchical control. The Yemen situation may be different because preliminary indications suggest that terracing - which is a small scale activity - and increased social complexity seem to go hand in hand. Drs. Gibson and Wilkinson wish to examine this question. This research is important because it will increase our understanding of how humans adapt in semi-arid regions. It will also shed new light on the development of complex societies. ***