Dissertation Research: Frontier Economies: Prehispanic Pottery Production in the Chalchihuites and La Quemada Regions of Zacatecas, Mexico

在Ben Nelson博士的指导下，Nicola Strazicich女士将为她的博士论文收集数据。她将前往墨西哥，从考古遗址收集陶器样本，进行岩石学和化学分析。这些陶瓷来自墨西哥北部的两个地区——阿尔塔维斯塔和拉克马达。考古学家对每一个都进行了广泛的研究，每个都有不同程度的政治集中化的特点。La Quemada遗址包含人工建造的梯田，位于马尔帕索山谷地面上方的悬崖上。该遗址的中心区域有纪念性建筑，包括圆柱大厅、献祭金字塔和巨大的砖石楼梯。在建筑上，该基地代表了大量的劳动力投资和规划。然而，该地区缺乏经济多样化或操纵名牌商品的证据，这表明该地区是一个高度分层和中央管理的社会。在Alta Vista，除了大型建筑外，还进行了广泛的采矿和采石活动。提取的矿物包括铁、孔雀石、赤铁矿、燧石和蓝绿色宝石。这里的证据支持一种更为复杂和集中的社会组织形式。斯特拉兹里奇女士希望在这种比较背景下了解陶瓷生产的差异。她将进行元素和岩石学分析，以确定粘土基质和生产技术的岩内变化程度。她假设，更复杂的Alta Vista网站将显示出更高水平的标准化。考古学家希望了解复杂社会是如何产生和维持的。许多人关注这一过程的经济方面，并想知道生产标准化何时以及如何出现。他们的假设是，随着社会变得越来越复杂，出现了集中管理，像陶器生产这样的制造活动将处于中央控制之下，并将由专家进行。由此产生的产品将变得更加标准化。虽然从理论角度来看，这种情况似乎是合理的，但很少有实证工作来证实或否定这一观点。斯特拉齐奇女士选择的两个地点为解决这个问题提供了一个极好的背景。这项研究很重要，因为它解决了许多考古学家感兴趣的话题。它将有助于发展一种可能适用于许多情况的技术，并将有助于培训有前途的年轻科学家。

Nelson Under the direction of Dr. Ben Nelson, Ms. Nicola Strazicich will collect data for her doctoral dissertation. She will travel to Mexico and collect pottery samples from archaeological sites for both petrographic and chemical analysis. The ceramics derive from two regions in Northern Mexico - Alta Vista and La Quemada. Each has been studied extensively by archaeologists and each is characterized by a different degree of political centralization. The site of La Quemada contains artifically constructed terraces situated on a bluff above the Malpaso Valley floor. The central precinct of the site houses monumental architecture including a hall of columns, votive pyramid and a massive masonry staircase. Architecturally, the site represents significant labor investment and planning. However the region lacks evidence for either economic diversification or the manipulation of prestige goods which indicate a highly stratified and centrally managed society. At Alta Vista, in addition to large-scale architecture, extensive mining and quarrying activities were carried out. Minerals extracted included iron, malachite, hematite, chert and blue-green gem stones. Evidence here argues for a more complex and centralized form of social organization. Ms. Strazicich wishes to understand differences in ceramic production within this comparative context. She will conduct both elemental and petrographic analysis to determine the extent of intrasite variability of both clay matrix and production technique. She hypothesizes that the more complex Alta Vista site will show a higher level of standardization. Archaeologists wish to understand how complex societies emerge and are maintained. Many have focussed on the economic aspects of this process and want to know when and how standardization in production emerges. The assumption is that as societies grow more complex and centralized management emerges, manufacturing activities such as pottery production will come under central contr ol and will be carried out by specialists. The resulting wares will become more standardized. While such a scenario may appear sensible from a theoretical perspective, very little empirical work has been done to either verify or disconfirm this idea. The two sites chosen by Ms. Strazicich provide an excellent context within which to address this issue. This research is important because it addresses a topic of interest to many archaeologists. It will help to develop a technique with potential applicability in many situations and will assist in the training of a promising young scientist.