Dissertation Research: Coastal Foragers of the South-Central Andes and the Process of Sedentarization

Aldenderfer 在马克·阿尔登德费尔博士的指导下，卡伦·拉斯穆森女士将为她的博士论文收集数据。她将在位于秘鲁沙漠海岸的亚拉考古遗址进行一个季节的挖掘。先前在该遗址的工作表明，它是在6,000年至8,000年前的中世纪时期被占领的。遗骸的密度和结构表明亚拉可能被长期占领，拉斯穆森女士将研究这种可能性。 她将挖掘两个大的水平块，一个集中在一个家庭区域，另一个围绕一个可能的墓地。这应该允许暴露这样的项目，如房屋地板，壁炉，存储区和其他潜在的长期居住中心的指标。该网站包含丰富的动物群以及其他文化遗迹和拉斯穆森女士将分析两者。 在上一个冰河时代结束后，世界许多地方的人类社会组织的特点是定居化程度提高，出现了长期居住的社区。大多数情况下，这种变化与农业和/或家畜放牧的出现有关;考古学家假设这些新的和丰富的食物资源的出现是造成定居模式变化的原因。然而，秘鲁海岸似乎是一个例外，因为定居社区似乎已经出现之前驯化成为可用。拉斯穆森女士和许多其他考古学家都想了解是什么使这种转变成为可能，她在亚拉的挖掘就是为了这个目的。 这项研究很重要，因为它将为许多考古学家提供感兴趣的数据。它将增加我们对复杂社会如何出现的理解，并将有助于培养一个有前途的年轻科学家。

Aldenderfer Under the direction of Dr.Mark Aldenderfer, Ms. Karen Rasmussen will collect data for her doctoral dissertation. She will conduct one season of excavation at the archaeological site of Yara which is located on the desert coast of Peru. Previous work at the site indicates that it was occupied during the Middle Archaic period, between 6,000 and 8,000 years ago. The density and configuration of the remains suggests that Yara may have been occupied on a long term basis and Ms. Rasmussen will examine this possibility. She will excavate two large horizontal blocks, one centering on a domestic area and the other around a possible cemetery. This should permit exposure of such items as house floors, fire hearths, storage areas and other indicators of a potential long- term residential center. The site contains abundant faunal as well as other cultural remains and Ms. Rasmussen will analyze both. After the end of the last Ice Age, human social organization in many parts of the world was characterized by increased sedentarization and the appearance of communities occupied for extended periods of time. Most often this change is associated with the appearance of agriculture and/or the herding of domestic animals; archaeologists postulate that the appearance of these new and rich food resources was responsible for the change in settlement pattern. However the coast of Peru appears to be an exception since sedentary communities seem to have emerged well before domesticates became available. Ms. Rasmussen, as well as many other archaeologists, want to understand what made this transition possible and her excavation at Yara is directed towards this end. This research is important because it will provide data of interest to many archaeologists. It will increase our understanding of how complex society emerged and will contribute to the training of a promising young scientist.