Dissertation Research: The Site of Naranjal and the Interaction Spheres of the Late Preclassic to Early Maya Lowlands

在斯科特·费迪克博士的指导下，詹妮弗·马修斯女士将为她的博士论文收集数据。她将在位于墨西哥尤卡坦半岛的纳兰哈尔玛雅遗址进行考古研究。根据过去的研究，似乎Naranjal早于古典玛雅时期。总共确定了21个主要结构，大多数具有“巨石风格”的特点，在建筑中使用了大型精心装饰的石头。许多石块呈楔形或饼形，长度超过一米。饰面石头上的石膏残留物表明它们被厚厚地涂上一层，形成光滑的外表面，这种风格在外观上与玛雅地区不同地区的其他风格截然不同。马修斯女士的工作将集中在这种现象。她将挖掘几个结构，以详细描述施工技术和成品。将收集石膏样品，并提取其中含有的木炭包裹体进行放射性碳测年。最后，将与该地区其他地点的类似结构进行比较。 玛雅地区长期以来一直是考古学研究的重点，因为它见证了大型复杂社会在恶劣的低地热带环境中的崛起。虽然许多遗址已经被仔细挖掘，但研究人员仍然不了解这些遗址之间的相互关系，以及遗址之间区域互动和政治一体化的程度。各单位在多大程度上组成了区域联盟和更大的职能集团？如果它们存在，那么它们是在玛雅史前的哪个阶段发展起来的？马修斯女士在北方玛雅地区进行她的研究，那里相对知之甚少，她希望解决这个基本问题。她注意到了一种独特的区域建筑风格，这种风格似乎反映了这种区域互动领域，她将确定她的猜测是否正确。通过她收集的放射性碳样本，将为这些结构提供绝对日期。 这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将为复杂社会的发展进程提供新的启示。它将有助于开拓放射性碳测年的新用途，可用于世界许多地方的考古遗址，最后，它将有助于培养一名有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Scott Fedick, MS Jennifer Mathews will collect data for her doctoral dissertation. She will conduct archaeological research at the Mayan site of Naranjal which is located in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. Based on past research it appears that Naranjal predates the Classic Maya period. A total of 21 major structures have been identified, most characterized by a `megalithic style` which employed large well-dressed stones in construction. Many of the blocks are wedge or pie-shaped and over a meter in length. Remains of plaster on facing stones indicate that they were thickly coated to from a smooth exterior surface and this style is distinctly different in appearance from others in different parts of the Mayan area. MS. Mathews' work will focus on this phenomenon. She will excavate several structures in order to describe in detail both construction techniques and finished product. Plaster samples will be collected and the charcoal inclusions they contain will be extracted for radiocarbon dating. Finally comparisons will be made with similar structures in other sites in the region. The Mayan region has long constituted a focus for archaeological study because it witnessed the rise of large complex societies in a hostile lowland tropical environment. While many sites have been carefully excavated, researchers still do not understand in detail how these related to each other, the extent of regional interaction and political integration at the inter site scale. To what extent were individual units grouped together into regional alliances and larger functional groupings? If they exist, at what stage in Mayan prehistory did they develop? MS Mathews conducts her research in the Northern Mayan region where relatively little is known and she wishes to address this basic question. She has noted what appears to be a distinct regional architectural style which appears to reflect such a regional interaction sphere and she will determine whether or not her guess is correct. Through the radiocarbon samples she collects, absolute dates will be provided for these structures. This research is important for several reasons. It will shed new light on the process of the development of complex societies. It will help to pioneer a new use for radiocarbon dating which may be applied to archaeological sites in many parts of the world and finally it will assist in training a promising young scientist.