Dissertation Research: The Domestic Use of Mound Sites: Implications for Inequality in Hopewell Households

论文研究：土丘场地的家庭使用：对合和家庭不平等的影响

• 批准号: 9613890
• 负责人: Jeffrey Hantman
• 金额: $ 1.12万
• 依托单位: University of Virginia Main Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1996
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1996-09-15 至 1999-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9613890&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Domestic; Use; Mound

Under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey Hantman, MS Adrienne Lazazzera will collect data for her doctoral dissertation. For the past year MS Lazazzera has conducted archaeological excavation at the site of Fort Ancient, and with NSF support she will obtain radiocarbon dates and contract for the analysis of botanical remains. She will also study comparative materials from other Hopewell sites. Fort Ancient is a Middle Woodland hilltop earthwork which dates from ca. 200 BC to 400 AD and is situated on the bluffs above the Little Miami River in Ohio. Over 3 miles of earthen walls enclose approximately 100 acres. Although it was built over several hundred years, Fort Ancient is properly considered monumental architecture since its construction necessitated extensive leveling of the hilltop itself and extending portions of the plateau to accommodate the site's architectural plan. Based on work at other Hopewell sites, most archaeologists believe that they served primarily ritual functions since large burial mounds and elaborate grave items are often present. While work at Fort Ancient has uncovered a large ossuary burial as well as stone covered graves and indications of other ritual activities, the researchers have also discovered solid evidence for occupation of the interior of the earthwork by domestic family groups. This finding is extremely unexpected and thus makes the site of great archaeological interest. Although the excavation of the site will, hopefully, be completed in the summer of 1996 and many of the materials have been analyzed, it is still necessary to obtain absolute dates for different features within the site and to analyze the botanical remains. These latter permit reconstruction of both environment and diet and provide insight into the seasons of occupation The Hopewell culture has proven an enigma to archaeologists. It marks an early stage in the development of complex society in North America and it is unclear, even with many sites excavated, how this prehistoric society was structured. Extensive earthworks such as Fort Ancient and associated elaborate burials with precious trade goods suggest the presence of a stratified society with chiefs or elites which could command and control labor. However excavation of habitation sites has not provided evidence of such stratification since domestic units have the same range of material present. Until the recent Fort Ancient research, archaeologists had believed that large earthwork/mound sites were not the focus for habitation and that they served special purpose and ritual functions only. The discovery of supposed habitation sites at Fort Ancient now substantially changes this picture. If habitations were present this suggests that a stratified society model is correct. MS Lazazzera's work with help to solve this question. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and shed new light on an important but poorly understood period of American prehistory. It will increase understanding of how complex societies develop and assist in training a promising young scientist.

在Jeffrey Hantman博士的指导下，Adrienne Lazazzera女士将为她的博士论文收集数据。在过去的一年里，拉扎泽拉女士在古堡遗址进行了考古发掘，在国家科学基金会的支持下，她将获得放射性碳年代测定和植物遗骸分析合同。她还将研究其他霍普韦尔网站的比较材料。古代堡垒是一个中部林地山顶的堡垒，可以追溯到公元前1000年。公元前200年至公元400年，位于俄亥俄州小迈阿密河的悬崖上。超过3英里的土墙包围了大约100英亩。虽然它已经建造了几百年，但古代堡垒被认为是一座纪念性建筑，因为它的建造需要对山顶本身进行广泛的平整，并延伸高原的部分以适应场地的建筑规划。根据在其他霍普韦尔遗址的工作，大多数考古学家认为，他们主要是为了仪式的功能，因为大型的土丘和精心制作的坟墓物品经常出现。虽然在Fort Ancient的工作发现了一个大型的骨棺埋葬以及石头覆盖的坟墓和其他仪式活动的迹象，但研究人员还发现了国内家庭群体占据骨棺内部的确凿证据。这一发现是非常出乎意料的，因此使该遗址具有很大的考古意义。虽然遗址的挖掘有望在1996年夏天完成，许多材料已经分析，但仍有必要获得遗址内不同特征的绝对日期，并分析植物遗迹。后者允许重建环境和饮食，并提供洞察占领的季节霍普韦尔文化已被证明是考古学家的一个谜。它标志着北美复杂社会发展的早期阶段，即使挖掘出许多遗址，也不清楚这个史前社会是如何构建的。大规模的土木工程，如古代堡垒和相关的精心制作的墓葬与珍贵的贸易货物表明存在一个分层的社会与酋长或精英，可以命令和控制劳动。然而，对居住地的挖掘并没有提供这种分层的证据，因为居住单位有相同范围的物质存在。在最近的古堡研究之前，考古学家一直认为大型的土墩/土墩遗址不是居住的重点，它们只具有特殊的目的和仪式功能。在古堡发现的假定居住地点现在大大改变了这一局面。如果存在居住地，这表明分层社会模型是正确的。拉扎泽拉女士的工作有助于解决这个问题。 这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将为许多考古学家提供感兴趣的数据，并为美国史前史的一个重要但知之甚少的时期提供新的线索。它将增加对复杂社会如何发展的理解，并有助于培养有前途的年轻科学家。