Doctoral Dissertation Research: Origins of the Alachua: A View from Perishables

在R. E博士的指导下，泰勒、吉尔·米纳尔女士将为她的博士论文收集数据。她将参观美国东南部的博物馆，并研究来自许多考古文化的史前陶罐碎片上的布印。该项目既有方法目标，也有实质性目标。米纳尔女士希望通过她收集的数据来确定在史前佛罗里达广泛传播的阿拉丘亚文化的起源。在方法层面上，该项目将有助于开发陶瓷分析的新方法，并深入了解民族认同与物质文化之间的关系。 在世界的许多地方，史前的人们通过在未经烧制的潮湿表面上压布或其他形式的绳索来装饰陶瓷罐的外部。当织物被移除时，图案仍然印在粘土上。虽然考古学家已经注意到这一点，并根据这一特征指定了陶器类型，但布印本身从未进行过详细的分析。人种学证据表明，布料的图案和制造方法往往非常保守，与民族身份密切相关。因此，从原则上讲，它们应该提供一个很好的特征来划分史前文化群体，并确定随着时间的推移的连续性和替代性。绳纹陶器在美国东南部相对常见，许多遗址都经过仔细挖掘和放射性碳年代测定。因此，该区域提供了极好的测试环境。在初步研究的基础上，Minar女士选择了一些可归因于Alachua的收藏品，一系列可能的Alachua前辈和文化无关的群体。在这个定义明确的背景下，她将开发和应用她的分析技术。她将制作碎片表面的模具，在显微镜下检查这些模具，并采用最近开发的图像分析程序来描述和比较基于广泛属性的织物印象。 这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它解决了一个重要的区域考古问题。它将有助于开发一种具有广泛潜在应用的分析工具，还将协助培训一名有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. R.E. Taylor, MS Jill Minar will collect data for her doctoral dissertation. She will visit museums in the Southeastern United States and examine the cloth impressions on prehistoric pot sherds from a number of archaeological cultures. The project has both methodological and substantive goals. With the data she collects, MS Minar wishes to determine the origins of the Alachua culture which was widespread in prehistoric Florida. On a methodological level the project will assist in the development of new methods of ceramic analysis and provide insight into the relationship between ethnic identity and material culture. In many parts of the world prehistoric peoples decorated the exterior of ceramic pots by pressing cloth or other forms of cordage against the unfired wet surface. When the fabric is removed, a pattern remains imprinted in the clay. Although archaeologists have noted this and in fact have designated pottery types based on this feature, the cloth imprints themselves have never been subjected to detailed analysis. Ethnographic evidence indicates that cloth patterns and methods of manufacture are often very conservative and closely tied to ethnic identity. Therefore, in principle, they should provide an excellent trait to delimit prehistoric cultural groups and determine continuity and replacement over time. Cordmarked pottery is relatively common in the Southeast USA and many sites have been carefully excavated and radiocarbon dated. Therefore this region provides an excellent test situation. On the basis of preliminary research MS Minar has selected a number of collections which are attributable to the Alachua, to a range of possible Alachua predecessors and to groups which are culturally unrelated. In this well defined context she will develop and apply her analytic techniques. She will make molds of sherd surfaces, examine these under a microscope and employ a recently developed image analysis program to describe and compare the fabric impressions based on a wide range of attributes. This research is important for several reasons. It addresses a significant regional archaeological question. It will help to develop an analytic tool with a wide range of potential applications and will also assist in training a promising young scientist.