Processes of Aztec State Formation in the Northeastern Basin of Mexico: Materials Analysis

在这个合作项目中，黛博拉·尼科尔斯博士和托马斯·查尔顿博士将分析在位于墨西哥盆地的奥通巴阿兹特克遗址收集的考古材料。阿兹特克帝国通过考古学和历史描述而闻名，到公元1519年，它已经成为前哥伦布中美洲历史上最大的州，而该州的地理核心墨西哥盆地是世界上城市化程度最高的地区之一。除了特诺奇蒂安的帝国首都外，帝国还通过奥通巴等一些区域中心进行管理和控制，这些较小的城市是如何运作的，一方面是与农村腹地和首都融合在一起的，另一方面是如何与首都融合在一起的，人们并不很清楚。在过去NSF支持的研究中，调查人员在奥通巴进行了广泛的调查和挖掘，并绘制了大量文化材料在该遗址的分布图。他们还编制了这座城市的大致年表。结果表明，制造活动并不是随机或均匀地分布在空间上的，这意味着一种集中控制的形式。在本项目中，该小组将对材料残骸进行仔细分析，以确定原材料的来源，并追踪其在太空中的流动情况。他们和许多人类学家一样认为，在阿兹特克这样的帝国，生产和分配是由中央管理的，这种控制有助于巩固精英权力和巩固国家。为了检验这一主张，该团队将：1.通过放射性碳分析获得工艺专业化发展和奥通巴作为中心成长的准确日期；2.通过对微量元素的中子激活分析，澄清各种商品的制造和分布模式，包括当地生产的物品和一些可能是进口的物品，以将文物与其原材料来源或来源地区进行匹配。中子活化分析将应用于黑色岩(用于制造工具的火山玻璃)、玄武岩和用于制作陶器的粘土以及小雕像、香炉和主轴螺纹。阿兹特克帝国覆盖了墨西哥的很大一部分地区，并将大量人口整合为一个单一的政治制度。由于技术简单，缺乏用于运输的马或其他家畜，很难理解这样的实体如何形成并维持数百年。这个项目将阐明帝国的经济组织，以及对生产和分配的控制在这个早期国家的出现和维持中所起的作用。

In this collaborative project Drs. Deborah Nichols and Thomas Charlton will analyze archaeological materials collected at the Aztec site of Otumba which is located in the Basin of Mexico. The Aztec empire, known both through archaeology and historic description, had become by 1519 AD the largest state in the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and the Basin of Mexico, the state's geographic core, was one of the most urbanized areas in the world. In addition to the imperial capital at Tenochititian the empire was administered and controlled through a number of regional centers such as Otumba and how these smaller cities functioned and were integrated with both rural hinterlands on the one hand and the capital on the other, is not well understood. In past NSF supported research the investigators have conducted extensive survey and excavation at Otumba and have mapped the distribution of numerous cultural materials across the site. They have also produced a general chronology for the city. The results show that manufacturing activities are not randomly or evenly distributed across space and this suggests a form of centralized control. In the present project, the team will conduct a careful analysis of material remains to determine the sources of raw materials and to trace their flow across space. They believe, as do many anthropologists that in empires such as the Aztecs production and distribution were centrally administered and that this control helped to solidify elite power and solidify the state. To examine this proposition, the team will: 1. obtain accurate dates for the development of craft specialization and Otumba's growth as a center through radiocarbon analysis; 2. clarify manufacturing and distribution patterns of various commodities, including items locally produced and some probably imported, through neutron activation analysis of trace elements to match artifacts with their raw material sources or source areas. Neutron activation analysis will be applied to obsidians (volcanic glass used to make tools), basalt, and the clays employed to make pots as well as figurines, censers and spindle whorls. The Aztec empire covered a significant part of Mexico and integrated large numbers of people into a single political system. With a simple technology and lack of horses or other domestic animals for transportation it is difficult to understand how such an entity could be formed and maintained for hundreds of years. This project will shed light on the economic organization of the empire and the role which control over production and distribution played in the emergence and sustenance of this early state.