Dissertation Research: Social Organization and Changing Labor Patterns in Anasazi Prehistory

在斯蒂芬·普洛格博士的指导下，特雷西·珀金斯女士将为她的博士论文收集数据。她将分析美国西南部约公元800-1000年间阿纳萨齐人在食物准备技术上的变化。虽然在这一地区使用玉米等国内作物的时间远远早于公元800年，但正是随着阿纳萨齐人的出现，这种食物才成为主要的主食。一些重要的社会变化似乎是相伴而来的，村庄从单个地下坑结构的集合体变成了更大的地上多室村落，今天在该地区可以找到这样的例子。人口规模也增加了，群体采取了更稳定的生活方式。以基瓦为特征的男性宗教团体也在此时出现。珀金斯女士希望了解作为整个过程的一部分，劳工组织和基本社会组织是如何改变的，她将专注于一项具体的活动--玉米研磨。这是一项至关重要的生存活动，因为在烹饪前碾磨玉米极大地提高了其营养特性，而大量的碾磨工具证明了这项任务的重要性。考古数据表明，在许多Anasazi遗址，都有专门的研磨室，不仅有集中的磨石，还有建在墙上和地板上的专门的垃圾桶。珀金斯女士将参观西南部的研究中心，并记录和综合在过去的考古发掘过程中收集的信息。她将把这一点纳入一个统一的数据库中，并利用这些信息确定产量如何随时间变化，以及它如何因环境和地理区域而变化。初步分析表明，这种模式并不简单。结果将与其他类别的数据整合，以提供对更广泛的社会变革过程的洞察。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将综合一类广泛记录但很少分析的数据，其结果可能会被许多考古学家使用。这项工作将为复杂社会的产生提供新的线索，并有助于培养一位有前途的年轻考古学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Stephen Plog, MS Tracy Perkins will collect data for her doctoral dissertation. She will analyze changes in food preparation techniques among Anasazi peoples in the US Southwest during the period between ca. 800-1000 AD. While the use of domestic crops such a maize significantly preceeds 800 AD in this region, it was with the emergence of the Anasazi peoples that the foodstuff became the central dietary staple. A number of important social changes appear to be concomitant and villages changed from agglomerations of individual below ground pit structures to larger mulit-room above ground pueblos, examples of which can be found in the region today. Population size also increased and groups adopted a more settled way of life. Men's religious societies characterized by kivas also appear at this time. MS Perkins wishes to understand how the organization of labor and thus basic social organization was altered as part of this overall process and she will focus on one specific activity - maize grinding. This was a crucial subsistence activity since grinding maize before cooking significantly enhances its nutritional properties and abundant grinding implements attest to the importance of this task. Archaeological data indicates that at many Anasazi sites special grinding rooms were present and are marked not only by a concentration of grindstone but specialized bins built into walls and floors. MS Perkins will visit research centers in the Southwest and record and synthesize information collected in the course of past archaeological excavations. She will include this in a single consistent data base and with this information determine how production changed over time and how it varied by environmental and geographic region. Preliminary analysis indicates that the pattern is not straightforward. The results will be integrated with other classes of data to provide insight into the broader process of social change. This research is important for several reasons. It will synthesize a widely recorded but little analyzed class of data and the results are likely to be used by many archaeologists. The work will shed new light on how complex societies arise and contribute to training a promising young archaeologist.