Early Mississippian Social Negotiation and Cahokia's Richland Complex

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，Timothy Pauketat博士和他的同事们将在位于密苏里州圣路易斯东部的卡霍基亚地区进行两次实地考古研究。卡霍基亚是一个具有纪念意义的遗址，包括大型土墩和“木阵”，它可能是史前北美已知的最大和最具等级组织的社会中心。在卡霍基亚遗址的挖掘本身揭示了一个空间组织，表明一个持续一致的中央集权，很可能有成千上万的人被纳入这个系统。与墓葬相关的异域商品表明贸易网络遍及中西部。虽然大多数考古学家都认为政治组织形式是直接而相当僵化的，但波凯特博士根据他之前在该地区的工作，认为存在着相当大的灵活性，卡霍基亚势力范围内的许多团体表现出不同程度的独立性。在他最近得到美国国家科学基金会支持的研究中，他指出，大约在公元1050年，在距离卡霍基亚约35公里的地区突然出现了“里奇菲尔德群体”。就在那时，卡霍基亚经历了最大的荧光，波凯特博士认为，里奇菲尔德人离开了遗址中心，以获得更大程度的独立性。Pauketat博士和他的团队将对该地区的代表性样本进行行人调查。他们将记录表面材料和特征，并绘制它们的分布。在此基础上，将有可能确定里奇菲尔德民族的范围和人口密度。将选择三个地点进行挖掘。目的是确定住区配置和房屋组织，以便与当代卡霍基亚同行进行比较。还将分析陶瓷和其他文物，以确定相似程度。在此基础上，可以确定与卡霍基亚的文化分离程度，并追踪这种距离随时间的变化。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。考古学家已经意识到，像卡霍基亚这样的大型“首都”只能在更广泛的区域背景下理解。迄今为止收集的数据表明，简单的等级和支配模式不能自动应用于这种情况，中心和腹地之间可能存在不断的协商和重新定义权力。Pauketat博士收集的数据将有助于证实或否认这一模型。这项研究将涉及布法罗大学的一所野外学校，从而为许多学生提供培训。

With National Science Foundation support Dr. Timothy Pauketat and his colleagues will conduct two field seasons of archaeological research in the Cahokia region, located East of St. Louis, Missouri. Cahokia is a monumental site which included large mounds and `woodhenges` and which served as center for perhaps the largest and most hierarchically organized society known in prehistoric North America. Excavation at the site of Cahokia itself revealed a spatial organization indicative of a sustained consistent centralized power and it is likely that tens of thousands of individuals were incorporated into this system. Exotic goods associated with burials indicate trade networks which extended across the midwest. While most archaeologists have assumed a straightforward and fairly rigid form of political organization, Dr. Pauketat, based on his prior work in the area, believes that a significant amount of flexibility existed and that many groups within the Cahokia sphere of influence exhibited varying degrees of independence. In his recently supported NSF study, he noted the sudden appearance of `Richfield groups` in an area about 35 km. from Cahokia at ca. 1,050 AD. It was just then that Cahokia underwent its greatest fluorescence and Dr. Pauketat believes that Richfield peoples moved away from the site center to obtain a greater degree of independence. Dr. Pauketat and his team will conduct a pedestrian survey over a representative sample of this area. They will note surface material and features and plot their distribution. On this basis it will be possible to determine the extent and population density of Richfield peoples. Three sites will be chosen for excavation. The purpose will be to determine settlement configuration and house organization for comparison with contemporary Cahokia counterparts. Ceramics and other cultural objects will be analyzed also to determine degree of similarity. On this basis degree of cultural separation from Cahokia can be determined and the changes in such distance traced over time. This research is important for several reasons. Archaeologists have come to realize that large `capitals` such as Cahokia can only be understood in a broader regional context. Data collected to date suggest that simple models of hierarchy and dominance can not be automatically applied in such situations and that constant negotiation and re-definition of power between center and hinterlands likely existed. The data collected by Dr. Pauketat will help to confirm or deny this model. The research will involve a University of Buffalo field school and thus provide training for many students.