El Palmillo: A Household Perspective on the Classic-Post- classic Transition in Oaxaca

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，加里·费曼博士和他的合作者将在位于墨西哥中部瓦哈卡山谷的El Palmillo遗址进行考古研究。我们的目标是研究中美洲史前史上一个鲜为人知的时期，即“古典-后古典过渡时期”。“在许多文化中，古典时期见证了国家发展的高度，玛雅低地和墨西哥高地的主要城市和纪念性建筑都可以追溯到这个时期。”正如“古典”一词所暗示的那样，考古学家认为这一时期是中美洲文明的巅峰时期。在古典时期末期，许多大型遗址被废弃，大规模的纪念性建筑停止了，人们分散到较小的定居点。由于这个原因，向后古典的过渡通常被称为“崩溃”。在瓦哈卡山谷，这种普遍模式是正确的，而阿尔班山的古典时期遗址是墨西哥主要的权力中心之一。在Monte Alban进行了广泛的研究，但该地区的后古典史前史却鲜为人知。费曼博士的研究将有助于纠正这种情况。费曼博士指出，尽管在瓦哈卡后古典时期发生了政治分裂，但人口增长，经济专业化似乎有所增加，本地和长途贸易都蓬勃发展。至少在这个地区，“崩溃”的概念可能是不合适的。1997年，费曼博士在El Palmillo找到了一个跨越经典后经典的大型遗址，在国家科学基金会的支持下，他将在那里进行挖掘。在美国中部，当地家庭通常是手工艺品生产的场所。费曼博士将对其中的一系列进行挖掘，以确定发生的制造活动的范围、强度和在家庭中的分布。这项研究很重要，因为它将为人类文明发展史上的一个重大转变提供洞见。它将补充该地区广泛的工作，并为许多考古学家提供感兴趣的数据。

With National Science Foundation support Dr. Gary Feinman and his collaborators will conduct archaeological research at the site of El Palmillo, located in the Valley of Oaxaca in central Mexico. The goal is to look at a poorly known and understood period in Middle American prehistory known as the `Classic-Postclassic transition.` Across a number of cultures the Classic period witnessed the height of state development and major cities and monumental constructions in both the Mayan lowlands and Mexican highlands date to this time. As the term `Classic` suggests, archaeologists see this time as the high point in Mesoamerican civilization. At the end of the Classic period many large sites were abandoned large scale monumental construction ceased and people dispersed into smaller settlements. For this reason the transition to the Postclassic is often referred to as a `collapse.` In the Valley of Oaxaca this general pattern holds true and the Classic period site of Monte Alban was one of the major centers of power in Mexico. Extensive research has been conducted at Monte Alban but the Postclassic prehistory of the region is poorly known. Dr. Feinman's research will help to remedy this situation. Dr Feinman notes that although political fragmentation took place in the Oaxaca Postclassic, population growth occurred, economic specialization appeared to have increased and both local and long distance trade flourished. In this region at least, the concept of `collapse` is likely inappropriate. In 1997 Dr. Feinman has located a large site which spans the Classic Postclassic at El Palmillo and with NSF support he will conduct excavations there. In Middle America the local household served most often as the locus for craft production. Dr. Feinman will excavate a series of these to determine the range of manufacturing activities which took place, their intensive and their distribution across households. This research is important because it will provide insight into a major transition in the history of the development of civilization. It will supplement extensive work in the region and provide data of interest to many archaeologists.