Archaeology of Culture Contact at Ft. Ross, CA: The Investigation of Metini Village

在国家科学基金会的支持下，肯特·莱特福特博士和他的同事们将在位于加利福尼亚州北部110公里海岸的罗斯堡殖民地继续他们的考古研究。旧金山湾以北。罗斯堡是由俄美公司于1812年创立的，该公司是一家商业垄断企业，代表着俄罗斯在利润丰厚的北太平洋毛皮贸易中的利益。在1841年被出售和解散之前，它一直是加利福尼亚州海岸猎杀海獭和毛海豹的集结地，也是饲养农作物和牲畜的农业社区。该公司在罗斯堡组建了一支国际多种族劳动力队伍，分为四个主要阶层或庄园：俄罗斯人、克里奥尔人、阿留申人和印第安人。从阿留申群岛进口的阿留申人主要充当猎人，而印度人主要由当地部落Kaashaya Pomo组成。这些庞然大物承担着各种各样的任务--照料牲畜，在农地里干活，以及拖着粘土生产砖块。每一群人都生活在罗斯堡附近各自的居住区，莱特福特博士目前项目的目标是研究这个波莫人社区的社会组织和行为模式。在一年的支持下，莱特福特博士和他的同事们将为更大规模的挖掘奠定基础。他们将进行档案研究，并采访罗斯堡居民的直系波莫后裔。该小组将对该地点进行地形测量，以确定蚊子和其他地表特征。此外，还将进行地球物理调查，以确定地下对应物的位置。将进行密集的地面收集，并在有希望的地区进行有限的挖掘。了解文化如何发挥作用的最好方法之一是观察它们如何适应新的环境，而罗斯堡为利用这种方法提供了一个极好的环境。史前的波莫在考古上有很好的记录，通过罗斯堡的挖掘，我们可以看到在一个独特的多民族背景下，哪些文化习俗是有选择地被保留、抛弃或修改的。之前的研究集中在该遗址的俄语和阿留申部分，这项波莫研究将提供有价值的比较数据。该项目涉及包括波莫在内的许多参与者，并将发挥宝贵的培训作用。

With National Science Foundation support Dr. Kent Lightfoot and his colleagues will continue their archaeological research at the Fort Ross Colony, located on the coast of northern California 110 km. North of San Francisco Bay. Fort Ross was founded in 1812 by the Russian-American Company, a mercantile monopoly that represented Russia's interests in the lucrative North Pacific fur trade. It served as a staging area for sea otter and fur seal hunts along the coast of California and as an agricultural community for raising crops and livestock until 1841 when it was sold and disbanded. The Company assembled an international, multi-ethnic workforce at Fort Ross that was divided into four major classes or estates: `Russians,` `Creoles,` `Aleuts,` and `Indians.` The Aleuts, imported from the Aleutian Islands served primarily as hunters while the `Indians` consisted primarily of Kaashaya Pomo, a local tribe. These Pomos performed a variety of tasks - tending livestock, working in agricultural fields and hauling clay for brick production. Each group lived in its own habitation area near Fort Ross and the goal of Dr. Lightfoot's current project is to examine the social organization and behavior patterns of this Pomo community. With one year of support, Dr. Lightfoot and his colleagues will lay the groundwork for a larger scale excavation. They will conduct archival research and also interview lineal Pomo descendants of Fort Ross inhabitants. The team will carry out a topographic survey of the site to identify middens and other surface features. This will be augmented by a geophysical survey to locate subsurface counterparts. Intensive surface collection will be conducted and limited excavations made in promising areas. One of the best ways to understand how cultures function is to observe how they adapt in new contexts and Fort Ross provides an excellent situation to utilize such an approach. The prehistoric Pomo are well documented archaeologically and through excavation at Fort Ross it will be possible to see how what cultural practices are selectively maintained, dropped or modified in a unique multi-ethnic context. Previous research has focused on Russian and Aleut portions of the site and this Pomo study will provide valuable comparative data. The project involves many participants, including Pomo and will serve a valuable training function.