Dissertation Research: Inka Imperial Expansion into Northwest Argentina

在特伦斯·达特洛伊博士的指导下，克拉伦斯·吉福德先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。继续他之前在该地区的研究，他将调查位于阿根廷西北部萨尔塔省的卡尔查基山谷的十个印加时期遗址。印加帝国是前哥伦布新大陆最大的帝国，以秘鲁高地的库斯科为中心，从北部的厄瓜多尔延伸到秘鲁、玻利维亚和阿根廷西北部。只需一项简单的技术和缺乏轮式车辆，印加人就能够将无数不同的种族融合成一个更大的功能实体。考古学家希望了解他们实现这一壮举的机制。根据民族历史和考古证据，似乎采取了各种策略。一些案件涉及直接征服和强加一套新的尺子和行政管理。在其他地方，地方领导层被增选，并被允许继续掌权。在一些地区修建防御工事和亵渎印加飞地，而在其他地区则利用恩惠和操纵仪式和宗教象征，以达到预期的目的。卡尔查基山谷标志着印加帝国大致的南方边界，因此为研究这一过程提供了一个特别相关的场所。初步数据显示，情况很复杂。城堡和其他印加建筑存在，但与此同时，大量的当地文化被保存下来，许多遗址表明当地和印加的影响相融合。通过对一系列遗址的地表测绘和挖掘，吉福德将考察当地与印加人之间的关系。这两个群体有着截然不同的建筑风格，使用了不同类型的陶器。印加陶瓷在其他地区得到了详细的研究，人们知道哪些类型的器皿用于宗教和其他象征性目的，而不是功利性目的。这使得在现场进行的许多活动得以确定。这项研究之所以重要，是因为它为技术简单社会中的政治和社会组织机制提供了新的线索。它将提供许多考古学家感兴趣的数据，并有助于培养一位有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Terence D'Altroy, Mr. Clarence Gifford will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. Continuing his previous research in the region, he will investigate ten Inka-period sites in the Calchaqui Valley, located in the province of Salta, northwest Argentina. The Inka empire, the largest in the pre-Columbian New World, was centered at Cuzco in the highlands of Peru and extended from Ecuador in the North, through Peru, Bolivia and into northwestern Argentina. With only a simple technology and lack of wheeled vehicles the Inka were able to weld a myriad of distinct ethnic groups into a larger functioning entity. Archaeologists wish to understand the mechanisms through which they achieved this feat. Based on both ethnohistoric and archaeological evidence, it appears that a variety of strategies were employed. Some cases involved direct conquest and the imposition of a new set of rulers and administration. In others, the local leadership was coopted and allowed to remain in power. In some areas fortifications and desecrate Inka enclaves were constructed while in other regions, favors and the manipulation of ritual and religious symbolism and were used to achieve the desired end. The Calchaqui Valley marks the approximate Southern limit of the Inka empire and thus provides a particularly relevant venue to study this process. Preliminary data indicate that the situation was complex. Forts and other Inca structures are present, yet at the same time a significant amount of local culture was preserved and many sites indicate a blend of local and Inca influence. Through the surface mapping and excavation of a series of sites, Mr. Gifford will examine local-Inka relationships. The two groups had distinct architectural styles and used different types of pottery. Inka ceramics have been studied in detail in other regions and it is known what types of vessels served religious and other symbolic as opposed to utilitarian purposes. This allows many activities conducted at sites to be determined. This research is important because it sheds new light on mechanisms of political and social organization in technological simple societies. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and contribute to training a promising young scientist.