Dissertation Research: A Bioarchaeological Analysis of Prehistoric Social Status and Health in the Moche Valley, Peru

从公元200-600年控制秘鲁北部海岸大部分地区的莫切人，是南美洲最早发展国家级社会组织的社会之一。虽然莫克文明在考古上得到了很好的研究，但人们对该地区莫切人之前的社会的兴衰，以及这些早期的转变如何影响国家形成过程的了解要少得多。最重要的是，人们对不断变化的社会状况，特别是日益加剧的社会分层如何影响该地区居民的健康和物质福祉知之甚少。拟议的研究试图通过分析Cerro Oreja的史前墓葬收集来解决这些问题，Cerro Oreja是位于莫什山谷的一个大型遗址，有1500次被占领的撕裂历史。由于Cerro Oreja在莫契国形成和扩张之前的关键时期是山谷中最重要的中心，该遗址为观察文化变迁提供了一个极好的视角。Cerro Oreja的骨骼样本具有巨大的潜力，可以作为史前健康和社会地位的信息来源，因为它的大小、背景信息的质量以及时间和空间控制的程度。将使用生物考古方法评估这一人口不断变化的社会政治组织如何影响社会地位与健康之间的关系。将对被归类为精英和普通人的个人的健康状况进行比较，以评估这样一个命题，即地位高的人能够更好地缓冲与剧烈体力活动相关的营养压力、疾病和慢性病的影响。将通过对最终形成莫契国的三个文化阶段的物质形态的检查，分析不同社会群体的健康状况的变化。这项研究将提供有用的数据，用于评估考古研究产生的模型，以解释莫奇山谷状态的演变。获得的数据还将增加我们对南美洲安第斯山脉古代社会疾病过程的了解。最后，这项调查将有助于我们理解健康、阶级和社会经济组织之间的相互作用。

The Moche, who controlled much of Peru's northern coast from AD 200-600, were on eof the first societies in South America to develop state level social organization. Although Moch civilization has been well-studied archaeologically, much less is known about the rise and collapse of societies that preceded the Moche in this region, and how these earlier transformations influenced the process of state formation. Most importantly, little is known about how changing socail conditions, particularly increasing socail stratification, affected the health and material well-being of theinhabitants of this region. The proposed research seeks to address these issues with analysis of a collection of prehistoric burials from Cerro Oreja, a large site located in the Moche Valley with a 1,500 tear history of occupation. As Cerro Oreja was the paramount center in the valley during the critical period immediately preceding Moche state formation and expansion, the site provides an excellent vantage point from which to observe cultural change.The skeletal sample from Cerro Oreja has great potential as a source of information on prehistoric health and social status, due to its large size, quality of contextual information and degree of chronological and spatial control. Bioarchaeological methods will be used to assess how the changing socio-political organization of this population influenced the relationship between social status and health. The health status of individuals classified as elites and commoners will be compared to evaluate the proposition that high status individuals are better buffered against the effects of nutritional stress, disease, and chronic conditions associated with strenuous physical activities. Changes in the health status of people of different social groups will be analyzed through examination of material form three cultural phases that culminated in hte formation of the Moche state. This research will produce data useful for evaluating models generated by archaeological research to explain the evolution of the state on the Moche Valley. The data obtained will also increase our knowledge of disease processes in ancient societies from Andean South America. Finally, this investigation will contribute to our understanding of the interplay between health, class, and socio-economic organization.