Dissertation: Community Organization and Cultural Complexity in the Early Formative Cultures of Southeastern Uruguay

在Thomas Dillehay博士的指导下，Jose Iriarte先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。他将在位于乌拉圭大西洋沿岸平原的EMA遗址进行考古发掘。初步的实地研究表明，该遗址可以追溯到早期形成时期，占地约50公顷，有70多个土丘位于一个平坦的支脉上，延伸到广阔的湿地。大多数土丘是低的，平坦的和圆形的，介于。高5至1.5米，直径15至30米。这些土丘的增生性质是偶然堆积的垃圾造成的，并不表明有任何故意的建造事件或故意的塑造。它们围绕着一个中央开放空间排列成半圆形，类似于许多人种学和史前亚马逊部落的村庄布局特征。伊里亚特将开展一项挖掘计划，目的是确定如何在土丘和土丘以外地区划分定居点空间。他希望发现在不同地区进行的活动的性质，以及这些活动与社区组织的关系。他将通过沟槽样带检查深丘沉积物，并在具有离丘地区特征的浅层沉积物中进行系统的间隔样带采样。动物和植物遗骸将提供对生存和陶瓷系列化的深入了解，结合热释光和放射性碳定年法将允许对个体特征进行绝对定年。早期形成时期标志着从狩猎和采集到定居的村庄生活方式的转变。虽然长期以来的假设表明，乌拉圭东南部的史前文化仍然是边缘的狩猎采集者，组织在简单，小型和高度流动的群体中，直到最近，EMA和类似的遗址却不这么认为。多丘遗址表明居民流动性的减少，仪式丘式建筑表明社区规划。像EMA这样的地点聚集在高产的湿地地区，这表明了集约化和对新环境和新物种的开发。玉米、南瓜、豆类和可能种植的块茎也被添加到饮食中。这种一般类型的转变独立地发生在世界上的许多地方，考古学家希望了解导致这种变化的过程。伊里亚特先生认为，许多理论家所假设的单一的严格定义的发展轨迹并不存在，而是在考古记录中可以观察到显著的变化。这个项目有助于定义这种可变性的极限。它将提供许多考古学家感兴趣的数据，并帮助培养一位有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Thomas Dillehay Mr. Jose Iriarte will collect data for his doctoral dissertation.. He will conduct archaeological excavation at the site of EMA, located on the Atlantic coastal plain of Uruguay. Preliminary field research has revealed that the site dates to the Early Formative period and encompasses ca. 50 ha bearing more than 70 mounds located on a flat spur which projects into extensive wetlands. The majority of the mounds are low flat and circular, between .5 and 1.5 m in height with a diameter ranging between 15 and 30 m. The accretional nature of these mounds results from the incidental accumulation of midden refuse and does not suggest any intentional construction episodes or deliberate shaping. They are arranged in a semicircular shape around a central open space resembling the village layout characteristic of many ethnographic and prehistoric Amazon groups. Mr. Iriarte will carry out an excavation program with the goal of defining how settlement space is partitioned in mound and off-mound areas. He wishes to discover the nature of activities conducted in different areas and how these relate to the organization of the community. He will examine deep mound deposits by trench transect and conduct systematic interval transect sampling in the shallow deposits which characterize off mound areas. Faunal and floral remains will provide insight into subsistence and ceramic seriation in conjunction with thermoluminescent and radiocarbon dating will allow absolute dating of individual features.The Early Formative period marks the transition from hunting and gathering to a settled village way of life. While long-held assumptions suggest that the prehistoric cultures of southeastern Uruguay remained marginal hunter-gatherers organized in simple, small and highly mobile bands until recent times, EMA and similar sites argue otherwise. The multi-mound sites indicate a decrease in residential mobility and ceremonial mounded architecture suggests community planning. Sites such as EMA are aggregated in highly productive wetland areas and this suggests both intensification and the exploitation of new environments and species. Maize, squash, beans and possibly cultivated tubers were added to the diet. This general type of transition occurred, independently, in many parts of the world and archaeologists wish to understand the processes responsible for this change. Mr. Iriarte argues that the single tightly defined developmental trajectory postulated by many theorists does not exist but rather that significant variation can be observed in the archaeological record. This project helps to define the limits of such variability. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and assist in training a promising young scientist.