Late Prehistoric Social Complexity in Southern Amazonia (Upper Xingu, Brazil)

南亚马逊地区史前晚期社会复杂性（巴西上辛古）

• 批准号: 0004487
• 负责人: Michael Heckenberger
• 金额: $ 15.51万
• 依托单位: University of Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2001
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2001-09-01 至 2003-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0004487&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Late; Prehistoric; Social; Complexity; Southern

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Michael Heckenberger and his colleagues will conduct two seasons (eight months) of archaeological research in the Upper Xingu region, Brazil, situated near the southern peripheries of the forested lowlands of the Amazon basin. The project aims to accurately characterize the regional distribution, variability, and articulation of late prehistoric (c. AD 1000-1600) habitation sites within a 900 km study area and to improve the overall chronology of prehistoric human occupation in the region. Building on the results of previous NSF funded research, specific questions to be addressed include: (1) the initial appearance of circular plaza villages in the region, suggested to be c. AD 800-900; (2) the timing of major structural elaboration of the plaza villages, through earthwork construction, thought to have occurred c. AD 1400-1600; (3) the variability, in terms of size, configuration, and structural features, of these terminal prehistoric sites and their integration within the study area; (4) the degree of population nucleation, measured in terms of village growth, coincident with major earthwork construction; and (5) the overall environmental impacts of the large prehistoric villages on the surrounding landscape, in collaboration with specialists in paleoecology, pedology, and ethnobotany. The project will include the expansion of a geographic (GIS) database for this portion of the southern Amazon, utilizing satellite images and aerial-photos, as well as ground-based data recovery. The research addresses pressing issues in regional anthropology, most notably debates regarding the nature and distribution of complex societies (chiefdoms) in late prehistoric times. Although long felt to be inimical to the development of large, settled populations, recent research indicates that such societies did exist prehistorically in Amazonia. Thus, the Amazon is one of the last major hearths for the emergence of chiefdoms to be recognized worldwide. This research is particularly timely since, to date, very few systematic regional-level archaeological studies have been conducted in the Brazilian Amazon. More broadly, scientific investigation of past settlement and land-use in different parts of the Amazon is critical to debates regarding pre-industrial adaptations to tropical forest environments and issues of contemporary economic sustainability and development in this ecologically sensitive region. The project, sponsored by the Museu Nacional and Museu Goeldi in Brazil and composed of a team of Brazilian and American researchers and students, will strengthen scientific cooperation between Brazil and the United States and also promote cooperation between scientists and indigenous peoples.

在国家科学基金会的支持下，迈克尔·赫肯伯格（Michael Heckenberger）博士和他的同事将在巴西上Xingu地区进行两个季节（八个月）的考古研究，位于亚马逊盆地的森林低地的南部外围附近。 该项目旨在准确地表征史前晚期（c。AD1000-1600）居住地的区域分布，可变性和表达，并在900公里的研究区域内进行了分布，并改善了该地区史前人类职业的整体年代学。 基于以前NSF资助的研究的结果，要解决的具体问题包括：（1）该地区圆形广场村庄的初始出现，建议为c。 AD 800-900; （2）通过土方建设进行了广场村庄的主要结构阐述的时机，被认为发生在c。广告1400-1600; （3）这些末期史前部位的大小，配置和结构特征的变异性及其在研究区域内的整合； （4）根据村庄的生长衡量的种群成核程度，与主要土方建设相吻合； （5）大型史前村庄对周围景观的整体环境影响，与古生态学，教育和民族植物学专家合作。 该项目将包括在亚马逊南部的这一部分扩展地理（GIS）数据库，利用卫星图像和空中播音以及基于地面的数据恢复。 该研究涉及区域人类学的紧迫问题，最著名的是关于史前晚期复杂社会（酋长国）的性质和分布的辩论。 尽管长期以来一直认为与大量定居的人口的发展是不利的，但最近的研究表明，这种社会确实存在于亚马逊的史前存在。 因此，亚马逊是全球范围内被认可的首席执行官的最后主要壁炉之一。 这项研究尤其及时，因为迄今为止，在巴西亚马逊上很少进行系统的区域考古研究。 从更广泛的角度来看，对亚马逊不同地区的过去定居点和土地利用的科学研究对于有关对热带森林环境的适应前的辩论以及在生态敏感地区的当代经济可持续性和发展问题至关重要。 该项目由巴西博物馆和戈尔迪博物馆（Museu Goeldi）赞助，由巴西和美国研究人员和学生组成，将加强巴西与美国之间的科学合作，并促进科学家与土著人民之间的合作。