Dissertation Research: State Interventionism in the Late Classic Maya Palenque polity: Excavations at El Lacandon

在Olivier De Montmollin博士的指导下，Roberto洛佩斯Bravo先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。他将在位于墨西哥佩腾半岛的埃尔拉坎东遗址进行考古发掘。这个遗址可以追溯到古典时期，当时玛雅政治达到了最大的面积范围，虽然本身不是一个主要的中心，但由于它与18公里外的帕伦克的联系而非常重要。铭文和考古数据表明，在古典时期，帕伦克扩大并建立了对包括埃尔拉坎东在内的大片地区的控制。由于后者在帕伦克扩张之前就作为一个独立的实体存在，因此有可能确定在并入帕伦克的范围之后社会、政治和经济组织是如何改变的，并重建治理方法。虽然许多大型玛雅王国已经研究，考古学家不同意的政治一体化的手段。有些人认为，El Lacandon等边远地区是通过直接干预控制的，实行了严格的中央集权。在这种情况下，这些地区紧密地融入了更广泛的经济体系。然而，其他考古学家则假设了一种更为宽松的安排，即先前存在的地方精英如果承认自己的次要地位，就可以继续掌权，除了缴纳贡品之外，先前存在的制度基本上保持不变。为了研究这个问题，布拉沃先生将挖掘一系列的“平民”和“精英”居住区，其中包括前和后帕伦克时期。他还将在中央礼仪区进行挖掘，以确定新建筑的时期是否与权力结构的变化相吻合。他观察到的模式将提供对埃尔拉坎顿-帕伦克关系结构的洞察。这项研究很重要，原因有几个。它将为最大的玛雅史前王国之一的运作提供新的线索，并为许多考古学家提供感兴趣的数据。它还将协助培养一名有前途的青年科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Olivier De Montmollin, Mr. Roberto Lopez Bravo will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will conduct archaeological excavation at the site of El Lacandon located in Mexico's Peten Peninsula. This site dates to the Classic Period when Mayan polities reached their greatest areal extent and, while not a major center itself, is important because of it's ties with Palenque located 18 km away. Epigraphic and archaeological data indicate that during Classic times Palenque expanded and established control over a large region which included El Lacandon. Because the latter existed as an independent entity before Palenque's expansion it is possible to determine how social, political and economic organization was altered after incorporation into Palenque's sphere and to reconstruct the method of governance. While many large Mayan kingdoms have been studied, archaeologists do not agree on the means of political integration employed. Some believe that outlying areas such as El Lacandon were controlled through direct intervention and that tight centralized authority was exercised. Under this scenario such regions were tightly integrated into a broader economic system. Other archaeologists however postulate a much looser arrangement in which pre-existing local elites, if they recognized their secondary status, were allowed to remain in power and that, other than the payment of tribute, pre-existing systems remained essentially unchanged. To examine this question, Mr. Bravo will excavate a series of both "commoner" and "elite" habitation areas which incorporate both pre and post Palenque periods. He will also excavate in central ceremonial areas to determine whether a period of new construction coincides with the power structure change. The patterns he observes will provide insight into the structure of El Lacandon - Palenque relations.This research is important for several reasons. It will shed new light on the functioning of one of the largest Mayan prehistoric kingdoms and provide data of interest to many archaeologists. It will also assist in training a promising young scientist.