A Re-evaluation of the Earthworks at Tikal, Guatemala

危地马拉蒂卡尔土方工程的重新评估

• 批准号: 0211579
• 负责人: David Webster
• 金额: $ 6.85万
• 依托单位: Pennsylvania State Univ University Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2002-09-01 至 2004-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0211579&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Re; evaluation; Earthworks; Tikal; Guatemala

Dr. David Webster will use National Science Foundation funding to investigate the largest known set of ancient fortifications in the Maya Lowlands of Mesoamerica. When these fortifications were discovered at Tikal, Guatemala, in 1966, the Classic Maya were widely regarded unique among ancient civilizations for their apparent lack of intense warfare. The earthworks reported at Tikal were interpreted as defenses that protected not only the monumental architecture at the site core, but also a larger region of about 120 sq km where the bulk of the sustaining population lived. Because Classic Maya inscriptions could not be read in the mid-1960s, these earthworks constituted early convincing evidence contradicting the "peaceful Maya" conception. They also intrigued archaeologists who faced a vexing problem: how can the boundaries of ancient Maya settlements or polities be detected where ruins extend more or less continuously over vast regions? At Tikal the Maya themselves provided us with just such boundaries. Subsequent evidence for warfare soon appeared at other Classic sites, such as the earthworks at Becan, excavated by Webster in 1970. Even more important was an avalanche of deciphered inscriptions after 1980, which are full of references to war between Maya kingdoms. Historical chronicles from many centers now reveal great geopolitical struggles between Maya "superpowers" (Tikal among them) and their associated coalitions. Ironically, the Tikal earthworks have been entirely neglected by archaeologists since they were first reported. Such neglect is particularly serious because they were initially described and mapped only in a very superficial way, and we have only the poorest grasp of when they were first constructed or when they were used. No one has even confirmed the existence of the southern earthwork, which might be better called a rumor. Despite this paucity of information, the earthworks loom large in reconstructions of Tikal's military struggles and the demographic and territorial character of the polity. Our project, slated for the dry season of 2003, represents the first phase of a larger effort to better document these intriguing features. We plan to map the entire northern earthwork (about 9 km long) determine how it connects (or not) with large swamps on the east and west, and also record all associated settlement remains. We also hope to locate the more distant and elusive southern earthwork, and at least verify its basic features. Results will set the stage for future excavations to better reveal how the earthworks were constructed, and how and when they were used. We especially hope to eventually associate use of the fortifications with recorded episodes of warfare. Our research will provide Mayanists with an important test of the congruence between historical and archaeological data, and the implications of these data for conflict, demography, and political organization. It will also interest all archaeologists concerned with how to detect warfare in prehistoric contexts. Most importantly, it will help us to better understand how war and conflict among the ancient Maya fits into our larger comparative perspectives about the role of warfare in the evolution of all ancient civilizations.

大卫·韦伯斯特博士将利用国家科学基金会的资金，对中美洲玛雅低地已知最大的一组古代防御工事进行调查。1966年，当这些防御工事在危地马拉的蒂卡尔被发现时，古典玛雅人被广泛认为是古代文明中独一无二的，因为他们明显没有激烈的战争。蒂卡尔报告的土方工程被解释为防御措施，不仅保护了遗址核心的不朽建筑，还保护了大约120平方公里的更大面积的区域，那里居住着大部分持续生存的人口。由于经典玛雅铭文在20世纪60年代中期无法阅读，这些土方工程构成了与“和平玛雅”概念相矛盾的早期令人信服的证据。它们还引起了考古学家的兴趣，他们面临着一个令人头疼的问题：如何才能检测到古代玛雅聚居地或政体的边界，如果废墟或多或少地持续延伸到广大地区？在提卡尔，玛雅人自己就为我们提供了这样的边界。后来战争的证据很快出现在其他经典遗址，例如1970年由韦伯斯特挖掘的贝肯土方工程。更重要的是，1980年后破译的碑文如雪崩般涌现，其中充满了玛雅王国之间的战争。来自许多中心的历史编年史现在揭示了玛雅“超级大国”(蒂卡尔在其中)和他们的相关联盟之间巨大的地缘政治斗争。具有讽刺意味的是，自首次报道以来，蒂卡尔土方工程一直被考古学家完全忽视。这种忽视是特别严重的，因为它们最初只是以非常肤浅的方式进行描述和绘制，而我们对它们最初是何时建造或何时使用的掌握也是最差的。甚至还没有人证实南方土石方的存在，这可能更应该被称为谣言。尽管信息如此匮乏，但在重建蒂卡尔的军事斗争以及这个政体的人口和领土特征方面，土方工程显得格外突出。我们的项目定于2003年旱季，是更好地记录这些耐人寻味的特征的更大努力的第一阶段。我们计划绘制整个北部土石方(约9公里长)的地图，确定它如何连接(或不连接)东部和西部的大片沼泽，并记录所有相关的定居点遗迹。我们还希望找到更遥远、更难以捉摸的南方土方，并至少核实其基本特征。这些结果将为未来的挖掘奠定基础，以便更好地揭示土方工程是如何建造的，以及如何和何时使用它们。我们特别希望最终将防御工事的使用与有记录的战争事件联系起来。我们的研究将为玛雅人提供一个重要的测试，以检验历史数据和考古数据之间的一致性，以及这些数据对冲突、人口统计学和政治组织的影响。它还将引起所有关注如何在史前背景下发现战争的考古学家的兴趣。最重要的是，它将帮助我们更好地理解古代玛雅人之间的战争和冲突如何符合我们关于战争在所有古代文明进化中的作用的更大的比较视角。