The Analysis of Material from Archaic Cerros de Trincheras Sites in Chihuahua, Mexico

在美国国家科学基金会的资助下，德克萨斯大学圣安东尼奥分校的罗伯特·哈德和土地管理局的约翰·罗尼一直在探索为什么猎人和采集者开始在西南部耕种。向农业的转变也许是人类最重要的历史发展之一，因为农业是过去和现在几乎所有文明的经济基础。1997年，哈德和罗尼开始在墨西哥奇瓦瓦州西北部一个引人注目的山顶定居点进行考古发掘，该定居点位于德克萨斯州埃尔帕索西南约125英里处。三千年前，在这座山上，印第安人建造了500多个梯田，俯瞰着周围的沙漠草原和大草原。该遗址和一系列相关的定居点已被证明是墨西哥西北部和美国西南部最大的早期定居农业社区，并将该地区的定居农业时代推迟了1500年。Cerro Juanaquena的梯田遗址揭示了许多文物，包括矛尖、管道、食物研磨工具和房屋遗迹。哈德和罗尼正在研究这些材料，以考虑这些早熟定居点的原因和后果。他们认为梯田的建造，并不是作为农业特征，而是为了形成平坦的生活空间，这样他们就可以住在这个高度防御的山上，并击退潜在的入侵者。目前美国国家科学基金会的资金将用于完成对这些文物的实验室分析，以便完成一本书和其他出版物。哈德和罗尼的研究成果已经发表在许多科学出版物上，包括《科学》杂志上的一篇文章。包括《华盛顿邮报》、《纽约时报》和《洛杉矶时报》在内的全国性报纸，以及加拿大、墨西哥和欧洲的广播和出版物都报道了他们的工作。哈德和罗尼在华盛顿特区、德克萨斯州、新墨西哥州和亚利桑那州做了18次公开演讲，并在国际、国家和地区科学会议上做了20次演讲。

With NSF funding, Robert Hard at the University of Texas at San Antonio and John Roney of the Bureau of Land Management have been exploring why hunters and gatherers began to farm in the Southwest. The shift to farming is perhaps one of the most important historical developments to humankind as agriculture is the economic basis of virtually all civilizations, past and present. In 1997 Hard and Roney began archaeological excavations at a dramatic hilltop settlement in northwest Chihuahua, Mexico about 125 miles southwest of El Paso, Texas. On this hill, three thousand years ago, Native Americans constructed over 500 terraces overlooking the surrounding desert grasslands and the Rio Casas Grandes. This site and a series of associated settlements have proven to be the largest, early settled farming communities in Northwest Mexico and the American Southwest and pushes the age of settled farming for the region back 1,500 years. The terraced site of Cerro Juanaquena has revealed numerous artifacts including spear points, pipes, food grinding implements, and house remains. Hard and Roney are examining these materials to consider the causes and consequences of these precocious settlements. They argue that the terraces were built, not as agricultural features, but to form flat living space so they could live atop this highly defensible hill and repeal potential raiders. The current NSF funding will be used to complete the laboratory analyses of the artifacts so a book and other publications may be completed. Hard and Roney's work has already resulted in numerous scientific publications including an article in Science. National newspapers, including the Washington Post, New York Times, and Los Angeles Times, as well as broadcasts and publications in Canada, Mexico, and Europe have reported on their work. Hard and Roney have given 18 public presentations in Washington D.C., Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona and another 20 presentations at international, national, and regional scientific meetings.