Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Archaeology at Chanlacan: An Early Colonial Maya Community in Northern Belize

在辛西娅·罗宾博士的监督下，玛克辛·奥兰德将完成她的学位论文研究的考古数据收集工作，这些资料来自16-17世纪的查拉坎玛雅社区。查拉坎的居民在伯利兹北部普罗格雷索泻湖海岸被征服的玛雅世界和未被征服的玛雅世界之间的边界上经历了西班牙殖民主义。该遗址在殖民时期的西班牙文献中因其在早期玛雅抵抗西班牙当局的运动中所扮演的角色而闻名。通过一项家庭和社区研究，奥兰德将解决Chanlacan与西班牙和玛雅邻居的互动，并将寻求了解西班牙当局和玛雅抵抗在社区的有效性。这个项目的目标是考察玛雅人对查拉坎殖民经历的看法。通过挖掘和绘制家庭地图，这个项目将解决Chanlacan居民生活的物质现实，他们面临着来自西班牙人和未被征服的玛雅人的压力。人们在家里使用的日常物品和食物，他们生产的贸易或贡品的类型，以及人们安置和组织家庭的方式，都有助于解释昌拉干与其邻国之间互动的性质，以及殖民统治和地方抵抗的有效性。该项目将首先绘制殖民时期社区内所有家庭的地图，然后将这些家庭分成三个大小的组。将从每个规模的群体中挖掘出一个家庭，以揭示家庭内部发生的各种经济和仪式活动。将对家庭进行相互比较，以审查查拉坎的土著个人和群体用来谈判殖民经历的不同战略。这些家庭挖掘具有重大的跨文化意义，因为伯利兹的玛雅人是世界上许多在欧洲殖民主义边缘过渡到生活的土著群体之一。本论文的研究将影响伯利兹民族，特别是普罗格雷索泻湖周围的现代居民，以及更大的学术社区。伯利兹政府鼓励殖民时期的考古，因为这个时代在历史上记录得太少了。普罗格雷索的居民也对考古感兴趣，希望能鼓励旅游业和当地的历史自豪感。和过去几年一样，挖掘机将展出项目研究的文物，并用西班牙语为Progresso居民举办一系列讲座。除了受薪的野外劳工外，考古队还将为当地高中志愿者提供考古野外方法和研究方面的培训。该项目还将以每年出版的考古报告的形式向伯利兹政府提交结果。这些报告保存在伯利兹贝尔莫潘考古部的档案中，副本将分发给普罗格雷索泻湖附近的当地图书馆和镇上的官员。在学术上，结果将在奥兰德的论文以及随后的书籍和期刊出版物中传播。初步成果将在2004年的全国考古会议上提交给同事。此外，该项目将为奥兰德和几名研究生和本科生志愿者提供实地经验和培训。

Under the supervision of Dr. Cynthia Robin, Maxine Oland will complete the collection of archaeological data for her dissertation research from the 16th-17th century Maya community of Chanlacan. Residents of Chanlacan experienced Spanish colonialism at the boundary between the conquered and unconquered Maya world, on the shores of Progresso Lagoon, in northern Belize. The site is known from Colonial Spanish documents for its role in the early Maya resistance movement against Spanish authority. Through a household and community study Oland will address Chanlacan's interactions with both Spanish and Maya neighbors, and will seek to understand the effectiveness of both Spanish authority and Maya resistance at the community. It is the goal of this project to examine the Maya perspective on the colonial experience at Chanlacan. By excavating and mapping households, this project will address the lived material realities of residents of Chanlacan, who faced pressures from both Spanish and unconquered Maya groups. The everyday items and foods people used in their houses, the types of goods they produced for trade or tribute, and the way people placed and organized their households can help explain the nature of interaction between Chanlacan and its neighbors, and the effectiveness of colonial authority and local resistance. This project will first seek to map all households within the Colonial period community, and will then divide the households into three size groups. One household from each size group will be fully excavated to expose the various economic and ritual activities that took place within the households. Households will be compared with one another in order to examine the different strategies that native individuals and groups at Chanlacan used to negotiate the colonial experience. These household excavations are significant cross-culturally because the Maya of Belize are one of many native groups around the world that transitioned to life at the edge of European colonialism.This dissertation research will impact the nation of Belize, specifically the modern residents around Progresso Lagoon, as well as the larger academic community. The Belize government has encouraged Colonial period archaeology, because this epoch is so poorly documented there historically. Residents of Progresso also have interests in the archaeology in hopes of encouraging tourism and local historical pride. As in past years, excavators will present an exhibition of artifacts from the project research, and give a series of lectures in Spanish for Progresso residents. In addition to paid field laborers, the excavation team will offer to train local high school volunteers in archaeological field methods and research. The project will also present results in the form of an annually published archaeological report to the government of Belize. These reports are kept in an archive at the Department of Archaeology in Belmopan, Belize, and copies will be distributed to local libraries and town officials near Progresso Lagoon. Academically, results will be disseminated in Oland's dissertation and in subsequent book and journal publications that result from it. Initial results will be presented to colleagues at the national archaeology meetings in 2004. Furthermore, this project will provide field experience and training to Oland and several graduate and undergraduate student volunteers.