Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant - The Yalahau Regional Settlement Pattern Survey

博士论文改进补助金 - 亚拉豪地区居住模式调查

• 批准号: 0327455
• 负责人: Scott Fedick
• 金额: $ 1.2万
• 依托单位: University of California-Riverside
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-09-01 至 2005-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0327455&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Grant; Yalahau

The Yalahau Regional Settlement Pattern Project, conducted by Jeffrey B. Glover under the supervision of Dr. Scott L. Fedick, is investigating the socio-political organization of the ancient Maya in the northeastern corner of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. The Yalahau region represents a unique water-rich environment with extensive freshwater wetlands that is strikingly different from the dry landscape that dominates the rest of the northern Yucatan peninsula. This project will test four possible models of the spatial organization of administrative centers within the region from the Late Preclassic period (100 B.C. - A.D. 350) to the Late Postclassic period (A.D. 1250 - 1521). Through the synchronic and diachronic analysis of the administrative system(s) operating within the Yalahau region, an understanding of the processes associated with the emergence and eventual decline of socio-political complexity at a regional scale will enrich the growing corpus of research addressing socio-political complexity not only in the Maya area but across the globe. By comparing hierarchical and heterarchical models of socio-political organization in the analysis of the data, the researcher will clearly highlight the strengths and weaknesses of both, and in the process, potentially develop a model with cross-cultural applicability.To cover the 5,000 km. of the region, the researcher will utilize two economical survey methods, an informant-based survey and a survey of cleared fields adjacent to rural roads. These survey techniques will provide a distribution of all of the major sites within the region, the majority of the moderate sized sites, and a sample of the small settlements. At these sites, surface collections of ceramic material will be conducted, and at a sample of the large sites, off-structure test excavation units will be placed. With these locational and chronological data, the major architectural groups will be mapped at each site when present. From these data two types of analyses will occur. First, a comparative database will be constructed based on a volumetric assessment of a sample of the major architecture as a means to measure the relative administrative power of each site. Secondly, the spatial patterning of the major architecture will be used to investigate intersite relations. All of these data are being contained in a Geographic Information System (GIS). The Yalahau region is threatened today by a rapidly growing population that is a direct result of Cancun's success as a vacation destination. In light of this threat, the completion of the project will catalog the sites within the region and provide INAH (National Institute of Anthropology and History) with important data for the protection of this area's rich cultural patrimony. Aside from managing data, the GIS will be used to generate a predictive model of as yet unidentified sites within the region. The predictive model can be used by subsequent Mexican and American scholars interested in the area, as well as aid INAH with further site preservation.Stemming from the informant-based survey technique, Mr. Glover is working closely with a number of indigenous Maya communities. At the termination of the dissertation, visually accessible maps and brief narratives about the archaeological resources found on their land will be presented to each community so that they can better assess and manage their cultural patrimony. By funding this research, NSF will be contributing to the preservation of non-renewable cultural patrimony as well as helping provide a legacy of valuable educational tools in the form of a predictive model, a comparative ceramic collection, and fieldwork training in basic archaeological skills (survey and excavation) for future Mexican and American scholars.

由Jeffrey B主持的Yalahau地区定居模式项目。格洛弗的监督下，斯科特L。费迪克正在调查墨西哥尤卡坦半岛东北角古代玛雅人的社会政治组织。 亚拉豪地区代表了一个独特的富水环境，拥有广泛的淡水湿地，与尤卡坦北方其余地区的干燥景观截然不同。半岛。 该项目将测试该地区从前古典晚期（公元前100年-公元350年）到后古典晚期（公元1250 - 1521年）行政中心空间组织的四种可能模型。 通过对亚拉豪地区行政系统的共时和历时分析，了解与区域范围内社会政治复杂性的出现和最终衰落相关的过程，将丰富日益增长的研究语料库，不仅在玛雅地区，而且在整个地球仪解决社会政治复杂性。 通过比较等级和heterarchical模型的社会政治组织在分析的数据，研究人员将清楚地突出两者的优势和劣势，并在此过程中，潜在地开发一个模型与跨文化的适用性。研究人员将利用两种经济的调查方法，一种是基于提供信息者的调查，另一种是对农村公路附近已清理的田地进行调查。 这些调查技术将提供该区域内所有主要地点的分布情况、大多数中等规模地点的分布情况以及小型住区的抽样情况。 在这些地点，将进行陶瓷材料的表面收集，并在大型地点的样本，将放置结构外测试挖掘单元。 有了这些位置和年代数据，主要的建筑群将在每个地点绘制地图。 根据这些数据，将进行两种类型的分析。 首先，将根据对主要建筑样本的体积评估建立一个比较数据库，作为衡量每个地点相对行政权力的一种手段。 其次，主要建筑的空间模式将被用来调查站点间的关系。 所有这些数据都被纳入一个地理信息系统。雅拉豪地区今天受到人口迅速增长的威胁，这是坎昆作为度假胜地成功的直接结果。 鉴于这一威胁，该项目的完成将对该地区的遗址进行编目，并为国家人类学和历史研究所提供重要数据，以保护该地区丰富的文化遗产。 除了管理数据外，地理信息系统还将用于生成该区域内尚未确定的地点的预测模型。 该预测模型可供随后对该地区感兴趣的墨西哥和美国学者使用，并帮助国家人类学和历史研究所进一步保护遗址。格洛弗先生采用基于信息的调查技术，与一些土著玛雅社区密切合作。 在论文结束时，将向每个社区提供关于在其土地上发现的考古资源的直观地图和简短叙述，以便他们能够更好地评估和管理其文化遗产。 通过资助这项研究，NSF将有助于保护不可再生的文化遗产，并帮助提供一个有价值的教育工具的预测模型，比较陶瓷收藏和基本考古技能（调查和挖掘）的实地考察培训，为未来的墨西哥和美国学者的形式遗产。