Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Obsidian Exchange in the South Central Andes

在Mark Aldenderfer博士的监督下，Nicholas Tripcevich将在秘鲁南部高地的一个大型黑曜石源附近的考古遗址进行调查和测试。研究表明，秘鲁的科尔卡山谷是8000多年来安第斯山脉中南部人们的主要黑曜石来源。在距离源头数百公里的考古遗址的挖掘中，研究人员在与从早期觅食群体到强大的蒂瓦纳库州的文化相关的遗址中发现了这种化学上独特的黑曜石材料。这种黑曜岩的地质来源是最近才确定的，特里普切维奇在这种黑曜岩来源附近的调查将建立在迄今为止进行的初步研究的基础上。几千年来，地区对黑曜石需求的变化将如何影响人们访问该产地的活动？该地区黑曜石消费的社会政治背景发生了重大变化，发生在古代晚期（公元前4800年）和形成期晚期（公元500年）之间，在东部的的的喀喀湖盆地出现了社会等级制度和戏剧性的公共建筑。黑曜石的采购和交易是否与喀喀湖沿岸新兴的精英阶层密切相关？人类学理论表明，远距离的社会网络和外地商品的流通是服务于有抱负的领导人的政治野心的重要组成部分。这项研究将通过关注黑曜石在源头的初始加工过程的变化，提供一个关于黑曜石采购和需求变化性质的观点。这个研究项目将在采石场和邻近河谷调查70平方公里，并将在采石场和两个分层地点进行有限的试验挖掘。将通过在高海拔黑曜岩源区及其附近的岩屑还原策略、试验发掘的地层证据和调查所得的定居模式数据来记录源区的史前黑曜岩开采。通过研究黑曜石产地的岩石加工策略的变化，以及附近河谷的定居模式和债务分布的变化，该项目将把岩石采购区和居住的科尔卡山谷的行为与已知发生在该地区的政治变化联系起来。拟议的Colca地区黑曜石生产调查代表了对岩石采购和交换之间关系的案例研究，以及与世界其他地区相当的社会复杂性演变。这个研究项目的一个中心方法学目标是整合新的地理技术来处理空间分析问题。在整个项目的组织、设计、获取和分析阶段，遥感和地理信息系统（GIS）将发挥中心作用。该项目旨在促进在国际上使用这些技术方面的更大的学术合作，并向秘鲁和外国背景的感兴趣的学生提供关于将地理信息系统应用于人类学研究问题的教育。这项研究的结果将在经过评审的期刊上发表，并通过项目网站向学者和公众传播。此外，参与该项目的研究生和本科生将通过参与该项目获得实地和分析经验。

Under the supervision of Dr. Mark Aldenderfer, Nicholas Tripcevich will survey and test archaeological sites in the vicinity of a large obsidian source in the highlands of southern Peru. Research has shown that the Colca Valley of Peru was a primary source of obsidian for people in the south-central Andes for over 8,000 years. In excavations at archaeological sites hundreds of kilometers away from the source itself, researchers have found this chemically distinct obsidian material in sites associated with cultures ranging from early foraging groups to those of the powerful Tiwanaku state. The geological source of this obsidian was only recently identified and Tripcevich's survey in the vicinity of this obsidian source will build on the preliminary research that has been conducted to date. How would changes in regional demand for obsidian affect the activities of people visiting the source over the millennia? Significant changes in the socio-political context of obsidian consumption in the region occurred between the Late Archaic (4,800 BC) and the Late Formative (AD 500) with the appearance of social hierarchy and dramatic public architecture in the Lake Titicaca Basin to the east. Was obsidian procurement and exchange closely tied to the emerging elite on the shores of Lake Titicaca? Anthropological theory suggests that long-distance social networks and the circulation of non-local commodities are significant components serving the political ambitions of aspiring leaders. This study will provide a perspective on the changing nature of obsidian procurement and demand by focusing on changes in initial processing of the obsidian at the source. This research project will survey 70 km2 at the quarry and in the adjacent river valley, and will conduct limited test excavations at the quarry and at two stratified sites. Prehistoric exploitation of obsidian in the source region will be documented through lithic reduction strategies at and near the high-altitude obsidian source, stratigraphic evidence from test excavations, and settlement pattern data from survey. By examining changes in lithic processing strategies at the obsidian source, as well as shifts in settlement pattern and debitage distributions in the nearby river valley, this project will connect behavior in the lithic procurement area and the residential Colca valley with political changes known to have taken place regionally.The proposed investigation of obsidian production in the Colca area represents a case-study of the relationship between lithic procurement and exchange, and the evolution of social complexity that will be comparable to other regions in the world. A central methodological aim of this research project is the integration of new geographical technology for approaching spatial analysis problems. Throughout the organization, design, acquisition, and analysis phases of the project remote sensing and geographical information systems (GIS) will have played a central role. This project aims to foster greater scholarly cooperation in the use of these technologies internationally and to educate interested students of both Peruvian and foreign backgrounds about the application of GIS to anthropological research questions. The results of this research will be prepared for publication in refereed journals as well as for dissemination to scholars and to the public through the project website. Additionally, the graduate and undergraduate students involved in the project will gain field and analysis experience through participation in this project.