Doctoral Dissertation Research: Landscape Structure, Macroregional Interaction, and Variation among Mississippian Chiefdoms of the Interior Coastal Plain, Georgia

在Paul R. Fish，John F.尚布莱将在格鲁吉亚西南部的奇卡萨瓦奇沼泽进行考古调查。大约从公元1000年到1600年，该地区是一个或多个酋长的家园。酋长是其成员由继承了领导权的个人或团体统治的社会。这样的继承权通常被视为是神圣的认可。与王国或国家不同，酋长通常没有常备军、正规识字或官僚机构。相反，酋长们通过他们的人格力量进行统治，并通过他们使用异国情调的礼物，剩余的食物和有限的体力来吸引追随者的能力。在上个千年的前半期，酋长在美国东南部很普遍，但奇卡萨瓦奇酋长在他们的地理位置方面是不寻常的。这些部落并不像美国东南部的其他部落那样，位于沿海地区或沿着。此外，奇卡萨瓦奇沼泽位于邻近地区不少于九个其他同时代社会之间-其中一些是酋长，而另一些则不是。通过对调查数据的分析，可以更好地了解自然环境和相邻社会之间的相互作用对酋长的影响。对酋长的研究很重要，因为它可以让我们在面对面互动的层面上理解政治权力，而不存在国家中常见的更复杂的机构。虽然考古学家无法像人种学家那样记录互动，但我们可以看到酋长们在试图巩固和维持权力时反复使用的策略的长期后果。 像土丘这样的纪念碑是公共项目动员劳动力能力的指标。分散的沼泽资源阻碍了紧凑的村庄，使酋长动员劳动力更加困难。 关于土墩大小、周围村庄以及附近小规模家庭定居点的记录，将为了解酋长在这样的自然环境中所能获得的机会提供基础。沿海贝壳、用非本地材料制成的石器和装饰陶器等物品都是酋长与外来者进行交易的证据，以便为忠诚的追随者提供奖励。通过分析这些项目，人们可以深入了解Chickasawatchee酋长与其他地区邻居之间的关系。在数据分析过程中开发的人工制品年表将用于追踪Chickasawatchee酋长的成长，维护和最终衰落。将这段历史与邻近地区的历史进行比较，将为区域间贸易、战争和其他类型的社会互动的可能性提供线索。 该项目将在科学界之外产生影响。本科志愿者将接受实地工作技术培训，当地志愿者也将接受培训。此外，在格鲁吉亚西南部很少有考古研究，而商业文物勘探正在增加。因此，公众既不了解考古遗址保护的重要性，也不了解这些遗址所代表的历史。 计划在民间组织、学校和相关政府机构举办讲座。与当地收藏家的联系将鼓励他们与考古学家分享信息。由于大部分研究是在私人土地上进行的，因此将向土地所有者提供挖掘报告。

Under the supervision of Dr. Paul R. Fish, John F. Chamblee will conduct an archaeological survey in the Chickasawhatchee Swamp of southwestern Georgia. From approximately A.D. 1000 - 1600, the area was home to one or more chiefdoms. Chiefdoms are societies whose members are ruled by a person or group with inherited leadership rights. Such inheritances are often seen as being divinely sanctioned. Unlike kingdoms or states, chiefdoms are generally organized without standing armies, formal literacy, or a bureaucracy. Chiefs instead govern through the strength of their personalities as well as through their ability to attract followers using a combination of exotic gifts, surplus food, and limited physical force. Chiefdoms were prevalent throughout the southeastern United States during the first half of the last millennium, but the Chickasawhatchee chiefdoms are unusual among them in terms of their geographic location. These societies are not located in a coastal region or along a major river, as are most other chiefdoms in southeastern United States. In addition, the Chickasawhatchee Swamp is located between no less than nine other contemporaneous societies in neighboring regions - some of which were chiefdoms and some of which were not. Analysis of survey data will allow for a greater understanding of the ways in which the natural environment and interactions between neighboring societies contribute to variation among chiefdoms.Research on chiefdoms is important because it allows us to understand political power at the level of face-to-face interaction and in the absence of the more complex institutions common in states. While archaeologists cannot document interactions the way ethnographers might, we can see the long-term consequences of strategies used repeatedly by chiefs as they attempted to consolidate and maintain power. Monuments like earthen mounds are indicators of the ability to mobilize labor in public projects. The dispersed swamp resources discouraged compact villages, making labor mobilization by chiefs more difficult. Documentation of mound size and surrounding villages, as well as nearby small family settlements, will provide a basis for understanding the kinds of opportunities available to chiefs in such a natural setting.Items like coastal shell, stone tools made from non-local materials, and decorated pottery are all evidence that chiefs traded with outsiders in order to provide rewards for loyal followers. By analyzing these items, one can gain insights into the relationships between the chiefdoms of the Chickasawhatchee and their neighbors in other regions. The artifact chronology developed during data analysis will be used to trace the growth, maintenance, and eventual decline of the Chickasawhatchee chiefdoms. Comparing this history to that of neighboring regions will provide clues as to the possibility of inter-regional trade, warfare, and other kinds of social interaction. This project will have an impact outside the scientific community. Undergraduate volunteers will be trained in fieldwork techniques, as will local volunteers. In addition, very little archaeological research has occurred in southwestern Georgia, while commercial artifact prospecting is on the rise. As a result, the general public in not aware of either of the importance of archaeological site preservation, or the history these sites represent. Lectures are planned at civic organizations, schools, and relevant government agencies. Outreach to local collectors will encourage them to share information with archaeologists. Since much of the research is being conducted on private land, reports on the excavations will be provided to landowners.