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

在Paul R. Fish博士的监督下，John F. Chamblee将在乔治亚州西南部的奇卡萨瓦奇沼泽（Chickasawhatchee Swamp）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领地的家园。酋邦是指其成员由继承领导权的个人或团体统治的社会。这样的遗产通常被视为神圣的认可。与王国或国家不同，酋长领地通常没有常备军，没有正式的文化，也没有官僚机构。取而代之的是，酋长们通过他们个性的力量以及利用异域礼物、剩余食物和有限的体力来吸引追随者的能力来进行统治。在上个千年的上半叶，酋长地在美国东南部很普遍，但奇卡萨瓦奇族的酋长地在地理位置上是不寻常的。这些社会不像美国东南部的大多数其他酋邦那样位于沿海地区或主要河流沿岸。此外，奇卡萨瓦奇沼泽位于邻近地区不少于9个其他同时期社会之间，其中一些是酋长管辖地，有些不是。对调查数据的分析将有助于更好地了解自然环境和邻近社会之间的相互作用如何导致酋长领地之间的差异。对酋长领地的研究很重要，因为它使我们能够在面对面互动的层面上理解政治权力，并且在缺乏国家中常见的更复杂的制度的情况下。虽然考古学家无法像民族志学家那样记录这些互动，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。像土墩这样的纪念碑是在公共项目中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，使酋长的劳动动员更加困难。对土丘大小和周围村庄以及附近小型家庭定居点的记录将为了解酋长在这种自然环境中所能获得的各种机会提供基础。海岸贝壳、非本地材料制成的石器和装饰陶器等物品都证明了酋长与外地人进行贸易是为了奖励忠诚的追随者。通过分析这些物品，人们可以深入了解奇卡萨瓦奇族酋长领地与其他地区邻居之间的关系。在数据分析期间开发的人工制品年表将用于追踪奇卡萨瓦奇酋长领地的增长、维持和最终衰落。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。这个项目将在科学界之外产生影响。大学生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，乔治亚州西南部的考古研究很少，而商业文物勘探正在兴起。结果，公众既没有意识到考古遗址保护的重要性，也没有意识到这些遗址所代表的历史。讲座将在市民团体、学校、政府相关部门举行。与当地收藏家的接触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，有关挖掘的报告将提供给土地所有者。

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.