Doctoral Dissertation Research: Aguateca Grieta Archaeological Project: Contextualizing the Use of Sacred Landscape in the Political History of Aguateca, Peten, Guatemala

在卡尔·a·陶贝博士的指导下，石原玲子将在危地马拉佩滕市阿瓜特卡主要的晚期古典玛雅中心调查突出的裂缝（裂缝）的作用。格里塔穿过场地的中心，长约800米，深50 - 60米，宽5 - 15米。格里塔的中心位置，格里塔在地名象形文字中的结合，以及格里塔内建筑修改的存在，都表明了这个地标在阿瓜特卡的重要性。作为Dos Pilas的孪生王朝，Aguateca在古典中后期（约公元700 - 830年）的地区政治不稳定时期被占领了相对较短的一段时间。有人认为，选择Aguateca的位置是因为它具有防御优势的地形特征，包括grieta （Inomata 1995）。石原对地下喀斯特特征的考古发掘将决定裂缝的功能，它的使用将在Aguateca的政治历史中得到充分的记录。这项研究将是首批测试神圣景观模型的研究之一，该模型表明遗址和建筑物与洞穴密切相关（Brady 1997）。作为一个洞穴特征，如果格里塔是神圣景观的一个组成部分，那么预计会发现仪式活动的残留物，因为仪式经常在神圣的地标进行。然而，如果格里塔服务于非宗教的实际目的，那么就会发现非仪式活动的证据，如战争或家庭垃圾堆。研究集中在中美洲的洞穴特征，特别是在主要的政治中心，是重要的人类学，因为它检查宗教和社会的社会政治层面的交集。现在很清楚，洞穴是具有仪式意义的地方，但洞穴的使用如何影响古玛雅人的政治和社会生活仍然不清楚。对于景观研究来说，这项研究将有助于最近关于景观的社会象征维度以及景观作为文化动态方面的理论讨论。这个论文项目将推动中美洲洞穴考古学的年轻学科超越简单和静态的洞穴概念作为（仪式）活动的被动背景进行。了解格里塔使用的本质，结合文化历史中使用的背景化，将使Aguateca古代居民的社会和政治生活得到更有力的重建。除了解决科学问题外，该项目还将为作者和危地马拉的考古学学生提供机会，使他们在洞穴考古学的实地方法方面得到训练，这是一个尚未得到充分代表的研究领域。此外，作为项目挖掘者，当地的奇奇玛雅人将了解他们的文化历史和考古遗址的科学意义。希望这些知识有助于佩特克斯巴通地区旅游业的持续发展，并激发人们对Aguateca grieta等洞穴遗址发展考古旅游的兴趣。

Under the supervision of Dr. Karl A. Taube, Reiko Ishihara will investigate the role of the prominent grieta (chasm) at the major Late Classic Maya center of Aguateca, Peten, Guatemala. The grieta runs through the center of the site, measuring approximately 800 m long, 50 - 60 m deep, and 5 - 15 m wide. The central location of the grieta, the incorporation of the grieta in the place name hieroglyph, and the presence of architectural modifications within the grieta suggest the importance of this landmark at Aguateca. As Dos Pilas's twin dynasty, Aguateca was occupied for a relatively short period of time during the mid-Late Classic (ca. A.D. 700 - 830) at a time of regional political instability. It has been posited that the location for Aguateca was selected for its defensively advantageous topographic features including the grieta (Inomata 1995). Ishihara's archaeological excavations in the subterranean karst feature will determine the function of the chasm, and its usage will be contextualized in the well documented political history of Aguateca. The study will be among the first to test the sacred landscape model, which suggests that sites and buildings were constructed in close association with caves (Brady 1997). As a cave feature, if the grieta was an integral element in the sacred landscape, material remains from ritual activities are expected to be uncovered because rituals are frequently conducted at sacred landmarks. However, if the grieta served non-religious, practical purposes, then evidence of non-ritual activities such as of warfare or household midden deposits will be found. Research focusing on cave features in Mesoamerica, particularly at major political centers, is important anthropologically because it examines the intersection of religion and the socio-political dimensions of society. It is now clear that caves were places of ritual significance, but how cave use figured into the politics and social lives of the ancient Maya people remains obscured. For landscape studies, this research will contribute to the recent theoretical discussions on the socio-symbolic dimensions of landscapes as well as on landscapes as dynamic facets of culture. This dissertation project will move the young discipline of Mesoamerican cave archaeology beyond simplistic and static notions of caves as a passive background for (ritual) activities to be performed. Understanding the nature of grieta usage combined with the contextualization of the uses within the culture history will enable a more robust reconstruction of the social and political lives of the ancient inhabitants at Aguateca. Besides addressing scientific questions, the project will provide an opportunity for both the author and Guatemalan archaeology students to be trained in the field methods of cave archaeology, an as yet underrepresented area of study. Additionally, working as project excavators, the local Q'eqchi Maya people will learn of their culture history and the scientific significance of archaeological sites. This knowledge is hoped to contribute to the ongoing development of tourism in the Petexbatun region, and to instigate interest in developing archaeo-tourism at cave sites including the Aguateca grieta.