Acquisition of a Toyota Land Cruiser for the Ethnoarchaeological Caste Project in Southwestern Ethiopia

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，南佛罗里达大学圣彼得堡分校将购买一辆丰田陆地巡洋舰GX。首席研究员John Arthur博士和联合首席研究员Kathryn Weedman博士将使用该车辆在埃塞俄比亚西南部的偏远高地进行考古、民族考古和口述历史研究。Arthur和Weedman对埃塞俄比亚西南部加莫人的研究将揭示对加莫文化历史及其种姓制度发展的解释，这两者都从未被调查过。种姓制度在包括埃塞俄比亚在内的亚洲和非洲都很普遍，它们对婚姻关系、地位、职业、定居模式、仪式纯度、饮食和埋葬地点都有深远的影响。然而，很少有考古研究，特别是在埃塞俄比亚或非洲，涉及种姓社会的识别，起源和发展。通过结合口述历史、考古学和民族考古学，希望该项目能够通过土著世界观揭示关于非西方国家制度——种姓制度的起源和发展的新的假设和解释。此外，他们的研究还将有助于更好地理解人类学和考古学中更广泛的问题，包括工艺专业化、身份和复杂社会的形成。该车辆将使Arthur和Weedman能够运送在埃塞俄比亚的美国、法国和埃塞俄比亚的研究人员、学生和助手。它将主要用于加莫地区，这是埃塞俄比亚一个非常偏远的高地地区，需要一辆四轮驱动的车辆才能安全地行驶在土路上。加莫地区几乎没有公共交通工具，当然也没有可以直接将研究人员和他们的设备运送到他们将要工作的村庄和考古遗址的交通工具。Arthur和Weedman打算与5名欧洲和埃塞俄比亚的研究人员合作，同时培训至少6名美国和埃塞俄比亚的学生。该车辆的购买将允许运输更多的人员，同时节省宝贵的现场时间并降低长期成本。该奖项将为Arthur和Weedman在埃塞俄比亚西南部高地提供一种重要的长期经济有效的交通工具，使他们能够培训更多的学生并与其他研究人员合作。

With support from the National Science Foundation, the University of South Florida St. Petersburg will purchase a Toyota Land Cruiser GX. Principal Investigator Dr. John Arthur and Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Kathryn Weedman will use the vehicle to conduct archaeological, ethnoarchaeological, and oral history research in the remote highlands of southwestern Ethiopia. Arthur and Weedman's research among the Gamo of southwestern Ethiopia will reveal an interpretation of Gamo culture history and the development of their caste system, both of which have never been investigated. Caste systems are prevalent throughout Asia and Africa, including Ethiopia, where they have a profound affect on the marriage relations, status, occupation, settlement patterns, ritual purity, diet, and burial placement. However, there has been little archaeological research, especially in Ethiopia or Africa, which addresses the identification, origin, and development of caste societies. By combining oral history, archaeology, and ethnoarchaeology, it is hoped that this project will disclose new hypotheses and interpretations through indigenous worldviews concerning the origin and development of a non-western state system, caste. In addition, their research also will contribute to a better understanding of broader issues in anthropology and archaeology including craft specialization, identity and the formation of complex societies.The vehicle will enable Arthur and Weedman to transport American, French, and Ethiopian researchers, students, and assistants in Ethiopia. It will primarily be used in the Gamo region, which is a very remote highland area of Ethiopia that requires a 4-wheel drive vehicle to safely maneuver the dirt-track roads. There is virtually no public transportation in the Gamo region and certainly none that could directly carry researchers and their equipment to the villages and archaeological sites where they will be working. Arthur and Weedman intend to collaborate with five European and Ethiopian researchers, as well as train at least six American and Ethiopian students. The purchase of the vehicle will allow the transport of more personnel while saving precious field-time and reducing long-term costs. This award will provide Arthur and Weedman with a significant long-term cost-effective means for transportation in the highlands of southwestern Ethiopia enabling them to train more students and collaborate with other researchers.