Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Interregional Interaction and Social Identity in Mesoamerica, 1200-1000 BC: A Possible Olmec Enclave in Chiapas, Mexico

在芭芭拉·L·斯塔克博士的监督下，大卫·切瑟姆将分析在奥尔梅克早期(公元前1150-1000年)可能是科拉利托州的殖民地挖掘过程中收集的数据。50多年来，考古学家在没有达成共识的情况下，一直在调查中美或中美不同地区同时出现“奥尔梅克风格”的物体背后的各种远距离相互作用。墨西哥韦拉克鲁斯的海湾奥尔梅克文化--以其超大的石雕和先进的社会和政治结构而闻名--当然在这种独特风格的传播中发挥了作用，但其参与的规模和性质仍然是投机性的，极具争议性。这些问题的解决需要清楚地了解在奥尔梅克风格传播之前和期间海湾奥尔梅克人和遥远的文化之间的社会关系，这一目标只能通过在个案基础上详细比较考古材料才能实现，因为这个早期缺乏文字记录。这个项目将调查墨西哥太平洋沿岸恰帕斯的海湾奥尔梅克人和莫卡亚人之间社会关系的性质--一种位于韦拉克鲁斯以南450公里的考古文化。在位于莫卡亚地区中心的科拉利托州遗址的挖掘中，史无前例地发现了5000至6000件早期奥尔梅克风格的物品，如精心制作的烧制泥人和装饰有雕刻图标的陶瓷器皿。这些材料的数量和质量表明，科拉利托州是奥尔梅克人的殖民地，可能是美洲的第一个殖民地。来自科拉利托州、邻近地点和韦拉克鲁斯最大的海湾奥尔梅克地点的500件物体将被提交给仪器中子激活分析(INAA)。这项技术将根据化学成分将本地生产的和进口的物体分开。最重要的是，它将对所产生的群体进行一系列风格和形态(形状)的比较分析。化学指纹和对几个人工制品类别的细致比较相结合，为确定潜在飞地居住者的社会身份提供了最强大的手段，从而澄清了海湾奥尔梅克与中美洲一个遥远地区之间早期远程相互作用的性质。这一项目将增加目前在早期奥尔梅克研究中缺乏的详细比较的水平，但其优点不仅限于近期的发现或对中美洲学者的未来价值。这一结果将对世界范围内对物质文化中体现的社会认同以及种族飞地在远距离文体趋同中的作用的研究具有重要意义。这项研究具有广泛的人类学和考古学价值。成果将发表在学术期刊、书籍和大众容易获得的格式(如杂志)上。该项目的更广泛影响是多方面的，包括国际合作。墨西哥国立自治大学(UNAM)的一名研究生是实地考察队的一员，他可以接触到科拉利托州的考古材料。北卡罗来纳大学的另一名学生可以为一项计划中的DNA研究接触到人类遗骸。这样的招募和知识产权分享将在未来得到加强。例如，中美洲研究促进基金会(FAMSI)的一笔赠款将使来自科拉利托州的数百件奥尔梅克风格的物品能够被插图并永久发布在他们的网站上。这将使世界各地的墨西哥研究人员和学者在未来几年受益。

Under the supervision of Dr. Barbara L. Stark, David Cheetham will analyze data collected during excavations at a possible early Olmec period (1150-1000 BC) colony called Canton Corralito. For more than 50 years, and without reaching consensus, archaeologists have investigated the kinds of long-distance interaction underlying the simultaneous appearance of "Olmec style" objects in separate regions of Middle or Meso-America. The Gulf Olmec culture of Veracruz, Mexico-famous for its exceptionally large stone sculptures and advanced social and political structure-certainly played a role in the circulation of this distinctive style, but the magnitude and nature of its involvement remain speculative and highly contestable. Resolution of these issues demands explicit knowledge of social relations between the Gulf Olmec and distant cultures before and during the spread of the Olmec style, a goal that can only be achieved though detailed comparison of archaeological materials on a case-by-case basis since written records are lacking for this early era.This project will investigate the nature of social relations between the Gulf Olmec and Mokaya peoples of Pacific Coastal Chiapas, Mexico-an archaeological culture located 450 km south of Veracruz. Excavations at the site of Canton Corralito, located in the heart of Mokaya territory, yielded an unprecedented 5-6,000 early Olmec style objects like elaborate fired-clay figurines and ceramic vessels decorated with carved icons. The quantity and quality of this material suggest that Canton Corralito was an Olmec colony, perhaps the first colony in the Americas. Five hundred objects from Canton Corralito, neighboring sites, and the largest Gulf Olmec site in Veracruz will be submitted for Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA). This technique will separate locally produced and imported objects on the basis of chemical composition. Most important, it will anchor a series of comparative stylistic and morphological (shape) analyses of the resulting groups. The coupling of chemical fingerprinting and meticulous comparison of several artifact classes provides the most powerful means for determining the social identity of the potential enclave's occupants, thereby clarifying the nature of early long-distance interaction between the Gulf Olmec and one distant region of Meso-America.This project will add a level of detailed comparison that is currently lacking in early Olmec studies, but its merit is not limited to the immediate findings or future value to Meso-American scholars. The results will be significant to worldwide studies of social identity manifest in material culture and the role of ethnic enclaves in cases of stylistic convergence over great distances. The study will be valuable for its general anthropological and archaeological utility. The results will be published in academic journals, books, and popular formats readily accessible to the general public (e.g., magazines).The broader impacts of this project are many, including international cooperation. A graduate student from The Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) was part of the field crew and has access to archaeological materials from Canton Corralito. Another UNAM student has access to the human remains for a planned DNA study. Such recruitment and intellectual property sharing will be intensified in the future. For example, a grant from the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies (FAMSI) will enable several hundred Olmec style objects from Canton Corralito to be illustrated and permanently posted on their website. This will benefit Mexican researchers and scholars worldwide for years to come.