A Precise Chronology for Polynesian Monumental Architecture via Th-230 Coral Dating

通过 Th-230 珊瑚测年得出波利尼西亚纪念性建筑的精确年表

• 批准号: 0542222
• 负责人: Warren Sharp
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Berkeley Geochronology Center
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-08-01 至 2009-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0542222&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Precise; Chronology; Polynesian; Monumental; Architecture

Throughout both the Old and New Worlds, the development of monumental architecture, such as religious temples and shrines, provides one of the clearest archaeological signals of the emergence of complex, stratified societies from simpler societies organized primarily around kinship. In particular, complex chiefdoms and the early archaic states that emerged from them typically exercised power through a control hierarchy linked to religious ritual and temples. Precise and accurate dating of such ceremonial architecture can therefore provide unprecedented insight into the pace of economic, social, and political developments in ancient societies that lacked calendars and written records. Conventional approaches to dating such monumental architecture constructed in Polynesia prior to European contact have relied principally on the use of oral traditions and radiocarbon dating, supplemented by considerations of architectural style and construction methods. However, the accuracy of uncorroborated oral traditions is uncertain, the precision of radiocarbon dates within key intervals can be severely degraded by the inherent difficulty encountered in converting radiocarbon dates to calendar years, and considerations of construction style and technique do not reveal the tempo of related social changes. In Eastern Polynesia, however, a widespread and ancient association between coral and ritual sites and structures makes it possible to precisely and accurately date a variety of ceremonial architecture using superior radio-isotopic dating techniques applicable to coral offerings. Prof. Patrick Kirch and Dr. Warren Sharp, the principal investigators on this project, have recently shown that a species of branch coral placed by ancient Hawaiians as dedicatory offerings on coastal fishing shrines and inland agricultural temples may be dated with precisions of circa + or - 10 years by using a technique based on the radioactive decay of minute amounts of the element uranium incorporated into coral skeletons during their growth. Preservation of delicate surface structures on archaeological corals selected for dating confirms that ancient Hawaiians collected living corals. Thus the coral dates, which record growth of the coral skeleton, closely correspond to placement of corals on altars or in temple walls. Accordingly, Kirch and Sharp propose a comprehensive program of coral dating applied to monumental ritual structures in two Eastern Polynesian societies, Hawai'i and the Society Islands, where ritual architecture was closely associated with the emergence of sociopolitical complexity. Kirch has extensive experience in both areas and our proposed dating study will build on well-established archaeological contexts based on extensive mapping, site studies and radiocarbon dating developed during previous and ongoing studies by himself, additional collaborators T. Ladefoged (U. of Auckland), L. Holm and J. Kahn (doctoral candidates, U.C. Berkeley), and others.Broader impacts of the proposed research will include developing the application to archaeology of the powerful uranium-decay coral dating technique, with its potentially widespread application to archaeological studies in Polynesia and elsewhere that ancient humans used live corals. The proposed research will also enhance the training of two U.C. Berkeley doctoral candidates in archaeology, and provide "hands-on" laboratory research experience for a U.C. Berkeley undergraduate student. The Society Islands component of the project will be coordinated with l'Universite de Polynesie Francaise, and will enhance recent academic collaborations between that institution and U. S. archaeologist

在整个新世界和新世界中，宗教寺庙和神社等纪念性建筑的发展提供了最明显的考古信号之一，即复杂的，分层的社会的出现，这些社会主要是在亲属关系周围组织的简单社会。特别是，复杂的酋长国和早期的古老国家通常通过与宗教仪式和寺庙相关的控制层次结构行使权力。因此，这种仪式建筑的精确和准确的约会可以为古代社会中缺乏日历和书面记录的经济，社会和政治发展速度提供前所未有的见解。在欧洲接触之前在波利尼西亚建造的这种纪念性建筑的常规方法主要依赖于使用口头传统和放射性碳年代，并以建筑风格和建筑方法的考虑来补充。然而，尚不确定的口述传统的准确性尚不确定，在关键间隔内放射性碳日期的精度可能会因将放射性碳日期转换为日历年所遇到的固有难度而严重降低，并且对构建方式和技术的考虑并未揭示相关社会变化的范围。然而，在波利尼西亚东部，珊瑚和仪式地点和结构之间的广泛而古老的关联使得使用适用于珊瑚供应的卓越的放射性分离性约会技术可以精确，准确地准确地与各种仪式建筑约会。该项目的主要研究人员帕特里克·基尔奇（Patrick Kirch）和沃伦·夏普（Warren Sharp）教授最近表明，古代夏威夷人作为沿海钓鱼神社和内陆农业寺庙的专门产品的珊瑚种类可追溯到Circa +或-10年的精确度。在选择约会的考古珊瑚上保存精致的表面结构，证实了古夏威夷人收集了生物珊瑚。因此，记录了珊瑚骨骼生长的珊瑚日期，与珊瑚在祭坛上或寺庙壁上的位置非常相对应。因此，基尔奇（Kirch）和夏普（Kirch）提出了一个综合的珊瑚约会计划，适用于夏威夷东部两个东部社会和社会岛屿的纪念性仪式结构，那里的仪式建筑与社会政治复杂性的出现密切相关。基尔奇（Kirch）在这两个领域都有丰富的经验，我们提出的约会研究将基于建立在先前和正在进行的研究期间的广泛映射，现场研究和放射性碳测年的基础上，其他合作者T.强大的铀珊瑚珊瑚约会技术考古学，其可能广泛地应用于波利尼西亚和其他古代人使用活珊瑚的考古研究。拟议的研究还将增强对两个U.C.的培训伯克利考古学博士候选人，并为U.C.提供“动手”实验室研究经验。伯克利本科生。该项目的协会岛屿组成部分将与L'Eniversite de Polynesie Francaise协调，并将增强该机构与美国考古学家之间的最新学术合作