Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Mesoamerican Population Structure and Interregional Interaction

博士论文改进：中美洲人口结构与区域间互动

• 批准号: 0550902
• 负责人: Clark Larsen
• 金额: $ 1.2万
• 依托单位: Ohio State University Research Foundation -DO NOT USE
• 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: 2006-04-15 至 2007-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0550902&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Mesoamerican; Population

With National Science Foundation support, Bryan Aubry will conduct bioarchaeological research on 26 skeletal populations from throughout Mesoamerica dating between 600-1000 A.D. Dramatic sociopolitical and demographic shifts during this period have been inferred from archaeological and ethnohistoric data, but there is currently no consensus regarding the nature of interaction between the sub-regions of Mesoamerica. The study is not specifically concerned with the cause of these shifts, but rather with whether or not any demographic shifts that may have occurred can be detected biologically through the analysis of dental variation. Historically, researchers have hypothesized that populations from Central Mexico migrated south into the Maya region at various times during the Classic and Postclassic periods. Although there is significant debate over the degree of influence that central Mexico exercised throughout Mesoamerica, most assume that migration did occur and that archaeological evidence of contact indicates the movement of populations. Despite the perceived importance of the Maya-Mexican relationship to Mesoamerican prehistory, this will be the first bioarchaeological study of sufficient scale to help resolve this issue. The inclusion of materials from all over Mesoamerica in a single study is essential to answer the research questions posed in the study. The scope of the study will allow for the detection of changes in population structure through time and for the isolation of sources of gene flow into the Maya area from outside. Of particular importance is the isolation of particular sites within each sub-region that preferentially interacted with sites outside of their respective area. The specific tasks of the research are 1) to assess the biological distance of sites within each of the three sub-regions to detect outliers; 2) to calculate levels of genetic heterozygosity for each sub-region and compare individual sites to these expected values, 3) to compare the biological distance of specific sites within each sub-region that exhibit greater than expected levels of genetic heterozygosity. The identification of spheres of interaction between specific sites from different sub-regions that deviate from what is expected will help illuminate the nature of central Mexican influence in the Maya area. The project is unique in being the largest study of biological affinity in Mesoamerica using both metric and non-metric dental data, and the first to record cemento-enamel junction (CEJ) and crown measurements on all individuals. The intellectual merits of the study stem from its contribution to advance our current understanding of pan-regional interaction in Mesoamerica, as well as adding to the current literature on the agreement between crown and CEJ measurements.The broader impacts of the project are its contribution to research on an important period of Mesoamerican history. Additionally, researchers will be able to access raw, not summary data, from approximately 3,500 individuals for comparison with their own data or for additional statistical applications of these data.

在国家科学基金会的支持下，布莱恩·奥布里将对整个中美洲的 26 个骨骼种群进行生物考古学研究，这些骨骼种群的年代可追溯到公元 600-1000 年。根据考古学和民族历史数据推断出这一时期发生了巨大的社会政治和人口变化，但目前对于中美洲各次区域之间相互作用的性质尚未达成共识。 这项研究并不是特别关注这些变化的原因，而是关注是否可以通过牙齿变异分析来从生物学上检测到可能发生的任何人口变化。 从历史上看，研究人员假设墨西哥中部的人口在古典时期和后古典时期的不同时期向南迁移到玛雅地区。 尽管对于墨西哥中部对整个中美洲的影响程度存在重大争论，但大多数人认为确实发生了迁徙，并且接触的考古证据表明了人口的流动。 尽管人们认为玛雅-墨西哥关系对中美洲史前史很重要，但这将是第一个足够规模的生物考古学研究，以帮助解决这个问题。将来自中美洲各地的材料纳入一项研究对于回答该研究中提出的研究问题至关重要。 该研究的范围将允许检测人口结构随时间的变化，并隔离从外部流入玛雅地区的基因源。特别重要的是隔离每个子区域内的特定站点，这些站点优先与各自区域之外的站点交互。 研究的具体任务是1）评估三个子区域内每个地点的生物距离以检测异常值； 2) 计算每个子区域的遗传杂合性水平，并将各个位点与这些预期值进行比较，3) 比较每个子区域内表现出高于预期遗传杂合性水平的特定位点的生物距离。 确定不同次区域特定地点之间与预期不同的相互作用范围将有助于阐明墨西哥中部对玛雅地区影响的本质。该项目的独特之处在于，它是中美洲最大的使用公制和非公制牙科数据的生物亲和力研究，也是第一个记录所有个体的牙骨质-牙釉质连接 (CEJ) 和牙冠测量值的项目。这项研究的学术价值源于它对增进我们目前对中美洲泛区域相互作用的理解的贡献，以及对现有关于冠和CEJ测量之间一致性的文献的补充。该项目更广泛的影响是它对中美洲历史重要时期的研究做出的贡献。此外，研究人员将能够访问来自约 3,500 名个人的原始数据（而非汇总数据），以便与他们自己的数据进行比较或对这些数据进行其他统计应用。