Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Remote Sensing and the Late Classic (AD 650-850) Maya Utilization of Bajos (Seasonal Swamps) at Tikal and Yaxha, Peten, Guatemala

博士论文改进补助金：遥感和晚期经典（公元 650-850 年）玛雅人对危地马拉蒂卡尔和亚克斯哈的 Bajos（季节性沼泽）的利用

• 批准号: 0621219
• 负责人: Payson Sheets
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 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: 2006-05-01 至 2009-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0621219&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Grant; Remote

Under the supervision of Dr. Payson D. Sheets, Errin Weller will analyze data gathered from satellite imagery and ground survey to look for archaeological features in low-lying bajos (seasonally inundated swamps) in the Peten, Guatemala. The research will focus on two locations: 1) Tikal, one of the largest and mostly densely occupied sites in the ancient Maya world, located on the banks of the Bajo de Santa Fe; 2) Yaxha, a smaller site in direct association with the Bajo la Justa. Possible landscape modifications of the bajos include structures, raised agricultural fields, canals for irrigation, roadways crossing the bajos, and terraces for agriculture. Weller's research will investigate the nature and extent of modification of these two bajos constructed between AD 650 and AD 850, the period of most intense Maya habitation. Research focusing on bajos is important because they compose approximately 40% of the land surface occupied by the ancient Maya and are currently considered by the majority of archaeologists to have been unutilized. Dense populations are in evidence at sites such as Tikal and Yaxha, but the means by which these populations were supported are not completely understood. Bajos as the possible locations of intensive agricultural production may provide an explanation for feeding the high number of people. Habitation within the bajos will alter not only population estimates but also models of settlements that focus on uplands and understandings of how the ancient Maya people utilized their environment. Furthermore, documenting archaeological features within the bajos will revise population estimates, re-evaluate models of settlements, and prove valuable for archaeological understandings of agricultural technology of the ancient Maya. This project has broader impacts beyond research questions pertaining to Maya archaeology or the social sciences. This research will impact both contemporary people residing in bajo areas and scholars studying wetland reclamation in tropical environments and beyond. If the ancient Maya utilized the bajos, it is a rare instance of wetland (or swamp) reclamation resulting in an increase in biodiversity and could provide a sustainable technology for modern populations. Ancient utilization of bajos for subsistence may provide a sustainable technology in an area currently experiencing an influx of settlers practicing unsustainable destructive agriculture. Slash-and-burn agriculture is an extensive use of land, as opposed to intensive wetland agriculture, in an area where land is at a premium and population pressure is increasing. Replacing such practices will have far-reaching affects on both modern habitat and climate. Furthermore, the project will provide a new model to explore for researchers in the New World and in tropical areas of the Old World. The results of this research will be disseminated in English and Spanish in professional papers presented at conferences and published in peer-reviewed journal articles. Lastly, all project participants will gain training in the methods of satellite imagery analysis for the detection of archaeological features.

在佩森博士的监督下。埃林·韦勒将分析从卫星图像和地面调查收集的数据，以寻找危地马拉佩滕低洼沼泽（季节性淹没的沼泽）的考古特征。研究将集中在两个地点：1）蒂卡尔，古玛雅世界最大和人口最密集的遗址之一，位于Bajo de Santa Fe银行; 2）Yaxha，与Bajo la Justa直接相关的较小遗址。 可能的景观改造包括建筑物，提高农业领域，灌溉运河，道路穿越bajos和梯田农业。韦勒的研究将调查这两个bajos的性质和修改的程度之间建立的公元650年和公元850年，最激烈的玛雅人居住的时期。对Bajos的研究很重要，因为它们占古玛雅人所占土地面积的约40%，目前大多数考古学家认为它们尚未被利用。在蒂卡尔和Yaxha等地点有密集的人口，但这些人口的支持方式尚未完全了解。下加利福尼亚州可能是密集农业生产的地点，这可能是为大量人口提供食物的原因。巴乔人的居住不仅会改变人口估计，还会改变以高地为重点的定居点模式，以及对古玛雅人如何利用其环境的理解。此外，记录巴乔地区的考古特征将修订人口估计，重新评估定居点模型，并证明对古玛雅农业技术的考古理解有价值。该项目具有更广泛的影响，超出了与玛雅考古学或社会科学有关的研究问题。这项研究将影响到居住在巴霍地区的当代人和研究热带环境及其他地区湿地开垦的学者。 如果古代玛雅人利用了bajos，这是一个罕见的湿地（或沼泽）开垦的例子，导致生物多样性的增加，并可以为现代人口提供可持续的技术。古代利用bajos为生计可能提供一个可持续的技术，在一个地区目前正在经历的定居者涌入实行不可持续的破坏性农业。刀耕火种农业是一种对土地的广泛使用，而不是密集的湿地农业，在一个土地珍贵和人口压力不断增加的地区。取代这些做法将对现代栖息地和气候产生深远的影响。此外，该项目将为新世界和旧世界热带地区的研究人员提供一个新的模式。这项研究的结果将以英文和西班牙文在会议上提出的专业论文中传播，并发表在同行评审的期刊文章中。最后，所有项目参与者都将接受卫星图像分析方法方面的培训，以便发现考古特征。