Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Zooarchaeological and Isotopic Perspectives on Ancient Maya Economy and Exchange

博士论文改进补助金：古代玛雅经济和交流的动物考古学和同位素视角

• 批准号: 0622805
• 负责人: Katherine Emery
• 金额: $ 1.05万
• 依托单位: University of Florida
• 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: 2006-06-01 至 2009-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0622805&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Grant; Zooarchaeological

Investigations into the organization of ancient Maya economy, including systems of production, consumption and exchange, continue to provide insights into the overall structure of Maya society. Understanding how commodities were acquired and distributed can answer important questions regarding the level of inter-site dependency, the function of trade networks and the degree of elite control over subsistence and non-subsistence resources. Although recent archaeological research has expanded our knowledge of lithic and ceramic production-distribution systems, we have less information about how other commodities were incorporated in the Maya economy. Animals and animal products are one important category of natural resources that has not yet been explored in terms of economic research. Despite the importance of faunal resources as both subsistence and prestige goods, researchers disagree about the scale of faunal resource exchange, and whether trade functioned primarily as a means of establishing and maintaining elite power through the exchange of high status items, or as a more practical means of redistributing subsistence resources. Through an inter-regional comparison of Maya animal use, this project will therefore assess how faunal resources were incorporated into the Maya economy at local, regional and inter-regional scales.Under the direction of Dr. Kitty Emery, Erin Thornton will examine the patterns of ancient Maya animal use and exchange through zooarchaeological and isotopic analysis of faunal remains from three Late Classic to Post Classic period (ca. 600-1300 A.D.) sites located within the Maya lowlands of Belize and Guatemala. The study sites include the coastal site of Marco Gonzalez, the inland lacustrine site of Trinidad de Nosotros, and the riverine site of Cancuen located at the highland/lowland interface. The sites' faunal assemblages will be compared with available zooarchaeological data from their major trading partners to reconstruct how faunal resources were incorporated into the Maya economy at multiple scales. Strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis will be used as a second method of reconstructing trade in animal resources. Current studies of long-distance trade in animal products rely on the identification of exotic species found outside their natural ranges, but such methods are inadequate for identifying trade in species with large geographic distributions, or trade in highly modified bone or tooth artifacts. Faunal remains from Marco Gonzalez, Trinidad de Nosotros, and Cancuen will be included in the strontium analysis in addition to samples from several other Classic period Maya sites. This analysis represents a novel application of this methodology within the field of zooarchaeology.The broader contribution of this research will result primarily from the training of Guatemalan and U.S. students in both the field and lab components of the project. Knowledge gained from the research will be returned to the Guatemalan research community and to local communities involved in the project through yearly reports and presentations in both formal and informal settings. This research will also contribute to a larger NSF-funded effort by Emery, in collaboration with Guatemalan museums and research institutions, to build a modern zooarchaeological research laboratory in Guatemala City. The laboratory is intended for use by in-country and international researchers, and for the training of Guatemalan students in zooarchaeological analysis.

对古代玛雅经济组织的调查，包括生产、消费和交换制度，继续提供对玛雅社会整体结构的深入了解。了解商品是如何获得和分配的，可以回答关于地点间依赖程度、贸易网络的功能以及精英对维持生计和非维持生计资源的控制程度等重要问题。虽然最近的考古研究扩大了我们对石器和陶瓷生产分配系统的了解，但我们对其他商品如何融入玛雅经济的信息却很少。动物及动物产品是自然资源中重要的一类，但在经济学研究中还没有得到充分的探讨。尽管动物资源作为生存和声望商品的重要性，研究人员对动物资源交换的规模，以及贸易是否主要作为通过交换高地位物品建立和维持精英权力的手段，还是作为重新分配生存资源的更实用的手段存在分歧。通过对玛雅动物使用的区域间比较，本项目将评估动物资源是如何在地方、区域和区域间的规模上融入玛雅经济的。在Kitty Emery博士的指导下，Erin Thornton将通过动物考古学和同位素分析，研究古代玛雅动物使用和交换的模式，从晚古典时期到后古典时期（约1000年）的动物遗骸。公元600-1300年）位于伯利兹和危地马拉的玛雅低地。研究地点包括Marco Gonzalez的沿海地点、Trinidad de Nosotros的内陆湖泊地点和位于高地/低地界面的Cancuen的河流地点。这些遗址的动物群组合将与其主要贸易伙伴提供的动物考古数据进行比较，以重建动物资源如何在多个尺度上融入玛雅经济。锶同位素（87 Sr/86 Sr）分析将被用作重建动物资源贸易的第二种方法。目前对动物产品远距离贸易的研究依赖于查明在其自然分布区之外发现的外来物种，但这种方法不足以查明地理分布广泛的物种的贸易，也不足以查明高度变异的骨骼或牙齿文物的贸易。来自Marco Gonzalez、Trinidad de Nosotros和Cancuen的动物遗骸将被纳入锶分析，此外还有来自其他几个古典时期玛雅遗址的样本。这项分析代表了这种方法在动物考古学领域的一种新的应用。这项研究的更广泛的贡献将主要来自危地马拉和美国学生在该项目的实地和实验室部分的培训。从研究中获得的知识将通过正式和非正式场合的年度报告和介绍返回危地马拉研究界和参与该项目的当地社区。这项研究还将有助于Emery与危地马拉博物馆和研究机构合作，在危地马拉城建立一个现代化的动物考古研究实验室。该实验室供国内和国际研究人员使用，并用于培训危地马拉学生进行动物考古学分析。