Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant:Times of Change: Classic to Postclassic in Champotón, Campeche

在现代墨西哥的塔巴斯科和坎佩切州，墨西哥湾南部沿岸的古代玛雅政体在许多有影响力的古典到后古典过渡模式中发挥了关键作用。这些国家位于连接中美洲遥远地区的主要海上贸易路线的战略位置。在后古典时期(公元1000年至1450年)，商品和思想在这条走廊上的流动促进了泛中美洲经济一体化的前所未有的水平。虽然玛雅低地中部的大多数城市在古典时期(公元250-750)末期被遗弃，但在后古典时期，墨西哥湾沿岸地区的政治在不断变化的经济和政治制度中崛起。Jerald D.Ek在Marilyn A.Masson博士的指导下进行的论文研究将记录沿海玛雅城市Chakanputun坍塌和重建过程中政治、经济和环境因素之间的关系。查坎普顿古城位于坎佩切中部海岸，在里约热内卢香波顿河的入海口。位于墨西哥湾沿岸贸易路线和进入尤卡坦半岛的唯一可通航河流的交汇处，为参与区域间贸易和开发海洋和河流粮食资源提供了机会。初步研究表明，里约热内卢尚波顿盆地内的政治组织和聚落生态发生了巨大变化，包括位于内陆的大型古典时期中心被遗弃，以及后古典时期新兴沿海城市查坎普顿的人口明显集中。该项目将通过多阶段考古研究评估这些人口和政治进程的经济基础，包括区域调查、定居点调查和家庭挖掘。该项目的结果将对理解长期进程中政治、经济和气候因素之间的关系具有人类学上的相关性。整个中美洲的研究记录了后古典时期经济一体化程度不断提高、长途贸易扩张和国际主义的模式。该项目将审查里约热内卢尚波顿盆地内这些泛中美洲进程的结果。随着最近大量研究强调环境灾难在经典玛雅崩溃中的作用，人们对物理环境中不断变化的约束和机会做出反应的机制已成为一个重要的研究领域。这一分析的结果也将对现代土地利用和环境政策产生重要影响。目前的研究表明，经典玛雅崩溃的催化剂包括相对温暖潮湿的气候条件下的人口增长、森林砍伐和环境退化，以及由长期干旱和转向更干燥、更凉爽的气候引发的古典时期大城市的崩溃。今天，我们看到相同类型的过程在墨西哥南部和中美洲的许多地区重复，在温暖潮湿的条件下，森林迅速砍伐和人口增长。了解香波顿的古代居民如何受到不断变化的政治、经济和环境条件的影响并设法适应这些情况，有助于发展可持续的现代土地利用做法。

The ancient Maya polities of the southern Gulf Coast, in the modern Mexican states of Tabasco and Campeche, have played a pivotal role in many influential models of the Classic to Postclassic transition. These states were strategically positioned along the major maritime trade route linking the distant regions of Mesoamerica. During the Postclassic Period (AD 1000-1450), the movement of goods and ideas along this corridor facilitated an unprecedented level of pan-Mesoamerican economic integration. While most cities of the central Maya lowlands were abandoned at the end of the Classic Period (AD 250-750), polities in the Gulf Coast region rose to prominence within changing economic and political systems in the Postclassic Period. Dissertation research conducted by Jerald D. Ek, under the supervision of Dr. Marilyn A. Masson, will document the relationships between political, economic, and environmental factors in processes of collapse and regeneration at the coastal Maya city of Chakanputun. The ancient city of Chakanputun was located on the central Campeche coast, at the mouth of the Rio Champoton. The location at the intersection of the Gulf Coast trade route and the only navigable river into the Yucatan Peninsula provided opportunities for participation in interregional trade and exploitation of marine and riverine food resources. Preliminary research has revealed evidence for drastic changes in political organization and settlement ecology within the Rio Champoton basin, including the abandonment of large Classic Period centers located inland and a marked concentration of populations at the emergent coastal city of Chakanputun during the Postclassic Period. This project will evaluate the economic foundations of these demographic and political processes through multi-phase archaeological research incorporating regional reconnaissance, settlement survey, and household excavations. The results of this project will have anthropological relevance in understanding the relationship between political, economic, and climatic factors in long-term processes. Research across Mesoamerica has documented a pattern of increasing economic integration, expansion of long-distance trade, and internationalism in the Postclassic Period. This project will examine the results of these pan-Mesoamerican processes within the Rio Champoton basin. With a large body of recent research highlighting the role of environmental catastrophe in the Classic Maya collapse, the mechanisms through which peoples responded to changing sets of constraints and opportunities within the physical environment has emerged as a crucial field of study. The results of this analysis will also have important implications for modern land use and environmental policy. Current research suggests that the catalysts of the Classic Maya collapse include population growth, deforestation, and environmental degradation during a period of relatively warm, wet climatic conditions, with the collapse of the large cities of the Classic period triggered by extended drought and a shift to dryer, cooler climate. Today, we are seeing the same types of processes repeating in many parts of Southern Mexico and Central America, with rapid deforestation and population growth taking place during a period of warm, wet conditions. Understanding how the ancient populations of Champoton were impacted by and managed to adapt to changing political, economic and environmental conditions could contribute to the development of sustainable modern land-use practices.