Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Examining Formative Craft Economies in the Northern Lake Titicaca Basin, Peru

在Charles S. Stanish博士的监督下，Abigail R. Levine将对最近在Taraco遗址考古发掘中发现的三种特定类型的精细陶瓷进行岩石学分析和地球化学表征。塔拉科位于秘鲁的的的喀喀湖盆地北部，在中世纪晚期（公元前1300-500年）和早期的早期（公元前500年-公元400年）形成时期蓬勃发展。塔拉科是一个非常重要的区域中心，可能是普卡拉政体的前身。对挖掘材料的分析表明，塔拉科人在整个形成时期都参与了长距离的交流和仪式活动，但这些活动的性质随着时间的推移而变化。这项实验室研究将进一步调查这些模式，以便在区域范围内检查高地位手工艺品的交换。通过这项研究获得的信息将有助于解释塔拉科是如何在中期形成时期比它的任何近邻变得更大、更复杂的。这项工作将有助于更好地界定喀喀喀岛地区多社区政治的出现，并将为世界范围内日益复杂的知识体系作出贡献。手工经济包括手工制品的制造、分销和消费，经常被认为是社会日益复杂的一个基本方面，并且与区域中心的发展密切相关。对于有抱负的精英来说，这些物品的获取和积累都是获得声望的重要来源，它们的交换在社会等级制度的完善中起着重要作用。作为早期的中心，塔拉科是研究形成型工艺经济的绝佳案例。具体而言，本研究将获得从塔拉科高级住宅中回收的三类非家用陶瓷的矿物学和元素数据。这些结果将与该地区同时期遗址的类似材料进行比较，以便在区域范围内监测这些货物的生产和流通。了解手工艺经济的组织，以及它是如何随着时间的推移而变化的，是理解经济和政治权力是如何集中在北部的的的喀喀岛地区的几个社区的关键的第一步。这个项目将产生一系列超出其利益的影响，对人类学社区。在整个塔拉科研究期间，莱文与秘鲁学者以及当地社区成员密切合作。与塔拉科遗址博物馆的持续合作将有助于提高公众对最新研究和该地区丰富文化历史的认识。将建立一个基于网络的档案，以便当地和国际学者可以访问研究计划各个阶段的数据。学术期刊上的合成出版物将把结果传达给科学界。Levine和她的本科生助手也将获得各种地质表征技术的宝贵培训，这些技术将用于获得上述陶瓷样品的成分数据。

Under the supervision of Dr. Charles S. Stanish, Abigail R. Levine will conduct petrographic analysis and geochemical characterization of three specific types of finely made ceramics recovered during recent archaeological excavations at the site of Taraco. Taraco, located in northern Lake Titicaca Basin of Peru, flourished during the late Middle (1300-500 BC) and early Upper (500 BC-AD 400) Formative Periods. Taraco was a very important regional center, and was a likely predecessor to the Pukara polity. Analysis of excavated materials has indicated that Taraco participated in long-distance exchange and ceremonial activities throughout the Formative Period, but that the nature of these activities varied over time. This laboratory research will further investigate these patterns in order to examine the exchange of high-status craft goods over time on a regional scale. The information obtained through this research will help to explain how Taraco became larger and more complex than any of its immediate neighbors during the Middle Formative Period. This work will help to better define the emergence of multi-community polities in the Titicaca area and will contribute to the body of knowledge of increasing complexity worldwide.The craft economy, which consists of the manufacture, distribution, and consumption of crafted goods, is often cited as a fundamental aspect of increasing social complexity, and has been closely linked to the development of regional centers. Both the acquisition and accumulation of such objects represent an important source of prestige for aspiring elites, and their exchange plays an important role in the elaboration of social hierarchies. As an early center, Taraco is an excellent case for examining the Formative craft economy. Specifically, this research will obtain mineralogical and elemental data for three classes of non-domestic ceramics recovered from Taraco's high-status residences. These results will be compared with analogous materials from contemporaneous sites in the region order to monitor the production and circulation of these goods over time on a regional scale. Understanding the organization of the craft economy, and how it changed over time, is a critical first step towards understanding how economic and political power became centralized among a few communities in the northern Titicaca region. This project will have a series of impacts beyond its interest to the anthropological community. Throughout the duration of her research at Taraco, Levine has worked closely with both Peruvian scholars as well as local community members. Continued collaboration with the Taraco site museum will help to enhance public awareness of recent research and of the region's rich cultural history. A web-based archive will be created so that local and international scholars may access data from all stages of the research program. Synthetic publications in scholarly journals will communicate results to the scientific community. Levine and her undergraduate assistants will also gain valuable training in various geological characterization techniques, which will be used to obtain compositional data for the sample of ceramics described above.