RAPID: Recording Archaeological Sites Exposed by a Recent Tsunami on Tutuila Island, American Samoa

RAPID：记录近期海啸中美属萨摩亚图图伊拉岛暴露的考古遗址

• 批准号: 1002452
• 负责人: David Addison
• 金额: $ 2.55万
• 依托单位: American Samoa Community College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-12-01 至 2013-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1002452&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Recording; Archaeological; Sites; Exposed

On 29 September 2009 an earthquake located some 120 miles southwest of Tutuila Island in the Tonga Trench generated a tsunami. In less than 15 minutes, tsunami waves up to 30 feet high slammed into Samoa. More than thirty people on Tutuila lost their lives and there was widespread destruction of homes, businesses, and infrastructure. The tsunami waves also scoured shorelines and streams, exposing archaeological remains. With National Science Foundation support though the RAPID competition, Dr. David Addison of the American Samoa Community College's Samoan Studies Institute and a team of graduate and undergraduate students will document archaeological sites exposed by the tsunami. The team will also incorporate community members as part of the Samoan Studies Institute's community outreach and education program. Although there has been active archaeological work in American Samoa for three decades, the location and distribution of coastal and low-lying sites is poorly understood. One reason for this is that these sites are often covered by later material, or beach dunes. Recording these sites now while they are visible will allow future researchers to investigate them more fully, thereby providing a better understanding of Samoan culture history and processes. Data from these sites can also contribute to understanding dynamics in the prehistory of the region as well as addressing broader methodological issues in archaeology. Under the direction of PI Addison, the graduate students will lead teams composed of American Samoa Community College archaeology and Samoan Studies students and community members. Teams will walk Tutuila's coastline and nearshore streams and record and sample exposed archaeological sites. Local publicity during the project will increase community awareness of Samoa's rich archaeological heritage thereby enhancing Territorial site-preservation efforts and local enthusiasm for archaeology. Project results will be quickly published as Google Earth layers for worldwide access by researchers as well as Samoans both locally and in diaspora. Print results will be published by the Samoan Studies Institute and in academic journal papers.

2009年9月29日，位于汤加海沟图图伊拉岛西南约120英里处的地震引发了海啸。在不到15分钟的时间里，高达30英尺的海啸巨浪袭击了萨摩亚群岛。图图伊拉岛上有30多人丧生，房屋、企业和基础设施遭到广泛破坏。海啸也冲刷了海岸线和溪流，露出了考古遗迹。在国家科学基金会的支持下，美属萨摩亚社区学院萨摩亚研究所的大卫·艾迪森博士和一个由研究生和本科生组成的小组将记录海啸暴露的考古遗址。该小组还将吸纳社区成员，作为萨摩亚研究所社区外联和教育方案的一部分。 虽然美属萨摩亚30年来一直在积极开展考古工作，但人们对沿海和低洼地点的位置和分布知之甚少。其中一个原因是这些地点经常被后来的物质或海滩沙丘所覆盖。现在记录这些遗址，使未来的研究人员能够更全面地调查它们，从而更好地了解萨摩亚的文化历史和进程。来自这些遗址的数据也有助于了解该地区史前史的动态，以及解决考古学中更广泛的方法论问题。 在PI Addison的指导下，研究生将领导由美属萨摩亚社区学院考古学和萨摩亚研究学生和社区成员组成的团队。考古队将沿着图图伊拉的海岸线和近岸溪流行走，记录和取样暴露的考古遗址。项目期间的地方宣传将提高社区对萨摩亚丰富考古遗产的认识，从而加强领土遗址保护工作和地方对考古的热情。项目成果将很快以谷歌地球图层的形式公布，供世界各地的研究人员以及当地和散居国外的萨摩亚人查阅。印刷成果将由萨摩亚研究所和学术期刊论文发表。