Conquest, Colonization, and Sociopolitical Change in Oaxaca, Mexico, A.D. 1350 to 1650

在国家科学基金会的支持下，Stacie M.金将在墨西哥南部的瓦哈卡进行两个季节的考古研究。 内哈帕位于多山的Sierra Sur，标志着连接墨西哥高地和太平洋海岸的繁忙贸易路线的中点。 在至少2500年的时间里，来自高原帝国和政治中心的军队和商人穿过内哈帕，试图获得丰富的沿海资源。 并非所有这些经历都是友好和互利的。 从考古学和民族历史学资料中可以看出，中美洲是一个有着悠久征服和殖民历史的世界区域。 虽然内哈帕的米西人、查布尔人和萨波特克人显然经历了西班牙的征服和殖民主义，但他们也经历了早期的多次征服，对当地产生了更大的影响。 在西班牙人到来之前的几个世纪里，阿兹特克人建立了一个庞大的帝国，最终包括了现在墨西哥的大部分地区。 大约在同一时间，瓦哈卡的高原萨波特克人开始对特万特佩克地峡进行敌意收购。 内哈帕是所有这些努力汇聚的地方。 内哈帕的初步考古研究表明，公元1350年至1650年期间，考古遗址数量增加，经济和政治多样性增加，定居点分布在山谷、山麓和山脊线上。文化接触和殖民主义的考古研究往往强调土著人民和欧洲人之间的互动。 尽管最近有人试图将定义扩大到新、旧世界初次相遇的范围之外，但在实践中，研究往往强调后世纪的背景。 这一项目的学术价值在于，它开辟了新的领域，包括非欧洲殖民主义，并延长了殖民主义的时间框架。 目的是研究在外国人的多次征服和殖民主义期间，农村地区的地方社会政治关系如何促成不同的结果。 具体问题涉及外部和内部政治力量之间的取舍，资源贫乏的高海拔地区的投资，贸易网络的差异对当地政治和经济的影响，堡垒和军事战略，以及数百年政治动荡中的种族关系。并在公元1350年至1650年的关键地点进行有针对性的挖掘。 实验室分析包括陶瓷和黑曜石的地球化学来源，AMS放射性碳测年和人工制品分析。 这个多层次的项目代表了对该地区历史进行长期跨学科研究的第一部分，该项目有几个更广泛的影响。 首先，它将促进美国和墨西哥之间长期机构合作的发展，为两国的本科生和研究生提供科学培训，并在印第安纳州大学和墨西哥机构之间建立联系。 实地和实验室工作还将为该地区的米克斯、萨波特克和查布尔公民提供宝贵的文化资源培训。 最后，采用创新的方法和技术，在没有电力的高海拔地区获取数字数据，将与各学科的专家有关。

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Stacie M. King will conduct two field seasons of archaeological research in southern Oaxaca, Mexico. Nejapa is located in the mountainous Sierra Sur and marks the midpoint of a heavily traveled trade route connecting the Mexican highlands to the Pacific coast. For at least 2500 years, armies and traders from highland empires and political centers traveled through Nejapa to try to access rich coastal resources. Not all of these experiences were friendly and mutually beneficial. As is known from archaeological and ethnohistoric sources, Mesoamerica is a world region with a long history of conquest and colonization. While the Mixe, Chontal, and Zapotec peoples in Nejapa clearly experienced Spanish conquest and colonialism, they also endured multiple earlier conquests with potentially greater local impact. In the centuries preceding the arrival of the Spanish, Aztecs were building a large empire, which ultimately encompassed large parts of what is now Mexico. At roughly the same time, highland Zapotecs in Oaxaca embarked on their own hostile takeover of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Nejapa is the place where all of these efforts converged. Initial archaeological research in Nejapa shows that the years between A.D. 1350 and 1650 were incredibly dynamic, with increased numbers of archaeological sites, economic and political diversity, and wider settlement distribution across valleys, foothills, and mountain ridgelines.Archaeological studies of culture contact and colonialism tend to emphasize interactions between indigenous peoples and Europeans. Despite recent attempts to broaden definitions beyond the realm of first encounters between the Old and New World, in practice, studies often emphasize post-fifteenth century contexts. The intellectual merit of this project is that it breaks new ground by including non-European colonialism and extending the time frame of colonialism earlier and later. The goal is to examine how local sociopolitical relations in rural regions contributed to differential results during multiple conquests and colonialisms by foreigners. Specific questions address the give and take between external and internal political forces, investment in resource-poor high altitude locations, effects of differential access to trade networks on local politics and economics, fortresses and military strategies, and ethnic relations during centuries of political upheaval.The field work includes two seasons of settlement survey, mapping, and targeted excavations at key sites that span the years A.D. 1350 to 1650. Laboratory analysis consists of geochemical sourcing of ceramics and obsidian, AMS radiocarbon dating, and artifact analysis. This multi-scalar project represents the first part of a longer-term interdisciplinary study of the region's history.The project has several broader impacts. First, it will facilitate the development of long-term institutional collaborations between the U.S. and Mexico by providing scientific training for undergraduate and graduate students from both countries and by creating ties between Indiana University and agencies in Mexico. The field and laboratory work will also provide valuable cultural resource training to Mixe, Zapotec, and Chontal citizens across the region. Finally, the adoption of innovative methods and technologies for digital data acquisition in high-altitude locations without electricity will be relevant to specialists in various disciplines.