Collaborative Research: Woodland Seasonality on the Northern Coast of the Gulf of Mexico

合作研究：墨西哥湾北海岸的林地季节性

• 批准号: 1026167
• 负责人: Elizabeth Reitz
• 金额: $ 5.2万
• 依托单位: University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-09-01 至 2013-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1026167&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Woodland; Seasonality; Northern

With National Science Foundation support, three collaborative teams led by Dr. Gregory A. Waselkov (University of South Alabama), Dr. Elizabeth J. Reitz (University of Georgia), and Dr. C. Frederick T. Andrus (University of Alabama) will investigate the seasonal nature of fishing and shellfishing during the Middle Woodland and Late Woodland periods (AD 325-1040) along estuaries of the Alabama portion of the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. In this two-year project, team members will compare methods of analysis used by archaeologists to assess seasonality of habitat exploitation and residential mobility at coastal sites around the world. The University of Georgia's component will focus on zooarchaeological analysis of vertebrate and invertebrate remains with the goal of integrating the two kinds of animal remains into a dynamic model of subsistence exploitation. The team from the University of Alabama will take the lead on a large-scale application of oxygen isotope temperature proxy analysis to multiple species of fish and shellfish to produce refined seasonality interpretations. University of South Alabama project members will develop a Bayesian statistical analysis to correlate temperature proxy curves from different species and achieve more precise seasonality interpretations of archaeological deposits. That team will investigate elemental and isotopic analyses of selected fish and terrestrial vertebrates to provide information on ontogenetic (individual lifetime) habitat changes, with seasonality-of-capture implications. The UGA and USA teams will also prepare specimens for isotopic analysis and record data on growth patterns. One outcome will be a reliable and precise understanding of the seasonal dimensions of Woodland subsistence adaptations along the Alabama coast, an area little studied by archaeologists. A second broader outcome will be a higher standard of analysis based on adequate samples of multiple prey species that yield confident assessments of seasonal habitat exploitation and site occupation, providing a firm basis for models of coastal sedentism and mobility around the world. This project brings together specialists in archaeology, zooarchaeology, geochemistry, materials science, and marine biology to create a synergy with benefits that transcend normal disciplinary boundaries. The intellectual merit of the project derives from a rigorous protocol for analysis that targets specific seasonal events with multiple lines of evidence, increased precision of seasonal interpretations, and calibration of seasonal exploitations of different habitats, an approach new to archaeology. These analytical methods work in concert, making this a very powerful interpretive approach that can transform archaeological inquiries on coastal sedentism and mobility. At a more basic level, isotope analysis of the archaeological remains will give insight into the fundamental processes that govern all skeletal growth. There are broader impacts to this study. All three project labs will meaningfully involve undergraduates in this research, learning the basics of isotope chemistry and zooarchaeological analysis. Analytical procedures and results of this project will be particularly highlighted in active public outreach programs, including supervised volunteer opportunities in the labs, staff and student visits to K-12 classrooms, hosting visits by school groups to the labs, and in an exhibit currently in development for the University of South Alabama's Archaeology Museum.

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，由Gregory A. Waselkov（南亚拉巴马大学）、Elizabeth J.雷茨博士（格鲁吉亚大学）和C.弗雷德里克·T安德罗斯（亚拉巴马大学）将调查在中期林地和后期林地时期（公元325-1040年）沿着墨西哥湾北方海岸亚拉巴马部分河口捕鱼和贝类捕捞的季节性。在这个为期两年的项目中，团队成员将比较考古学家使用的分析方法，以评估世界各地沿海地区栖息地开发和居民流动的季节性。格鲁吉亚大学的组成部分将侧重于脊椎动物和无脊椎动物遗骸的动物考古学分析，目标是将这两种动物遗骸纳入生计开发的动态模式。来自亚拉巴马大学的研究小组将率先对多种鱼类和贝类进行氧同位素温度代用分析的大规模应用，以产生精确的季节性解释。南亚拉巴马大学项目成员将开发贝叶斯统计分析，以关联不同物种的温度代理曲线，并实现对考古沉积物更精确的季节性解释。该小组将调查选定鱼类和陆生脊椎动物的元素和同位素分析，以提供关于个体发育（个体一生）生境变化的信息，并考虑到捕获季节性的影响。UGA和美国团队还将准备用于同位素分析的标本，并记录生长模式的数据。一个结果将是一个可靠的和精确的理解的季节尺度林地生存适应沿着亚拉巴马海岸，一个地区很少研究考古学家。第二个更广泛的成果将是更高标准的分析，基于多个猎物物种的足够样本，产生对季节性栖息地开发和场地占用的可靠评估，为世界各地的沿海沉积和流动模型提供坚实的基础。该项目汇集了考古学，动物考古学，地球化学，材料科学和海洋生物学的专家，以创造超越正常学科界限的协同效益。该项目的智力价值来自于一个严格的分析协议，该协议针对具有多条证据的特定季节性事件，提高了季节性解释的精度，并校准了不同栖息地的季节性开发，这是考古学的一种新方法。这些分析方法协同工作，使其成为一种非常强大的解释方法，可以改变对沿海沉积和流动性的考古调查。在更基本的层面上，考古遗迹的同位素分析将使我们深入了解支配所有骨骼生长的基本过程。对这项研究有更广泛的影响。所有三个项目实验室都将有意义地让本科生参与这项研究，学习同位素化学和动物考古学分析的基础知识。该项目的分析程序和结果将在积极的公共宣传计划中特别突出，包括在实验室，工作人员和学生参观K-12教室，学校团体对实验室的参观，以及目前正在为南亚拉巴马大学考古博物馆开发的展览中监督志愿者机会。