Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant:: Competition, Resources, and the Consolidation of Social Complexity

在John O‘Shea博士的监督下，Emily Holt将在撒丁岛Medio Campidano地区Siddi高原上的Nuraghe sa Conca sa Cresia和Nuraghe Pranu Casti遗址进行考古挖掘和测量。在撒丁岛的青铜时代中期(公元前1700-1365年)，小社会竞相巩固他们的权力，最终形成了晚期(公元前1365-1200年)和最后(公元前1200年-1020年)青铜时代的大型复杂社会。在最后一个青铜时代，这些复杂的社会似乎在权力的巅峰时期崩溃了。大约在同一时间，东地中海的大国也崩溃了，这表明撒丁岛的崩溃是因为与东方贸易的损失，剥夺了撒丁岛社会领导人维持权力所需的资源。然而，另有证据表明，撒丁岛的崩溃可能是由内部因素而不是外部因素造成的。从一个大型青铜时代晚期/末期遗址挖掘出的古代花粉显示，森林砍伐和土壤枯竭日益加剧；最严重的环境退化恰好与该遗址的废弃相吻合。这些证据表明，是古代撒丁岛人破坏了他们的资源基础，导致了他们的社会崩溃。霍尔特的挖掘和调查将证明与东方贸易的损失和环境退化在导致撒丁岛崩溃中的相对重要性，为发展、巩固和丧失社会复杂性的内部和外部因素之间的关系提供了一个案例研究。它还将有助于定义撒丁岛在泛地中海贸易网络中的角色，使人们对地中海青铜时代的理解不那么偏向东地中海。最后，在撒丁岛以外的青铜时代欧洲地区也观察到了环境退化，这表明资源退化可能是青铜时代经济战略的普遍结果。霍尔特的项目将提供一个例子，说明一个青铜时代的社区在多大程度上退化了其资源基础，以及如何应对腹地不断变化的生产潜力。除了解决重要的人类学问题外，霍尔特的项目还将产生更广泛的影响。它将向考古界介绍在撒丁岛进行研究的丰富可能性。撒丁岛工业发展的缓慢步伐意味着撒丁岛的考古资源仍然相对容易获得，然而，考古学家必须在这一重要资源被摧毁之前迅速利用这些机会。霍尔特的项目还将在撒丁岛创造资源，促进进一步的考古工作。在项目结束时，用NSF资金购买的所有设备将捐赠给Genna Maria博物馆，这是一个小型展览和研究博物馆，有文物分析、陶瓷重建和图书馆研究的空间，以及一个容纳访问学者的小公寓。尽管有这些资源，但由于缺乏可运行的计算机和挖掘设备，詹纳玛丽亚博物馆没有得到充分利用。向Genna Maria博物馆捐赠研究设备将使博物馆更容易开展自己的项目，并支持在撒丁岛工作的外国学者的努力。

Under the supervision of Dr. John O'Shea, Emily Holt will conduct archaeological excavations and survey at the sites of Nuraghe Sa Conca Sa Cresia and Nuraghe Pranu Casti located on the Siddi Plateau in the Medio Campidano region of Sardinia. During Sardinia's Middle Bronze Age (1700-1365 BCE), small societies competed to consolidate their power, eventually resulting in the large complex societies of the Late (1365-1200 BCE) and Final (1200-1020 BCE) Bronze Age. During the Final Bronze Age, seemingly at the height of their power, these complex societies collapsed. At roughly the same time, the large states of the East Mediterranean also collapsed, suggesting that the Sardinian collapse occurred because the loss of trade with the East deprived the leaders of Sardinian societies with the resources they needed to maintain their power. However, alternative evidence suggests that the Sardinian collapse may have been caused by internal rather than external factors. Ancient pollen excavated from a large Late/Final Bronze Age site shows increasing deforestation and soil depletion; the worst environmental degradation coincides with the abandonment of the site. This evidence suggests that it was the ancient Sardinians' destruction of their resource base that caused their society to collapse.Holt's excavation and survey will document the relative importance of loss of trade with the East and environmental degradation in causing the Sardinian collapse, providing a case study of the relationship between internal and external factors in the development, consolidation, and loss of social complexity. It will also help define Sardinia's role in pan-Mediterranean trade networks, leading to an understanding of the Mediterranean Bronze Age that is less biased toward the East Mediterranean. Finally, environmental degradation has been observed in areas of Bronze Age Europe outside of Sardinia, suggesting that resource degradation may have been a widespread result of Bronze Age economic strategies. Holt's project will provide an example of the degree to which one Bronze Age community degraded its resource base and the ways in which it responded to the changing productive potential of its hinterland.In addition to addressing important anthropological questions, Holt's project will have broader impacts. It will introduce the archeological community to the rich possibilities for conducting research in Sardinia. The slow pace of industrial development on Sardinia has meant that Sardinia's archeological resources remain relatively accessible, however, archeologists must take advantage of these opportunities quickly before this important resource is destroyed. Holt's project will also create resources in Sardinia that will promote further archeological work. At the end of the project, all equipment purchased with NSF funds will be donated to the Museo Genna Maria, a small exhibit and research museum with space for artifact analysis, ceramic reconstruction, and library research as well as a small apartment to house visiting scholars. In spite of these resources, the Museo Genna Maria is underutilized due to its lack of a working computer and excavation equipment. Donating research equipment to the Museo Genna Maria will make it easier for the museum to conduct its own projects and support the efforts of foreign scholars working in Sardinia.