Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: The Exercise of Political Authority at Callar Creek, Belize

在理查德·M·莱文塔尔博士的监督下，萨拉·库尔尼克将在卡拉尔克里克的玛雅古迹进行考古发掘和分析。卡拉克里克位于伯利兹的莫潘谷，大约从公元前900年到公元900年被古代玛雅人占领。该遗址包括几个住宅建筑，三个金字塔形的土丘，可以支撑寺庙或神殿，以及四个广场。在现场发现的四块大型石灰岩可能是古迹的遗迹。根据其大小、位置、特征和布局，卡拉克里克很可能是低层精英的家和行政中心。关注古代玛雅人政治权威的性质的研究具有重要意义，原因有很多。首先，对早期复杂社会中的政治权威的研究为当代世界的政治权威研究提供了历史深度和地理广度。对世界早期复杂政治中权威运作的理解有助于洞察现代复杂政治中权威的运作。其次，对政治权威的研究涉及到更大的社会不平等问题；政治权威是社会不平等的一种类型，是一种不对称的社会关系。不平等是我们自己、其他社会和过去社会的一个突出和持久的特征。理解、解释和揭开社会不平等的神秘面纱一直是并将继续是社会科学研究的重要方面。库尔尼克将恢复和分析数据，这些数据表明卡拉克里克的精英们使用了哪些策略来获得和维护他们的政治权威，以及这些策略是如何随着时间的推移而发生变化的。具体地说，她提出了--并将随着时间的推移测试证据--卡拉克里克精英们可能用来获得和维护他们权威的三种策略：社区聚会、祖先崇拜和异地联系。除了学术价值，这个项目还将为卡拉克里克的现代社区带来经济和教育方面的好处。该项目将为生活在经济贫困地区的个人提供就业机会和实践培训。该项目还将为社区成员提供机会，以了解一般考古学，特别是卡拉克里克的考古学。这些活动将提高当地对考古资源和考古管理的认识。总的目标将是证明考古的益处和掠夺造成的破坏之间的关键区别。这一项目的成果将通过在专业会议上的陈述和在同行编辑的期刊上发表的论文向科学界公布。计划中的网站将提高该项目的公众知名度。

Under the supervision of Dr. Richard M. Leventhal, Sarah Kurnick will conduct archaeological excavations and analyses at the ancient Maya site of Callar Creek. Callar Creek, located in the Mopan Valley of Belize, was occupied by the ancient Maya from approximately 900 B.C. to 900 A.D. The site includes several residential structures, three pyramidal mounds that would have supported temples or shrines, and four plazas. Four large limestone blocks found at the site may be the remains of monuments. Based on its size, location, features, and layout, Callar Creek was likely the home and administrative center for a low-level elite. Research focusing on the nature of political authority among the ancient Maya is important for a number of reasons. First, the study of political authority among early complex societies provides historical depth and geographic breadth to studies of political authority in the contemporary world. An understanding of the operation of authority among the world's early complex polities provides insight into the operation of authority in modern complex polities. Second, studies of political authority speak to the larger issue of social inequality; political authority is one type of social inequality, one type of asymmetrical social relationship. Inequality is a prominent and persistent feature of our own, other, and past societies. Understanding, explaining, and demystifying social inequality have been, and will continue to be, important aspects of research in the social sciences. Ms. Kurnick will recover and analyze data suggesting what strategies were used by the elites at Callar Creek to acquire and maintain their political authority, and how those strategies changed over time. Specifically, she proposes - and will test for evidence over time of - three strategies that the Callar Creek elites may have used to acquire and maintain their authority: communal gatherings, ancestor veneration, and extra-local connections. In addition to its academic merit, this project will bring economic and educational benefits to the modern community of Callar Creek. The project will provide employment opportunities and practical training to individuals living in an economically impoverished area. The project will also provide opportunities for community members to learn about archaeology in general and about the archaeology of Callar Creek in particular. These activities will increase local awareness of archaeological resources and archaeological stewardship. The overall goal will be to demonstrate the crucial distinction between the benefits of archaeology and the destruction caused by looting. The results of this project will be made available to the scientific community through presentations at professional conferences and through papers published in peer edited journals. A planned website will increase the project's public visibility.