Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Phytoliths, Starch Grains, and Emerging Social Complexity at Tell Zeidan, Syria

在亚历克西娅·史密斯博士的指导下，托马斯·哈特将分析2009年和2010年发掘季节在叙利亚泰尔扎伊丹乌拜德时期遗址收集的古代植物遗骸。泰尔扎伊丹位于巴利赫河和幼发拉底河的交汇处，在公元前6000年到3800年之间曾是美索不达米亚北部的一个区域中心。这个遗址特别重要，因为它是美索不达米亚南部腹地以外最大的定居点之一。此外，由于它连续被占领了2000多年，它提供了一个独特的机会来研究社会复杂性的最早发展之一。哈特先生的研究将使用新的考古技术，如植物岩和淀粉颗粒分析，来确定使向复杂社会过渡成为可能的生存实践。农业在促进复杂社会的兴起和传播方面的重要性已被广泛接受。然而，除了少数例外，人们对公元前6至4千年大美索不达米亚（底格里斯河-幼发拉底河流域）的生存实践知之甚少。了解复杂社会发展之前、期间和之后的食物生产和消费模式，对于揭示农业在新兴社会复杂性中的作用（如果有的话）至关重要。该项目将通过检查考古土壤、人工制品残留物、人类牙齿残留物以及与埋葬个体胃内容物相关的土壤中发现的微生物植物遗骸（植岩和淀粉粒），评估和记录乌贝德时期植物食物生产和消费的每个阶段。同样，通过使用微观遗骸来重建生产和消费模式，该项目将探索新的方法来识别考古记录中以前看不见的社会复杂性标记。当与其他类型的数据（如地理信息系统数据、烧焦的种子、动物骨骼和石器数据）结合起来，作为更大的遗址内研究的一部分时，该项目将提供一个真正全面的关于促进复杂社会兴起的生存实践的图景。这项研究将寻求在研究主题之外产生更广泛的影响。该项目的内部研究部分将促进叙利亚研究人员与来自欧洲和美国其他大学的研究人员之间的国际合作。该项目的结果将在同行评审的出版物中传播，而原始数据将在网上分发，从而使数据可供公众使用。在美国的公共宣传工作将包括在康涅狄格州自然历史博物馆举行公开讲座，以及在康涅狄格州伍德伯里Nonnewaug高中举办关于早期农业和复杂社会的讲习班。这些努力将寻求提高公众对科学、考古学和人类学的理解。最后，本研究希望通过改善康涅狄格大学的考古植物学实验室，并通过培训本科生研究助理在该领域进行科学研究和分析所需的技能，促进未来的科学研究。

Under the guidance of Dr. Alexia Smith, Thomas Hart will analyze ancient plant remains gathered during the 2009 and 2010 excavation seasons at the Ubaid period site of Tell Zeidan, Syria. Tell Zeidan is located at the confluence of the Balikh and Euphrates Rivers and served as a regional center in northern Mesopotamia between 6,000 and 3,800 B. C. The site is of particular importance because it is one of the largest settlements outside of the southern Mesopotamia heartland. In addition, since it was continuously occupied for over 2000 years, it provides a unique opportunity to study one of the earliest developments of social complexity. Mr. Hart's research will use new archaeological techniques, such as phytolith and starch grain analysis, to determine the subsistence practices that made the transition to complex society possible.The importance of agriculture in facilitating the rise and spread of complex societies is widely accepted. However, with a few exceptions, very little is actually known about subsistence practices in Greater Mesopotamia (the Tigris-Euphrates watershed) between the 6th and 4th millennia B. C. Knowledge of food production and consumption patterns before, during, and after the development of complex societies is essential for revealing the role, if any, of agriculture in emerging social complexity. This project will assess and document each stage of plant food production and consumption from the Ubaid period at Tell Zeidan by examining microscopic plant remains (phytoliths and starch grains) found in archaeological soils, artifact residues, human teeth residues, and the soils associated with the stomach contents of buried individuals. Likewise, by using microscopic remains to reconstruct production and consumption patterns, this project will explore new ways to identify previously invisible markers of social complexity in the archaeological record. When combined with other types of data as part of a larger intra-site study, such as geographic information system data, charred seeds, animal bones, and stone tool data, this project will provide a truly holistic picture of the subsistence practices facilitating the rise of complex society.This research will seek to have a broader impact beyond the research topics presented. The intra-site study component of this project will foster international collaboration between Syrian researchers and researchers from other universities in Europe and within the U.S. The results from this project will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications while the raw data will be distributed online thereby making the data available for public use. Public outreach efforts in The United States will include public lectures at the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and workshops on early agriculture and complex society at the Nonnewaug High School, Woodbury, Connecticut. These efforts will seek to improve public understanding of science, archaeology, and anthropology. Finally, this research hopes to facilitate future research in the sciences by improving the Archaeobotany Laboratory at the University of Connecticut and by training undergraduate research assistants in the skills necessary for scientific research and analysis in this field.