Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: The La Consentida Archaeological Project

在亚瑟·乔伊斯博士的指导下，盖伊·赫普先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。他的研究将调查集体主义的起源，向依赖农业的转变，以及中美洲早期形成时期等级社会不平等的根源。他将在墨西哥沿海瓦哈卡的La Consentida考古遗址进行地面测量、测绘和挖掘。La Consentida提供了一个很有希望的机会，促进对中美洲文化诞生的新理解，该地区和生态环境以前从未被纳入这一重要早期时期的中美洲学术规范。该项目将使用尖端考古技术来实现其研究目标，包括使用发光测绘站绘制地形图，中子激活分析以确定动员陶瓷和社会互动的交换网络，分析稳定的碳和氮同位素以重建古代饮食，AMS碳测年用于对挖掘环境的年代学控制，以及分析宏观植物学发现以确定生活垃圾堆积中的食物残留物。公元前1900年-公元前250年)，被广泛认为是古代时期(公元前9000-1900年)的游牧园艺和复杂的中美洲社会之间的一个重要过渡阶段，这些社会不受旧世界的影响而蓬勃发展，直到16世纪西班牙征服者的到来。尽管普遍认识到形成期的重要性，但主要的学术争论涉及在这一时期国内实践、生存和社会组织的转变之间的相互关联。形成初期的考古学(C.A.(公元前1900-1500年)似乎是一个很有前途的研究场所，可以为这些关于中美洲社会变化的对话提供信息。除了与中美洲学者学术有关外，La Consentida考古项目还为美国学者提供了一个与墨西哥考古学学生合作的机会，并与瓦哈卡当地社区接触，后者有兴趣更多地了解他们所在地区的古代历史。与当地社区的接触将包括为当地社区博物馆建议的教育展示，以及为当地社区周年庆典建议的公众演讲。参与该项目的美国学生志愿者将接受各种标准考古现场技术方面的宝贵培训。该项目的结果将在一份报告中公布给墨西哥国家历史研究所(INAH)，该研究所是墨西哥联邦政府负责监督考古研究的分支机构。研究成果还将以英文和西班牙文的同行评议期刊、经编辑的书籍章节和双语(西班牙文/英文)网页内容的形式介绍，以展示在该地区工作的不同学者的考古研究。

Under the direction of Dr. Arthur Joyce, Mr. Guy Hepp will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. His research will investigate the origins of sedentism, the transition toward reliance upon agriculture, and the origins of hierarchical social inequality in initial Early Formative period Mesoamerica. He will undertake surface survey, mapping, and excavations at the archaeological site of La Consentida in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico. La Consentida offers a promising opportunity to promote new understandings of the birth of Mesoamerican culture in a region and ecological setting never previously included in the canon of Mesoamerican scholarship for this important early time period. The project will employ cutting-edge archaeological techniques to address its research objectives, including topographic mapping using a light-emitting mapping station, neutron activation analysis to identify exchange networks that mobilized ceramics and social interaction, analysis of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes to reconstruct ancient diet, AMS carbon dating for chronological control of excavated contexts, and analysis of macrobotanical finds to identify the food remains in domestic garbage deposits.The Mesoamerican Formative or Preclassic period (c.a. 1900 BCE - 250 CE) which is represented at La Consentida is widely regarded as an important transitional phase between the nomadic horticulture of the Archaic period (9000 - 1900 BCE) and the complex Mesoamerican societies that flourished, independent of influence from the Old World, until the arrival of Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. Despite the general recognition of the significance of the Formative period, key scholarly debates concern the interrelatedness between transitions in domestic practices, subsistence, and social organization during this time. The archaeology of the initial Early Formative period (c.a. 1900-1500 BCE) in particular appears to be a promising venue of research for informing these dialogues regarding Mesoamerican social change.In addition to its relevance for Mesoamericanist scholarship, the La Consentida Archaeological Project offers an opportunity for United States-based scholars to collaborate with Mexican archaeology students and to engage with local communities in Oaxaca who are interested in learning more about their region's ancient past. Outreach with local communities will include an educational display proposed for a local community museum and a public talk proposed for a local community anniversary festival. US-based student volunteers on the project will receive valuable training in a variety of standard archaeological field techniques. The results of the project will be disseminated in a report to the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH), the branch of the Mexican federal government overseeing archaeological research. Research results will also be presented in peer-reviewed journals in both English and Spanish, in edited book chapters, and in the form of bilingual (Spanish/English) webpage content designed to showcase archaeological research by various scholars working in the region.