Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Investigation of Environmental, Social, and Demographic Transformations at Woodrow Ruin, Grant County, New Mexico

凯瑟琳卡梅隆，雅各布·塞迪格将在伍德罗遗址进行研究，以研究在史前后期Pithouse（公元550-1000年）和经典（公元1000-1130年）时期发生在新墨西哥州上吉拉地区的人口，社会和环境变化。Sedig先生的研究将在复原力理论的框架下进行，考古学家最近在他们的研究中采用了这一理论。 考古学家长期以来一直在研究环境波动如何影响古代人口。然而，在大多数情况下，这种审查仅限于区域范围内，而不是在更广泛的理论框架内进行。如果成功的话，Sedig先生的研究将表明，复原力理论可以帮助识别更广泛的模式，提出具体的研究问题，并创建可验证的假设，这些假设与理解人与自然相关联的系统中的转变有关。2012年夏季在伍德罗遗址进行的考古研究将有两个主要目的：1）阐明Pithouse晚期和古典时期之间发生的社会，人口和环境变化，2）测试和完善弹性理论。考古学家已经确定了发生在新墨西哥州西南部的晚期皮特乌斯和古典时期之间的戏剧性转变。在Pithouse晚期，人们居住在围绕庭院聚集的地下Pithouse中。公共仪式和仪式在大型长方形地下建筑中举行。古典时期发生了重大变化。人们居住在地上，用河卵石建造的公寓式的普韦布洛，而不是露天棚屋。在大广场上举行集体仪式。Sedig先生提出，伍德罗遗址在这两个时期之间发生的变化是人们对自然和人为环境变化的反应的结果。这一假设将通过地球物理调查以及对该地点的植物、动物和其他数据的分析来检验。Sedig先生的调查将在复原力理论的理论框架下进行。复原力理论最初是为生态学领域开发的，最近被考古学家用来更好地理解特定地区的人口，社会和环境变化。Sedig先生的研究将探讨伍德罗废墟的后期Pithouse-Classic过渡如何与弹性理论的预期一致或不一致。在伍德罗废墟进行的研究将是Sedig先生论文的核心部分。它还将对各种各样的群体产生更广泛的影响。Sedig先生将与公众互动，让当地的考古团体亲自体验挖掘工作;将利用志愿人员筛选挖掘出的填充物，并尽可能让游客参观现场图尔斯。向公众和学术会议的演讲将展示考古学在人类环境研究中的重要性。一些研究生将有机会通过在伍德罗遗址工作来发展他们的考古技能。该遗址的文物将用于培训大学生进行考古分析。最后，Sedig先生的研究数据将上传到在线数据库，供地球仪的研究人员使用。

Under the direction of Dr. Catherine Cameron, Jakob Sedig will conduct research at Woodrow Ruin to examine the demographic, social, and environmental changes that occurred in the upper Gila region of New Mexico during the prehistoric Late Pithouse (AD 550-1000) and Classic (AD 1000-1130) periods. Mr. Sedig's research will be conducted under the framework of resilience theory, which archaeologists have recently employed in their research. Archaeologists have long studied how environmental fluctuations have affected ancient populations. However, for the most part, such examinations have been limited to a regional context and have not been set in a broader theoretical framework. If successful, Mr. Sedig's research will demonstrate that resilience theory can help identify broader patterns, suggest specific research questions, and create testable hypotheses that are relevant to understanding transformation in linked systems of people and nature.The archaeological research to be conducted at Woodrow Ruin during the summer of 2012 will serve two primary purposes: 1) illuminate the social, demographic, and environmental changes that occurred between the Late Pithouse and Classic periods, and 2) test and refine resilience theory. Archaeologists have identified dramatic transformations that occurred between the Late Pithouse and Classic periods in southwest New Mexico. During the Late Pithouse period people lived in subsurface pithouses that were grouped around a courtyard. Communal ceremonies and rituals were held in large, rectangular subterranean structures. Significant changes occurred by the Classic period. Instead of pithouses, people lived in above ground, apartment-like pueblos constructed from river cobbles. Communal ceremonies and rituals were held in large plazas. Mr. Sedig proposes that the transformations that occurred at Woodrow Ruin between the two periods were the result of how people reacted to environmental changes, both natural and human-induced. This hypothesis will be examined through geophysical survey, together with the analysis of floral, faunal, and other data from the site. Mr. Sedig's investigation will be conducted under the theoretical framework of resilience theory. Originally developed for the field of ecology, resilience theory has recently been used by archaeologists to better understand demographic, social, and environmental shifts in a given area. Mr. Sedig's research will examine how the Late Pithouse-Classic transition at Woodrow Ruin is consistent or inconsistent with the expectations of resilience theory. The research conducted at Woodrow Ruin will be the central part of Mr. Sedig's dissertation. It will also have broader impacts for a wide variety of groups. Mr. Sedig will interact with the public by allowing local avocational archaeology groups to experience excavations first-hand; volunteers will be used in the screening of excavated fill, and site tours will be given to visitors whenever possible. Presentations to the general public and at academic conferences will demonstrate the importance of archaeology in human-environmental studies. Several graduate students will have the opportunity to develop their archaeological skills by working at Woodrow Ruin. Artifacts from the site will be used to train undergraduates in archaeological analysis. Finally, data from Mr. Sedig's research will be uploaded to online databases, making it accessible to researchers across the globe.