Deltaic Resilience and the Genesis of Mesopotamian Cities (Iraq)

在国家科学基金会的支持下，Jennifer Pournelle博士、Carrie Hritz博士和Jennifer Smith博士将在伊拉克南部进行一项为期三年的考古、地质考古和地貌研究计划。研究的重点是湿地地区，研究人员认为这些地区可能在美索不达米亚文明的兴起中发挥了重要作用。这些沼泽地最初很难调查，但近年来的排水提供了一个独特的机会--一个可能很快就会关闭的窗口--因为该地区恢复到了以前的状态。五千多年来，伊拉克南部的底格里斯-幼发拉底河三角洲一直是城市持续存在的地点。公元前四千年初，那里的早期苏美尔文明达到顶峰，标志着经济分化、社会政治复杂性和城市化的程度，这在世界上任何地方都是前所未有的。虽然苏美尔人利用周围地区的可灌溉平原和牧场，但也有人推测，即使在气候剧烈波动的周期中，苏美尔人也从他们在三角洲系统中的状况中获得了巨大的财富和交通优势，该系统提供了各种各样和丰富的资源。研究人员认为，这种“三角洲弹性”通过涉及社会和环境变化的多个系统性变化来支持城市化进程。与邻近环境相比，人们对这种三角洲成分的了解相对较少，调查人员将收集相关的考古、地质和古环境数据。他们将重建过去的环境模式，并研究人类在这一背景下的反应。该项目的一个重要实际成果将是加强美国和伊拉克之间的考古联系，并为该国未来的考古项目提供机会。这项工作的结果还可能指导恢复伊拉克南部城市环境资源的项目，促进有弹性的环境管理战略，并支持未来的可持续生活方式。美国和伊拉克的学生都将参与这项研究。

With National Science Foundation support Drs. Jennifer Pournelle, Carrie Hritz and Jennifer Smith will undertake a three year program of archaeological, geoarchaeological and geomorphological research in southern Iraq. The focus is on wetland regions which the investigators believe may have played a major role in the rise of Mesopotamian civilization. These marshlands were originally difficult to survey but draining in recent years has provided a unique opportunity - a window which likely will soon be closed - as the region is restored to its prior state. The Tigris-Euphrates delta of southern Iraq has been the locus of a continuous urban presence for over five millennia. The height of early Sumerian civilization there at the onset of the 4th millennium BC marked a degree of economic differentiation, socio-political complexity and urbanization theretofore unseen anywhere in the world. While the Sumerians made use of irrigable plains and pasture lands in the surrounding regions, it is also postulated that the society drew significant wealth and transportation advantage from their situation in a deltaic system that provided varied and abundant resources even through cycles of dramatic climatic fluctuation. The investigators believe that this "deltaic resiliency" sustained the urbanizing processes through multiple systemic changes involving both social and environmental change. Compared with adjacent environments relatively little is known about this deltaic component and the investigators will collect relevant archaeological, geological and paleoenvironmental data. They will both reconstruct past environmental patterns and examine human responses within this context.One important practical result of this project will be the strengthening of archaeological ties between the US and Iraq and the opportunity this research may provide for future archaeological projects in the country. The results of the work may also guide projects to restore environmental resources to Iraq's southern cities, promote resilient environmental management strategies, and support sustainable lifeways for the future. Both American and Iraqi students will be involved in the research.