Doctoral Dissertation Research: Communities and Sociopolitical Integration in Pre-Columbian Dominica, West Indies

博士论文研究：前哥伦布时期多米尼加、西印度群岛的社区和社会政治一体化

• 批准号: 1240920
• 负责人: Michael Heckenberger
• 金额: $ 2.76万
• 依托单位: University of Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-09-01 至 2014-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1240920&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Communities; Sociopolitical

Under the direction of Dr. Michael Heckenberger, Isaac Shearn will conduct a one-year archaeological study of Dominica, a volcanic island in the southern Lesser Antilles noted for its intense topographic variability, rugged coastline, high rainfall, dense tropical forests, and fertile volcanic soils. The main objective of the project is to characterize settlement patterns and artifact variability within and between micro-regions in order to determine the degree of integration between communities on Dominica during the Late Ceramic Age (ca. A.D. 1000-1500). The project provides the basis for Mr. Shearn's doctoral dissertation research.Relatively little archaeological work has been done on the pre-Columbian period in Dominica in comparison to most other islands in the region. The proposed research represents the first major syntheses of long-term archaeological investigations on this island. The proposed research will help resolve important problems in contemporary Caribbean archaeology, as well as test new geospatial methods for identifying communities in the archaeological record of the islands. By applying contemporary theory on the archaeology of communities to region-specific problems, this research will advance both the understanding of regional community organization, and broader theoretical and methodological issues surrounding the concept of community in Anthropology. In particular, this project will help identify the nature of socio-political integration in smaller, rich islands of the Lesser Antilles, and whether they represent small scale complex societies, which has broad relevance to understanding similar settings in other world areas.Three primary research questions guide the study: 1) Were multiple sites within micro-regions integrated communities or do sites represent basically autonomous local communities?; 2) Were communities within micro-regions autonomous or were they integrated with other such communities in other micro-regions into higher-order regional communities?; and 3) If integrated, how were higher-order communities organized with respect to sociopolitical hierarchy and/or heterarchy within and between micro-regions? To address these questions, specific objectives of the proposed research include: identification of sites; characterization of variability in terms of site size and structure; characterization of relations between sites within the micro-region based on distance, intervisibility, and geographic setting; and collection of artifacts to provide evidence of interaction, including intra- and inter-island exchange. Excavations and systematic surface collections will be conducted within three micro-regions of Dominica to provide comparable datasets from each micro-region, and from multiple sites within each micro-region. The analysis will indicate whether communities included hierarchical characteristics, such as centers for specialized socio-political, ritual or economic activities or were more heterarchical, involving structurally similar and/or autonomous local groups.The proposed research will include significant public outreach initiatives designed to promote cultural heritage management by raising awareness about the island's Amerindian history and the value of archaeological sites as cultural resources; and promote local participation in the execution, interpretation, and presentation of the research. To accomplish these objectives, Mr. Shearn will present lectures at community centers and schools, and participate in radio broadcasts; produce informational posters and exhibits for display in village community centers and national parks; design an exhibit for the Dominica Museum; and provide opportunities for students and others to participate in all stages of the research and design methods for the dissemination of the results.

在迈克尔·赫肯伯格（Michael Heckenberger）博士的指导下，艾萨克·谢尔恩（Isaac Shearn）将对多米尼加（Dominica）进行为期一年的考古研究，多米尼加（Dominica）是南部小群岛的一个火山岛，以其强烈的地形可变性，坚固的海岸线，高降雨量，茂密的热带森林和肥沃的火山土壤而闻名。该项目的主要目的是表征微区和微区之间和之间的人工制品变异性，以确定陶瓷年龄段（约公元1000-1500）期间多米尼加社区之间的整合程度。该项目为Shearn先生的博士学位论文研究提供了基础。与该地区的大多数其他岛屿相比，在多米尼加哥伦比亚前时期的考古工作很少。拟议的研究代表了该岛长期考古研究的第一个主要合成。拟议的研究将有助于解决当代加勒比考古学中的重要问题，并测试新的地理空间方法，以识别岛屿考古记录中的社区。通过将有关社区考古学的当代理论应用于特定地区的问题，这项研究将提高对地区社区组织的理解，以及围绕人类学社区概念的更广泛的理论和方法论问题。特别是，该项目将有助于确定较小，较小的安特列斯群岛的社会政治融合的性质，以及它们是否代表了小规模的复杂社会，这与了解其他世界其他领域的相似环境具有广泛的相关性。研究指南。研究指南：1）在基本自治社区中的微区社区中的多个地点是多个地点？ 2）是微区域内的社区，还是与其他微区的其他社区集成到高阶区域社区？ 3）如果整合，高阶社区是如何在微区和/或微区之间和之间的社会政治等级制度和/或异乎寻常的？为了解决这些问题，拟议研究的具体目标包括：识别站点；在场地大小和结构方面的变异性表征；根据距离，干预性和地理设置，微区内站点之间的关系表征；并收集工件以提供相互作用的证据，包括伊斯兰内和伊斯兰国交换。开挖和系统的表面收集将在多米尼加的三个微区内进行，以提供每个微区的可比数据集，以及每个微区内的多个位点。 The analysis will indicate whether communities included hierarchical characteristics, such as centers for specialized socio-political, ritual or economic activities or were more heterarchical, involving structurally similar and/or autonomous local groups.The proposed research will include significant public outreach initiatives designed to promote cultural heritage management by raising awareness about the island's Amerindian history and the value of archaeological sites as cultural resources;并促进当地参与研究的执行，解释和表现。为了实现这些目标，Shearn先生将在社区中心和学校介绍演讲，并参与广播；在乡村社区中心和国家公园制作信息海报和展览；为多米尼加博物馆设计展览；并为学生和其他人提供机会参与研究和设计方法的各个阶段，以传播结果。