Agriculture and Empire in the High-Altitude Atacama Desert

该奖项将支持智利（智利大学的Diego Salazar和Andres Troncoso）和西班牙（西班牙圣地亚哥德孔波斯特拉大学的Cesar Parcero-Oubina）的首席研究员和研究人员之间的新合作，研究前殖民时期智利的灌溉农业。15世纪，印加人征服了阿塔卡马沙漠的高地，以控制该地区的矿产财富。假设行政管理和人口分布的变化伴随着灌溉农业的重组和扩张，以提供劳动力和其他人员。进一步指出，由于现有的经济和社会关系通过增加国家控制而发生了变化，对水的占用和对朝贡生产的新强调将导致当地社区的重组。为了验证这些想法，国际研究小组将在阿塔卡马地区开始数据收集，包括：(1)详细绘制研究地点和相关领域和运河的地图，对地表文物和建筑进行系统观察，以检测水管理、领域系统和现场组织的变化；(2)地质调查，评估运河系统的地貌和水文背景；(3)从运河和田野中收集样本，以测试年代测定技术；(4)在两个地点收集考古植物样本，以评估作物和相关野生植物的保存情况，并开始鉴定它们。参与的研究人员将为这项国际和跨学科的努力带来互补的技能和培训。来自智利和西班牙的合作者，由其他来源资助，将指导现场测绘和研究地表遗迹。美国科学家将指导地质勘测工作，并收集样品进行年代测定和植物分析。来自美国和智利的学生将参与研究的所有阶段并共同努力。该项目将调查在遥远的权力中心做出的经济决策如何影响当地农民的景观和生活，特别是在水是稀缺资源的地方。考古学为水、土地、政治和社会之间的关系提供了一个长期的历史视角。这项研究也将有助于印加考古学和古代帝国的比较研究。该奖项将促进来自智利、美国和西班牙的学者及其学生之间的长期、国际和跨学科合作。新墨西哥大学（University of New Mexico）是一所服务于西班牙裔美国人的机构，招收了大量西班牙裔美国人和土著美国人。学生们将通过该项目获得培训和指导机会，并将与他们的国际同龄人密切合作。研究结果将与当地后裔社区分享，并将以英文和西班牙文向一般公众和专业听众广泛散发。

This award will support a new collaboration between the principal investigator and researchers from Chile (Diego Salazar and Andres Troncoso, University of Chile) and Spain (Cesar Parcero-Oubina, U. of Santiago de Compostela, Spain) to study irrigation agriculture in pre-colonial Chile. The highlands of the Atacama Desert were conquered by the Inca in the 15th century to take control of the mineral wealth of the region. It is hypothesized that the changes in administration and population distribution were accompanied by the reorganization and expansion of irrigation agriculture to provision laborers and other personnel. It is further suggested that the appropriation of water and the new emphasis on tributary production would have resulted in the reorganization of local communities, as existing economic and social relations were transformed by increasing state control. In order to test these ideas, the international research team will initiate data collection in the Atacama region, including (1) detailed mapping of the study sites and associated fields and canals, with systematic observations of surface artifacts and architecture to detect changes in water management, field systems, and site organization through time, (2) geological survey to assess the geomorphic and hydrological contexts of the canal systems, (3) collection of samples from the canals and fields to test dating techniques, and (4) collection of archaeobotanical samples at both sites to assess the preservation of crops and associated wild plants and to begin their identification. Participating researchers will bring complementary skills and training to this international and interdisciplinary effort. The collaborators from Chile and Spain, funded by other sources, will direct the site mapping and study of surface remains. U.S. scientists will direct the geological reconnaissance and the collection of samples for dating and botanical analysis. Students from the U.S. and Chile will participate and work together in all stages of the research.This project will investigate how economic decisions made at distant centers of power affect the landscapes and lives of local farmers, particularly where water is a scarce resource. Archaeology provides a long-term, historical perspective on the relationship between water, land, politics, and society. The research will also contribute to Inca archaeology and to comparative studies of ancient empires. The award will catalyze a long-term, international and interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars from Chile, the U.S. and Spain, and their students. At the University of New Mexico, a Hispanic-Serving Institution with a large enrollment of Hispanic and Native Americans, students will receive training and mentoring opportunities through the project, and will work closely with their international peers. Research results will be shared with local descendant communities and will be broadly disseminated to the general public and to professional audiences in both English and Spanish.