Agriculture and Empire in the High-Altitude Atacama Desert

该奖项将支持来自智利(智利大学的Diego Salazar和Andres TronCoso)和西班牙(西班牙圣地亚哥大学的Cesar Parcero-Oubina)的首席研究员和研究人员之间的新合作，以研究殖民前智利的灌溉农业。阿塔卡马沙漠的高地在15世纪被印加人征服，以控制该地区的矿产财富。据推测，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。另据指出，由于现有的经济和社会关系因国家控制的增加而发生了变化，因此，对水的占用和对朝贡生产的新重视将导致地方社区的重组。为了验证这些想法，国际研究小组将开始在阿塔卡马地区收集数据，包括：(1)对研究地点及相关田野和运河进行详细测绘，对地表人工制品和建筑进行系统观测，以发现水管理、田野系统和遗址组织随时间的变化，(2)进行地质调查，以评估运河系统的地貌和水文环境，(3)收集运河和田野的样本，以测试测年技术，以及(4)收集两个地点的考古植物学样本，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，将指导遗址测绘和地表遗骸研究。美国科学家将指导地质勘察和样品采集，以便进行年代测定和植物学分析。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。这个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，特别是在水资源稀缺的地方。考古学对水、土地、政治和社会之间的关系提供了一个长期的、历史的视角。这项研究还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与他们的学生之间的长期、国际和跨学科合作。新墨西哥大学是一所为西语裔服务的机构，有大量西语裔和美洲原住民入学，学生将通过该项目获得培训和指导机会，并将与国际同行密切合作。研究成果将与当地后代社区分享，并将以英语和西班牙语广泛传播给普通公众和专业观众。

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.