The Archaeology of Native American Expansion

美洲原住民扩张的考古学

• 批准号: 1321978
• 负责人: Severin Fowles
• 金额: $ 8.15万
• 依托单位: Barnard College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-09-15 至 2017-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1321978&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Archaeology; Native; American; Expansion

With funding from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Severin Fowles and his students at Barnard College will conduct the first archaeological investigations into the origins of Comanche regional influence during the early eighteenth century. Their research will focus on the Taos district of New Mexico, a strategic Comanche trading center and the first reported location of Comanche raiding in 1706. Recent discoveries of extensive Plains-style rock art and tipi encampments suggest that some of the earliest Comanche raiding base camps were located in the hidden confines of the Rio Grande gorge, a large rift valley just west of Taos. One site in particular - La Vista Verde Site - contains the remains of a large tipi encampment surrounded by hundreds of scratched rock art panels depicting warrior's paraphernalia, horse raids, and battle scenes. These are the first such archaeological remains found in New Mexico, and they require careful documentation to establish the chronology, ethnic identity, and underlying military logics of the sites' locations.National Science Foundation funds will support three years of research designed to accomplish four goals: (1) additional archaeological survey within the Rio Grande gorge to expand the sample of Plains-style rock art and tipi sites, (2) detailed mapping of known tipi encampments, (3) documentation of Plains-style rock art panels, (4) creation of an online rock art database, and (5) consultations with the Comanches and other tribes to assist in the interpretation of the materials. The rise of Comanche regional influence during the eighteenth century was a transformative event in the history of North America. Once in possession of the horse, the Comanches quickly migrated south out of Wyoming, conquered the South Plains, and assumed their position as a fully equestrian society with an unparalleled military that they used to dominate the vigorous new markets then emerging at the intersection of Spanish New Mexico, Spanish Texas, French Louisiana, and a variety of other Native American nations. For over a century, the Comanches dominated trade in horses, captives, guns, and bison across a tremendous region from the Great Plains deep into Mexico. Their military interventions were responsible for halting Spain's colonial aspirations in North America, ultimately paving the way for the United States' takeover of New Mexico and Texas. Moreover, the extensive trade in captives, orchestrated by the Comanches, transformed the ethnic configuration of Southwest communities, resulting in a large populace with mixed Spanish and Native American heritage. Historians now write of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Comanche society as an equestrian empire that shaped the American West.The broader impacts of this research are many. First, it will produce the first study of Comanche militarism in New Mexico using archaeological evidence that escapes the biases inherent in written documents, which have served as the evidentiary basis for all prior accounts of this key chapter in American history. Second, it will establish the criteria by which Comanche archaeological sites can be distinguished from those of other Plains tribes. Finally, the fieldwork will be undertaken with undergraduate crews from Barnard College, marrying scientific research with training for the next generation of women in archaeology.

在美国国家科学基金会的资助下，塞弗林·福尔斯博士和他在巴纳德学院的学生们将对18世纪早期科曼奇地区影响的起源进行首次考古调查。他们的研究将集中在新墨西哥州的陶斯地区，这是一个具有战略意义的科曼奇贸易中心，也是1706年首次报道的科曼奇袭击地点。最近发现的大量平原风格的岩石艺术和提皮人的营地表明，一些最早的科曼奇袭击大本营位于里约热内卢格兰德峡谷的隐蔽地带，这是陶斯以西的一个大裂谷。其中一个特别的遗址——La Vista Verde遗址——包含了一个大型蒂皮人营地的遗迹，周围环绕着数百块划痕岩石艺术面板，描绘了战士的随身用品、马匹袭击和战斗场景。这是在新墨西哥州发现的第一批这样的考古遗迹，它们需要仔细的文件来确定这些遗址的年代、民族身份和潜在的军事逻辑。国家科学基金会的资金将支持为期三年的研究，旨在实现四个目标：(1)在里约热内卢格兰德峡谷内进行额外的考古调查，以扩大平原风格的岩石艺术和蒂皮遗址的样本；(2)详细绘制已知的蒂皮营地；(3)平原风格的岩石艺术面板的记录；(4)创建一个在线岩石艺术数据库；(5)与科曼奇和其他部落协商，以协助解释这些材料。在18世纪，科曼奇地区影响力的上升是北美历史上的一个变革性事件。一旦拥有了马，科曼奇人迅速从怀俄明州向南迁移，征服了南平原，并确立了他们作为一个完全马术社会的地位，拥有无与伦比的军事力量，他们曾经统治过西班牙式新墨西哥、西班牙式德克萨斯、法国式路易斯安那和其他各种美洲原住民国家交汇处蓬勃发展的新市场。一个多世纪以来，科曼奇人主导了从大平原深入墨西哥的大片地区的马匹、俘虏、枪支和野牛贸易。他们的军事干预阻止了西班牙在北美的殖民野心，最终为美国接管新墨西哥和德克萨斯州铺平了道路。此外，在科曼奇人的精心策划下，广泛的俘虏贸易改变了西南社区的种族结构，导致大量人口混合了西班牙和美洲原住民的遗产。历史学家现在把18世纪和19世纪的科曼奇社会描述为一个塑造了美国西部的马术帝国。这项研究的广泛影响是多方面的。首先，它将首次利用考古证据对新墨西哥州的科曼奇军国主义进行研究，这些考古证据避免了书面文件固有的偏见，而书面文件一直是美国历史上这一关键篇章的所有先前描述的证据基础。第二，它将建立标准，使科曼奇考古遗址与其他平原部落的考古遗址区别开来。最后，实地工作将由巴纳德学院的本科生团队进行，将科学研究与下一代考古学女性的培训结合起来。