Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Economy and Statecraft in the Save Hills of West Africa

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，安德鲁·格斯特勒将研究前殖民时期的政治集中化对现在的巴林共和国Savè山区当地经济的影响。至少从公元第一个千年晚期开始，西非社会就密集地参与了长途交换贸易网络。这些网络将该区域与非洲其他地区和其他地区联系起来。在过去的半个世纪里，考古研究记录了非洲精英如何积极操纵这些网络来支持强大国家的建立。这项研究使人们对贸易、中央集权和政治经济学之间的交集有了深刻的理解。相对而言，人们很少关注中央集权国家的地方经济，即农业、手工业生产和劳动组织等经济实践，而这些经济实践构成了经济生活的基础，并保证了长距离交换的参与。对于不从事远距离交换的经济活动和政治组织，我们所知道的就更少了。这些研究问题涉及广泛的人类学兴趣领域，如社会政治不平等的深刻历史和古代国家的起源。它们还提供了对当今世界许多地区政治实体如何运作的见解。在卡拉·西诺波里博士的监督下，格斯特勒先生将对bsamin Savè山区的考古遗址进行深入调查和试验挖掘。本研究以Shabe王国的传统首都Idadu（今Savè）附近的遗址为目标，调查当地经济实践如何影响和被国家形成过程所影响。该王国可能形成于第二个千年早期，与其他约鲁巴国家同时代。与其他国家不同，没有明确的证据表明沙贝王国直接参与了跨撒哈拉或跨大西洋的贸易网络。Shabe精英集中权力和建立国家的能力，不能很好地用依赖于对远距离交换控制的模型来解释。除了通过Gurstelle先生的论文和其他学术出版物传播这项研究的结果外，还将与Savè山区的现代社区组织定期会议，以提高对当地考古记录丰富性的认识，并鼓励保护考古遗址。这项研究的结果也将用于培训地区导游认识和保护考古遗址，并将考古纳入他们的文化和生态旅游。由于该地区没有考古遗址的系统记录，而且考古景观受到日益增加的农业利用的巨大压力，因此加强考古管理工作尤为重要。该研究结果将被纳入将在Savè和密歇根州东南部向公众展示的地方历史博物馆展览中。

With National Science Foundation support, Andrew Gurstelle will examine the effects of pre-colonial political centralization on local economies in the Savè hills area of the modern day Republic of Bénin. Since at least the late first millennium AD, West African societies have intensively participated in long-distance exchange trade networks. These networks linked the region with the rest of Africa and beyond. Over the past half century, archaeological research has documented how African elites actively manipulated these networks to support the creation of powerful states. This research has led to a deep understanding of the intersection between trade, centralization and political economy. Comparatively little attention has been given to the local economies of centralized states - economic practices such as agriculture, craft production, and labor organization - which formed the basis of economic life and underwrote participation in long-distance exchange. Even less is known about the economic activities and organization of polities not engaged in long-distance exchange. These research questions touch on areas of broad anthropological interest, such as the deep history of sociopolitical inequalities and the origins of ancient states. They also provide insight into how political entities function in many parts of the world today.Under the supervision of Dr. Carla Sinopoli, Mr. Gurstelle will conduct intensive survey and test excavations of archaeological sites in the Savè hills area of Bénin. This research targets sites around Idadu (modern day Savè), the traditional capital of the Shabe kingdom, to investigate how local economic practices affected and were affected by processes of state formation. The kingdom likely formed during the early second millennium, contemporary with other Yoruba states. Unlike other states, there is no clear evidence that the Shabe kingdom directly participated in either the trans-Saharan or trans-Atlantic trade networks. The ability of Shabe elite to centralize their authority and establish a state is not well explained by models that rely on control over long-distance exchange.In addition to disseminating the results of this research through Mr. Gurstelle's dissertation and other scholarly publications, regular sessions will be organized with the modern communities in the Savè hills area to foster awareness of the richness of the local archaeological record and encourage the preservation of archaeological sites. The results of this research will also be used to train area tour guides to recognize and protect archaeological sites and incorporate archaeology into their cultural and ecological tours. Fostering archaeological stewardship is particularly important as no systematic recording of archaeological sites exists for the area, and the archaeological landscape is under intense pressure from increasing agricultural usage. The results of this research will be incorporated into a museum exhibit on local history that will be exhibited in Savè as well as in southeastern Michigan for general public audiences.