Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Keeping It Together?: State Centralization and Everyday Life in a Peripheral Neighborhood of Copan, Honduras

在Cynthia Robin博士的指导下，Kristin Landau将在位于洪都拉斯西部玛雅地区的古城Copán进行考古测绘和挖掘项目。Copán是古典时期（公元400-900年）最重要的政治之一，今天被联合国教科文组织列为世界遗产。该遗址的独特之处在于其两代人的深入研究和城市中心的象形文字破译，揭示了与政治事件有关的丰富信息。然而，考古学家对大多数人的日常生活以及他们与中央政府的关系知之甚少。兰道的研究调查了Copán“圣卢卡斯”社区的全部历史，以确定当地居民是否以及如何受到市中心象形文字中讨论的政治事件的影响。这一目标将通过从局部而非全市的角度重新绘制社区地图，有针对性地挖掘选定的建筑，以及新的令人兴奋的实验室方法来实现。探索城市中央行政机构与其组成社区之间的动态关系可以提高对城市如何运作的认识。与之前的研究截然不同，该项目认为集中化会随着时间的推移而波动；确定集中化何时、如何以及为何波动，将有助于更好地理解城市和州的过去和现在。此外，社区考古学是一个新兴的研究重点，它既强调特定的地理区域，也强调当地层面的日常社会互动。尽管以前发现了Copán定居点的不同部分，但从未对整个社区进行过考古发掘。详细地重新绘制圣卢卡斯的地图，有针对性地挖掘挖掘坑以揭示古代家庭，并确定建筑阶段和特征的年代，这将使调查人员能够深入了解一个社区的历史，并将其与城市中心的重大政治事件联系起来。贝叶斯统计分析将提高传统放射性碳定年的准确性；微制品分析将指向可能的制作活动；便携式x射线荧光将表明工艺材料的地质来源。此外，该项目旨在通过与洪都拉斯学生的密切参与，改善现代社区与考古研究之间的关系。项目成员们已经开始在发掘现场附近的一所高中教授人类学理论和方法的正式课程。一旦考古项目开始，学生将参与挖掘和实验室分析，以补充目前的课堂课程。学生们将得到洪都拉斯政府的官方认可和支持，激励他们完成学业，并可能参加国立大学有史以来第一个人类学课程。学术研究和社区行动的结果将通过公开演讲、正式会议和同行评审的出版物在美国和洪都拉斯以英语和西班牙语传播。

Under the guidance of Dr. Cynthia Robin, Kristin Landau will carry out an archaeological mapping and excavation project at the ancient city of Copán, located in the Maya area of western Honduras. Copán was one of the most important polities during the Classic period (AD 400-900), and today is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site is unique for its two generations of intensive research and hieroglyphic decipherment within the city center, which has revealed a wealth of information relating to political events. However, archaeologists understand much less about everyday life for the majority of people and how they related to central administration. Landau's research investigates the full history of the "San Lucas" neighborhood of Copán to determine if and how local residents were affected by the political events discussed in the hieroglyphs at the city center. This goal will be achieved by re-mapping the neighborhood from a local -not city-wide - perspective, targeted excavations of select buildings, and new and exciting lab methods.Exploring the dynamic relationship between a city's central administration and its component neighborhoods improves knowledge of how cities work. Instead of following previous research that draws stark distinction between states that are either centralized or decentralized, this project argues that centralization fluctuates over time; determining when, how, and why centralization fluctuates will lead to better understandings of cities' and states' past and present. Additionally, the archaeology of neighborhoods is a newly emerging research focus that emphasizes both a specific geographic area, and daily social interaction on a local level. Despite the previous identification of distinct subsections of Copán settlement, no archaeological excavation of a full neighborhood has ever been conducted. Detailed re-mapping of San Lucas, targeted digging of excavation pits to reveal ancient households, and dating of building phases and special features will allow the investigators to understand in depth the history of one neighborhood, and relate it to major political events at the city center. Bayesian statistical analysis will increase the accuracy of traditional radiocarbon dating; microartifact analysis will point to possible crafting activities; a portable x-ray florescence will indicate the geological origin of craft materials.In addition, this project seeks to improve the relationship between modern communities and archaeological research through close involvement with Honduran students. Project members have already begun to teach a formal course on anthropological theory and method at the high school located near the excavation site. These current classroom sessions will be complemented by the students' participation in excavation and lab analysis once the archaeological project commences. Students will receive official recognition and support from the Honduran government, motivating them to complete school, and possibly attend the first-ever anthropology program at the national university. The results of the academic research and community activism will be disseminated through public talks, formal conferences, and peer-reviewed publications, in English and Spanish in the US and Honduras.