Investigating The Relationship Between Climate Change And Social Organization In A Small Scale Society

现代最紧迫的问题之一是气候变化将对人口产生的影响。考古学研究对于理解这些问题至关重要，因为它们为理解社会如何应对和适应环境压力提供了重要的时间深度。这项研究考察了“崩溃”，包括政治体系的崩溃和城市中心的废弃，与玛雅低地气候变化之间的关系。以前的研究已经记录了公元660-1100年的气候干旱，在9世纪到11世纪之间发现了严重的几十年干旱的间隔。这一时间范围通常与公元750-1000年间的“经典玛雅崩溃”相关。据认为，长期低降雨量导致作物歉收，破坏了整个区域的经济和政治制度。然而，目前的考古研究是基于陶瓷年代学的，这些年代学往往跨越数百年，阻碍了对时间关系的清晰识别。研究人员将开发一种高分辨率的放射性碳年代学，以确定崩塌和干旱或缺水时期之间的时间相关性。在更广泛的背景下，这个项目将有助于理解人口统计、玛雅低地政治制度解体和气候变化之间的相互作用。这项研究将有助于培训本科生、研究生和博士后研究人员，此外还将为伯利兹当地的玛雅社区提供教育机会。这个项目将有助于回答几个重要的问题。古典时期末期的政治崩溃和遗弃是否与延长的干旱时期相关？一些中心在干旱期间比其他中心持续的时间更长吗？哪些环境或文化适应可能帮助人们适应日益严重的干旱？在中部玛雅低地的两个考古遗址的挖掘工作将集中在扩大现有的用于测年的埋葬和动物骨骼样本。放射性碳测年的结果将与伯利兹南部的准确年代洞穴记录进行比较，以测试干旱和崩塌之间的时间关系。来自埋葬的骨学数据也将与这些模式进行比较，以确定可能是由于农业短缺造成的饥荒造成的营养不足增加。这项跨学科的科学工作将共同研究数十年的干旱是否导致农业失败、政治体系崩溃和经典玛雅城市中心的被遗弃。

One of the most pressing issues in modern times is the effect that climate change will have on populations. Archaeological studies are critical for understanding these issues, as they offer important time depth to understand how societies respond and adapt to environmental stress. This study examines the relationship between "collapse", including the breakdown of political systems and the abandonment of urban centers, with climate change in the Maya Lowlands. Previous research has documented climatic drying from AD 660-1100, with intervals of severe multi-decadal drought identified in the ninth through eleventh centuries. This timeframe generally correlates with the "Classic Maya collapse" between AD 750-1000. It is thought that extended episodes of low precipitation caused crop failures that undermined economic and political systems throughout the region. However, current archaeological studies are based on ceramic chronologies that often span hundreds of years and hinder clear identification of temporal relationships. The researchers will develop a high-resolution radiocarbon chronology to identify chronological correlations between periods of collapse and drought or lack thereof. Within the broader context, this project will help to understand the interactions between demography, the disintegration of political systems in the Maya lowlands, and climate change. The research will contribute to training undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers, in addition to offering educational opportunities for local Maya communities in Belize. This project will help to answer several important questions. Does political collapse and abandonment at the end of the Classic period correlate with extended drought episodes? Did some centers persist longer during droughts than others? What environmental or cultural adaptations may have helped populations to adapt to increasing aridity? Excavations at two archaeological sites in the central Maya Lowlands will focus on expanding the existing sample of burial and animal bone samples for dating. Results from the radiocarbon dates will be compared with a precisely dated speleothem record from southern Belize to test for temporal relationships between drought and collapse. Osteological data from burials will also be compared with these patterns to identify increased nutritional deficiencies that may have been caused by famine from agricultural shortages. Together, this interdisciplinary scientific work will examine whether multi-decadal droughts contributed to agricultural failure, the breakdown of political systems, and the abandonment of Classic Maya urban centers.