Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award: Social Process And The Built Urban Environment

这个博士论文研究项目将在一个精确的时间框架内研究表征城市主义的社会机制，以提高对过去和现在城市动态的理解。虽然早期城市的形式属性已经被很好地理解，但城市空间如何改变社会身份这个复杂而引人注目的问题仍然没有答案。鉴于城市在全世界当代社会中的重要性日益增加- -预计到2050年世界人口的一半以上将居住在城市地区- -了解城市与其居民之间相互构成的关系日益重要。此外，可靠的时间框架对于连接古代和现代城市生活的社会机制类似物的发展至关重要。考古学在提高对这些问题的理解方面处于一个独特的位置，因为它的时间顺序焦点可以揭示变化的时间和速度，而它的人类学视角则强调了身份与建筑环境之间跨多个尺度的递归关系。在此背景下，该项目将建立Seyitömer Höyük的绝对年表，该年表位于公元前第三个千年的最后几个世纪，位于鲜为人知的内陆安纳托利亚西部地区。此外，它还将展示这个早期城市聚落的建筑遗迹如何表达在复杂社会中管理文化空间互动的根深蒂固的配置原则。进一步强调这项研究的重要性的是Seyitömer Höyük即将遭受的破坏：它位于1200万吨煤炭储量的顶部，当煤炭公司推进他们开采这种宝贵资源的计划时，它将在2016年被完全摧毁。该研究项目假设：(1)早期青铜时代III时期（Seyitömer Höyük）跨越250年（B阶段从公元前2250-2150年持续，A阶段从公元前2150-2000年持续），(2)建筑在不同程度上被精英用作权力和权威的工具，而非精英则使用建筑建立边界，使他们能够抵抗精英的影响并保持一定程度的自治。第一个假设是用贝叶斯统计分析对32个放射性碳年代进行评估，这些年代包括建筑、占用和破坏事件，这将提供对局部建筑活动范围的洞察，并允许跨区域比较。第二种假设是用建筑和社会组织的综合方法来评估的，该方法结合了空间句法分析、非语言交流方法和城市空间安排指数，以揭示建筑环境如何通过影响运动、互动和行为模式来构建人际关系。这项研究将从一个受威胁的考古遗址中获得有关早期青铜时代III时期的年代学和建筑的新数据。此外，作为博士论文研究进步奖，该项目将为有前途的博士生建立独立的研究生涯提供支持。

This doctoral dissertation research project will examine the social mechanisms that characterize urbanism within a precise chronological framework, in order to improve understanding of urban dynamics in the past and present. While the formal properties of early cities are well understood, the complex and compelling question of how urban spaces transform social identities remains unanswered. Given the growing importance of cities in contemporary societies worldwide - over half of the world's population is projected to live in urban areas by 2050 - understanding the mutually constituting relationship between cities and their inhabitants is increasingly critical. Furthermore, reliable chronological frameworks are essential for the development of social mechanism analogs that connect ancient and modern city life. Archaeology is in a unique position to improve understanding of these issues because its chronological focus can reveal the timing and tempo of change, while its anthropological perspective highlights the recursive relationship between identity and the built environment across multiple scales. Within this context, this project will establish the absolute chronology of Seyitömer Höyük, which lies within the poorly understood inland western Anatolia region, during the final centuries of the third millennium BCE. In addition, it will demonstrate how architectural remains from this early urban settlement express deeply rooted configurational principles that govern culture-space interactions in complex societies. Further underlining the importance of this research is Seyitömer Höyük's imminent destruction: it is located on top of a 12 million ton coal reserve and will be completely destroyed in 2016 when the coal company moves forward with their plans to extract this valuable resource.This research project hypothesizes that (1) the Early Bronze Age III period at Seyitömer Höyük spanned 250 years (Phase B lasted from 2250-2150 BCE and Phase A lasted from 2150-2000 BCE), and (2) architecture was used to varying degrees as an instrument of power and authority by elites, while non-elites used architecture to establish boundaries that allowed them to resist elite influence and maintain a degree of autonomy. The first hypothesis is evaluated with a Bayesian statistical analysis of 32 radiocarbon dates that bracket construction, occupation, and destruction events, which will provide insight into horizons of localized building activity and allow for cross-regional comparisons. The second hypothesis is evaluated with an integrated approach to architecture and social organization, which combines space syntax analysis, a nonverbal communication approach, and an urban spatial arrangement index, in order to reveal how the built environment is essential in structuring interpersonal relations by affecting patterns of movement, interaction, and behavior. This study will generate new data about the chronology and architecture of the Early Bronze Age III period from a threatened archaeological site. In addition, as a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this project will provide support to enable a promising doctoral student to establish an independent research career.