Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Settlement And Demographic Responses To Environmental Change

在Arthur Joyce博士的指导下，Jessica Hedgepeth Balkin女士将对前西班牙时代的生态变化、定居模式和人口统计学之间的关系进行论文研究。在中美洲，考古学家主要认为，在前西班牙城市时期（公元前400年-公元1521年），人口通常集中在高度可耕地上，如洪泛平原。在这些情况下，农业盈余可以以玉米为基础生产，因为玉米被认为是最可靠的主要资源。巴尔金的研究利用考古数据，探讨了景观变化如何导致这种模式的分化。在墨西哥瓦哈卡（Oaxaca）海岸，城市时期初期河口的开发可能使大型定居点能够依赖农业和水生资源。本研究还探讨了人口和住区对环境变化的反应存在滞后时间的概念。社会科学家越来越认识到，现代和过去的人类种群对生态变化的反应方式不同。重新安置的选择是复杂的，并受到各种社会文化因素的影响，例如城市基础设施的劳动力投资。因此，这项研究与现代人口动态直接相关。由于其对人类社会发展的长期视角，考古学在为当前有关人口应对重大生态事件的潜力的政策提供信息方面具有独特的地位。如果采取可持续的土地利用做法，社会就有很大的能力在具有挑战性的环境或气候中蓬勃发展。Balkin将对重大环境变化后资源可用性和定居的潜在变化进行调查。她将领导一个由地质学家和考古学家组成的跨学科团队，其中包括一名土壤科学家和来自墨西哥和美国的考古学学生。学生将接受考古方法方面的培训，为他们提供专业发展的机会。研究将集中在瓦哈卡太平洋沿岸的Río Verde河谷下游，这是一个生态多样性相当大的亚热带地区。包括河漫滩和河口在内的耕地和野生资源丰富的地区，是该地区最早开始发展大规模农业和城市化的地区。巴尔金将讨论与这些环境和文化变化相关的三个研究目标。首先，该项目将调查佛得岛下游洪泛区在生态变化导致其扩张（约公元前400年）后，其农业肥力是否明显高于其他环境区：是否为定居模式的变化创造了生态激励？方法包括土壤肥力和地理空间（GIS）分析。利用考古调查，其他目标将集中在应对环境变化的聚落格局变化。第二个目标是确定种群是否遵循“安全”的道路，只关注于农业目的的泛滥平原，或者是否有一些种群在河口附近定居，以开采重要的蛋白质来源鱼类和贝类。第三个目标是评估人类对当地环境变化的反应速度：在生态变化之后，是否出现了人口运动的滞后时间，就像历史上其他地方和现代所观察到的那样？

Under the direction of Dr. Arthur Joyce, Ms. Jessica Hedgepeth Balkin will conduct dissertation research investigating the relationship between ecological change, settlement patterns, and demography in prehispanic times. In Mesoamerica, archaeologists have predominantly argued that populations during the prehispanic urban period (400 BCE-CE 1521) were most often concentrated on highly arable lands such as floodplains. Agricultural surpluses in these settings could be produced based on corn, regarded as the most dependable staple resource. Using archaeological data, Balkin's study explores how landscape change may have led to a divergence from this pattern. On the coast of Oaxaca, Mexico, the development of estuaries at the beginning of the urban period may have allowed large settlements to rely on both agricultural and aquatic resources. This study also investigates the notion that there are lag times in demographic and settlement responses to environmental change. Social scientists are increasingly recognizing that both modern and past human populations react to ecological shifts in different ways. The choice to re-settle is complex, and affected by a variety of sociocultural factors, such as labor investments in urban infrastructure. This study is therefore directly relevant to modern population dynamics. Due to its long-term perspective on the development of human societies, archaeology is in a unique position to inform current policy on the potential of populations to cope with major ecological events. Societies have a significant capacity to thrive in challenging environments or climates if they engage in sustainable land use practices.Balkin will conduct an investigation of potential shifts in resource availability and settlement after significant environmental changes. She will lead an interdisciplinary team of geologists and archaeologists, including a soil scientist and archaeology students from both Mexico and the United States. Students will be trained in archaeological methods, giving them an opportunity for professional development. The research will focus on the lower Río Verde Valley on the Pacific coast of Oaxaca, a subtropical region with considerable ecological diversity. Zones rich in arable lands and wild resources, including the floodplain and estuaries, took their current shape as large-scale agriculture and urbanism first began to develop in the region. Balkin will address three research objectives related to these environmental and cultural changes. First, the project will investigate whether the agricultural fertility of the lower Verde floodplain was significantly higher than other environmental zones after ecological changes resulted in its expansion (c.a. 400 BCE): was an ecological incentive created for changes in settlement patterns? Methods include soil fertility and geospatial (GIS) analyses. Using archaeological survey, other objectives will focus on settlement pattern shifts in response to the environmental changes. The second objective is to determine whether populations followed the "safe" path by focusing only on the floodplain for agricultural purposes, or if some groups settled near estuaries to exploit fish and shellfish, important sources of protein. The third objective is to evaluate the rate of human response to local environmental shifts: did a lag time in demographic movement occur after the ecological changes, as observed elsewhere in history and modern times?