Collaborative Research: The Role Of Ritual And Hierarchical Social Structure In Mediating Culture Change

协作研究：仪式和等级社会结构在调节文化变革中的作用

• 批准号: 1550446
• 负责人: Enrique Rodriguez-Alegria
• 金额: $ 7.75万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-05-01 至 2020-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1550446&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Role; Ritual; Hierarchical

Dr. Kristin De Lucia of Weber State University and Dr. Enrique Rodríguez-Alegría of the University of Texas at Austin will undertake research to investigate the roles of religion and ritual in the construction of power during the growth of empires and in situations of conquest. Anthropologists have long studied to the study of the role of religion in political life and have noted how leaders frequently appropriate rituals and symbolism to create a sense of legitimacy, political solidarity, and to constitute power. The Aztecs, for example employed ritual sacrifice as a means of supporting conquest and legitimizing their own rule. After the Spanish conquest of Mexico, religion continued to be one of the varied strategies of domination used by colonizers, along with violence, coercion, and negotiation. Such processes are not unique to the past but may also be found in the modern world, particularly in situations of religious fundamentalism. How do leaders use religion to recruit new followers? What strategies work and which ones do not? If one can better understand these tactics, it will be possible to shed light on how these processes both shaped the past and play out today. Archaeology is uniquely suited to study the long-term influences of religion on political life as it is the only discipline that allows us to look at change over long periods of time. This research is also important because it will provide undergraduate and graduate students with opportunities to gain training and experience in both archaeological excavation and laboratory analysis. The researchers will likewise work closely with community members to enhance knowledge of local history and archaeology and to promote science and learning among adults and youth.Although it is known that religion played an important role in both Aztec and later Spanish domination, there is still little understanding of how and when elites appropriated and manipulated popular cosmologies, how provincial elites related to the religion of the capital, and how ordinary people responded to religious change. In order to better understand these processes, the investigators will conduct archaeological research at the pre-Hispanic regional center of Xaltocan, in the Basin of Mexico. The case-study of Xaltocan is particularly important since researchers are able to examine change spanning its 1,100-year history from the site?s initial founding as a small community, its growth into an important political center, and its eventual conquest by the Aztec Empire, and finally, the Spanish Empire. The research team will excavate ritual sites dating to the pre-Hispanic through colonial periods, including a possible pre-Hispanic temple, using rigorous scientific methodologies including ground penetrating radar (GPR), large-scale horizontal excavation, chemical analysis of living surfaces, and the analysis of micro-remains. These interdisciplinary datasets will permit examining long-term change in ritual practice and they will provide a better understanding of the strategies of intermediate elites, such as those of conquered towns like Xaltocan. This project will contribute to the literature on intermediate elites in ways that should be of interest to scholars in Aztec studies, anthropology, and religious studies.

韦伯州立大学的Kristin De Lucia博士和得克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校的Enrique Rodríguez-Alegría博士将进行研究，调查宗教和仪式在帝国发展和征服情况下的权力建设中的作用。人类学家长期以来一直在研究宗教在政治生活中的作用，并注意到领导人如何经常利用仪式和象征来创造合法性，政治团结和构成权力。例如，阿兹特克人将祭祀仪式作为支持征服和使自己的统治合法化的手段。在西班牙征服墨西哥之后，宗教仍然是殖民者使用的各种统治策略之一，沿着暴力、胁迫和谈判。这类进程并非过去所独有，在现代世界，特别是在宗教原教旨主义的情况下，也可能出现。领导人如何利用宗教来招募新的追随者？哪些策略有效，哪些无效？如果人们能够更好地理解这些策略，就有可能阐明这些过程是如何塑造过去和今天的。考古学是唯一适合研究宗教对政治生活的长期影响，因为它是唯一的学科，使我们能够看到在很长一段时间内的变化。这项研究也很重要，因为它将为本科生和研究生提供在考古发掘和实验室分析方面获得培训和经验的机会。研究人员还将与社区成员密切合作，以提高当地历史和考古学的知识，并促进成年人和青年的科学和学习。虽然众所周知，宗教在阿兹特克和后来的西班牙统治中发挥了重要作用，但仍然很少了解精英如何以及何时挪用和操纵流行的宇宙观，省级精英如何与首都的宗教，以及普通人对宗教变革的反应为了更好地了解这些过程，研究人员将在墨西哥盆地的前西班牙地区中心Xaltocan进行考古研究。 Xaltocan的案例研究特别重要，因为研究人员能够检查从该网站跨越1,100年历史的变化？它最初是作为一个小社区建立的，后来发展成为一个重要的政治中心，最后被阿兹特克帝国征服，最后被西班牙帝国征服。该研究小组将通过殖民时期挖掘可追溯到前西班牙裔的仪式遗址，包括可能的前西班牙裔寺庙，使用严格的科学方法，包括探地雷达（GPR），大规模水平挖掘，生活表面的化学分析和微遗骸分析。这些跨学科的数据集将允许检查仪式实践的长期变化，它们将提供对中间精英的策略的更好理解，例如像Xaltocan这样被征服的城镇。这个项目将有助于文献的中间精英的方式，应该感兴趣的学者在阿兹特克研究，人类学和宗教研究。