Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award: Long Term Interactions Between Social Organization And Land Use Practices

博士论文改进奖：社会组织与土地利用实践之间的长期互动

• 批准号: 1613182
• 负责人: Timothy Chevral
• 金额: $ 2.73万
• 依托单位: SUNY at Buffalo
• 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: 2016-04-01 至 2017-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1613182&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Award; Long

Doctoral dissertation student Erin McDonald, under the supervision of co-PI Dr. Timothy Chevral, will identify shifts in subsistence practices and examine the relationship between subsistence and socio-political organization from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Medieval Period in Ireland. In recent years, archaeologists world-wide have re-opened the debate on how past societies were organized, questioning the validity of assuming that all prehistoric rulers had robust top-down powers within highly hierarchic societies. McDonald, using prehistoric and early historic Ireland as a case study, will assess these relationships through analysis of pollen from bogs near archaeological sites from relevant periods: the Late Bronze Age (11th to 9th centuries BCE), Iron Age (9th cent. BCE to 5th cent. CE), and Early Medieval Period (post 5th cent. CE). In many regions of the developing world today centralized political power is limited and social order is maintained through negotiation across a hierarchical power structure. This research has the potential to provide insight into how such a process functioned across time.In comparison with earlier and later periods, the Iron Age saw unusual peaks in ritual activity at elite civic-ceremonial sites, and increased evidence for metal production, acquisition and trade, all suggesting major socio-political reorganization. The complex politics of the Iron Age are the focus of many Early Medieval Irish sagas, yet the reality of the Iron Age is poorly understood due to a lack of archaeological sites other than political and ceremonial hubs. The number of known Iron Age settlements expanded during the late 20th century Irish economic boom, yet little is understood about how the society worked. Were peaks and lulls in activity at political centers paralleled by increases in workload and effort in farming and herding communities? If so, farmers might have been called to produce more for tribute or taxes to support an elite. If not, the reach of government was less than is often assumed. If there are parallels, the directionality and timing of change is important. It is commonly assumed that rulers command increased production, but it can also be the case that pre-existing productivity among farmers enables the rise of elites.To compensate for gaps in archaeological knowledge, these research questions are approached through analysis of ancient pollen, drawn from stratified, datable cores close to archaeological sites. Pollen grains, resistant to decay, continuously accumulate in the Irish Midlands peat bogs, preserving long chronological sequences. McDonald, a trained palynologist, will identify pollen types and frequency through high-powered microscopy, and samples will be dated through tephrochronology and AMS 14C dating of plant macrofossils. Resulting data enables reconstruction of climate, environmental conditions, and increases and decreases in plants associated with crop cultivation and pasturage at each settlement locale. In addition to information on the relationship between governments and taxpayers, the project will create a series of classroom lesson plans and YouTube videos aimed at elementary and middle school children, introducing archaeological methods and past cultures, enhancing competencies in science, social studies, math, and language arts.

博士论文学生Erin McDonald将在共同PI Timothy Chevral博士的指导下，确定生存实践的变化，并研究从青铜时代晚期到中世纪早期爱尔兰生存与社会政治组织之间的关系。近年来，世界各地的考古学家重新开始了关于过去社会如何组织的辩论，质疑假设所有史前尺子在高度等级制度的社会中都具有强大的自上而下的力量的有效性。麦克唐纳以史前和历史早期爱尔兰为例，将通过分析考古遗址附近沼泽中的花粉来评估这些关系，这些时期来自相关时期：青铜时代晚期(公元前11至9世纪)、铁器时代(9美分)。BCE降到5美分。Ce)和中世纪早期(后5美分。行政长官)。今天，在发展中世界的许多区域，中央集权的政治权力是有限的，社会秩序是通过等级权力结构的谈判来维持的。这项研究有可能为这种过程如何在不同时期发挥作用提供洞察。与早期和后期相比，铁器时代精英公民仪式场所的仪式活动出现了不寻常的高峰，金属生产、收购和贸易的证据越来越多，所有这些都表明了重大的社会政治重组。铁器时代的复杂政治是许多中世纪早期爱尔兰传奇的焦点，然而，由于缺乏政治和仪式中心以外的考古遗址，人们对铁器时代的现实知之甚少。已知的铁器时代定居点的数量在20世纪末爱尔兰经济繁荣期间扩大了，但人们对这个社会是如何运作的知之甚少。政治中心活动的高峰期和间歇期是否与农业和牧民社区工作量和努力的增加相平行？如果是这样的话，农民可能会被要求生产更多的贡品或税收来支持精英阶层。如果不是，政府的影响范围就比人们通常认为的要小。如果有相似之处，那么变化的方向性和时机是重要的。人们通常认为尺子意味着增产，但也可能是农民原有的生产力促进了精英的崛起。为了弥补考古知识的空白，我们通过分析古代花粉来解决这些研究问题，这些花粉来自考古遗址附近的分层可测年岩心。抗腐烂的花粉颗粒在爱尔兰中部的泥炭沼泽中不断积累，保存了较长的时间序列。麦克唐纳是一名训练有素的孢粉学家，他将通过高倍显微镜识别花粉类型和频率，并通过植物大型化石的花序年代学和AMS 14C测年来确定样品的年代。由此产生的数据可以重建气候、环境条件，以及与每个定居地点的作物种植和牧场相关的植物的增加和减少。除了有关政府和纳税人之间关系的信息外，该项目还将创建一系列针对中小学生的课堂教学计划和YouTube视频，介绍考古方法和过去的文化，提高科学、社会研究、数学和语言艺术的能力。