Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award: Spatial Organization Within A Traditional Political System

博士论文改进奖：传统政治体系中的空间组织

• 批准号: 1623787
• 负责人: Marcello Canuto
• 金额: $ 2.32万
• 依托单位: Tulane University
• 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 2016-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1623787&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Award; Spatial

Dr. Marcello Canuto and Maxime Lamoureux-St-Hilaire of Tulane University, along with colleagues from the United States and Guatemala, will undertake research to study Classic Maya royal courts (AD 250-830). This research will focus on the Classic Maya polity of La Corona, located in northern Guatemala. This archaeological project will study the elusive topic of the administrative and economic behaviors which supported the political activities of a royal court for centuries. This project departs from others which have emphasized priestly kings and divine kingship as the focus of Classic Maya political activities because it focusses on the practical dimensions of power. The study of the everyday practicalities of ruling in Classic Maya society will help develop a more pragmatic model for the roles of both the elite and non-elite in the operation of an ancient political institution. While the Classic Maya were unique in many ways, their political institutions were functionally similar to that of other ancient complex societies. Thus, this project's approach is replicable and therefore should positively impact the broader field of anthropological archaeology. Moreover, by broadening our analytical scope, the study of ancient non-western political systems should shed light on studies of modern-day political and economic systems many of which derive from and incorporate such traditional elements.Dr. Marcello Canuto, Maxime Lamoureux-St-Hilaire, and their research team will study key administrative buildings as well as the floors and refuse-disposal areas associated with the support-oriented section of the La Corona regal palace. Beyond traditional archaeological methods, this research project will employ proven interdisciplinary methods in order to reconstruct the economic behaviors of this ancient institution. Geochemical analyses will study trace-elements absorbed in the plastered floors of the palace, while soil flotation will be used to recover micro-artifacts embedded in those same floors, along with botanical remains recovered from refuse-disposal areas produced by this ancient royal court. These different techniques have only been recently applied jointly to study ancient architecture. The data produced by these interdisciplinary techniques are unique in that they will document several subtle markers of ancient behaviors which would not normally be recoverable by traditional archaeological techniques. The development of this innovative methodology to study the practical aspects of ancient political institutions may positively impact the broader field of anthropological archaeology. This project is part of the larger La Corona Regional Archaeological Project (PRALC), which operates in the northwest Petén Region of Guatemala; one of the most under-studied regions of the Maya world. Moreover, the enduring presence of PRALC helps protect the natural and cultural patrimony of this remote region of Guatemala from human depredation such as poaching, looting, and illegal settlement.

杜兰大学的Marcello Canuto博士和Maxime Lamoureux-St-Hilaire，沿着来自美国和危地马拉的同事，将进行研究古典玛雅皇家法庭（公元250-830年）。这项研究将集中在位于危地马拉北方的La Corona的经典玛雅政体。这个考古项目将研究几个世纪以来支持皇家政治活动的行政和经济行为这一难以捉摸的话题。这个项目不同于其他强调祭司国王和神圣王权作为经典玛雅政治活动焦点的项目，因为它关注权力的实际层面。对古典玛雅社会日常统治实践的研究，将有助于为古代政治制度的运作中精英和非精英的角色发展一个更实用的模型。虽然古典玛雅人在许多方面都是独一无二的，但他们的政治制度在功能上与其他古代复杂社会相似。因此，该项目的方法是可复制的，因此应该对更广泛的人类学考古学领域产生积极影响。此外，通过扩大我们的分析范围，对古代非西方政治制度的研究应该为现代政治和经济制度的研究提供启发，其中许多制度源于并融入了这些传统元素。他们的研究小组将研究关键的行政大楼以及与支持有关的楼层和垃圾处理区-La Corona皇家宫殿的一部分。除了传统的考古学方法，该研究项目将采用经过验证的跨学科方法，以重建这个古老机构的经济行为。地球化学分析将研究宫殿石膏地板中吸收的微量元素，而土壤浮选将用于恢复嵌入这些地板中的微型文物，沿着从这个古老的皇家法院产生的垃圾处理区恢复的植物遗骸。这些不同的技术直到最近才被联合应用于研究古代建筑。这些跨学科技术产生的数据是独一无二的，因为它们将记录古代行为的几个微妙标记，这些标记通常无法通过传统的考古技术恢复。这种研究古代政治制度实践方面的创新方法的发展可能会对人类学考古学的更广泛领域产生积极影响。该项目是更大的La Corona区域考古项目（PRALC）的一部分，该项目在危地马拉西北部的Petén地区开展，该地区是玛雅世界研究最少的地区之一。此外，PRALC的长期存在有助于保护危地马拉这一偏远地区的自然和文化遗产免受偷猎、抢劫和非法定居等人类掠夺。