The Role Of Environmental Structures In The Emergence Of Cultural Complexity

William Ringle博士(戴维森学院)、TomáS Gallareta Negrón博士(墨西哥)和George J.Bey博士(米尔萨普斯学院)的研究团队将研究墨西哥尤卡坦普乌克地区古代玛雅居民之间的耕作、地形、聚落和地域性之间的关系。虽然农业通常在古代文明的经济中占主导地位，但生产的组织方式往往不清楚，特别是在农业设施投资似乎很少的情况下。在许多前货币社会，也不清楚农产品是如何转化为“可银行”财富和政治资本的。一个相关的问题是精英在这类活动中扮演的角色。他们主要是朝臣还是武士，依靠统治者的慷慨，他们是居住在城镇的缺席地主，还是更积极地指导农业生产(也许还有其他商品的生产)？在更广泛的层面上，农业制度是否通过景观管理方面的合作促进了社区间形式的社会融合，也许导致了区域身份形式的起源？普伊克地区的有趣之处在于它既有明确的地形，也有独特的玛雅亚文化，以其优雅的建筑风格而闻名。土壤通常是肥沃的，但可耕种的土地受到许多喀斯特丘陵的限制，这些丘陵往往是居民的后盾。几乎没有可用的地表水，只能在蓄水池或蓄水池中收集。大约在公元1000年后几乎被遗弃，在此之前，Puuc一直是热带低地遗址密度最高的地方之一。它也很繁荣，许多人住在面临着精湛石工的砖房里。这样的房子可能是将贡品收入“存入银行”并创造政治资本的一种方式，因此，这项研究将有助于展示几个世纪以来这种景观是如何成功管理的，并为其最终崩溃提供洞察。该项目还将促进该项目在培训墨西哥和美国本科生和研究生方面的悠久历史，其中相当一部分人来自传统上被低估的人群。由于这些问题涉及的距离太大，行人调查无法覆盖，因此这项研究将委托对138平方公里的研究样本进行激光雷达成像。样本将针对Puuc的两个主要地形区，Bolonchen山丘和Yaxhom山谷，以评估地形差异如何影响城市聚落和组织。到目前为止，还没有一个规模较大的Puuc遗址被完全绘制出来；这个样本将提供至少六个完整的覆盖范围，以及几个小中心和连接它们的腹地。激光雷达将帮助识别蓄水特征和砖石结构。它还将通过确定石灰窑的分布来评估建筑业。目视分类之后，将对大约15%的样本进行地面验证，并进行测试挖掘以评估年代学。这些结果将有助于制定合理的计划来管理研究区内的考古遗迹，并将为对普伊克森林保护感兴趣的机构提供有用的数据。

The research team of Dr. William Ringle (Davidson College), Dr. Tomás Gallareta Negrón (INAH/ Mexico), and Dr. George J. Bey (Millsaps College) will examine relationships between cultivation, topography, settlement, and regionalism among the ancient Maya inhabitants of the Puuc region of Yucatan, Mexico. Although agriculture usually dominated the economies of archaic civilizations, the manner in which production was organized is often unclear, especially cases in which investment in agricultural facilities appears minimal. Nor is it clear, in many pre-monetary societies, how agricultural produce was converted into "bankable" wealth and political capital. A related question is the role of elites in such activities. Were they primarily courtiers or warriors, dependent upon the largesse of a ruler, were they absentee landlords resident in towns, or did they more actively direct agricultural production (and perhaps that of other commodities)? At a broader level, do agricultural regimes contribute to inter-community forms of social integration via cooperation in landscape management, perhaps leading to the genesis of regional forms of identity? The Puuc region is interesting in being both well-defined topographically and a distinct regional Maya subculture, famous for its elegant architectural style. Soils are generally fertile, but cultivable tracts were limited by numerous karst hills often supporting residences. Virtually no surface water was available and instead had to be collected in cisterns or reservoirs. Nearly abandoned after about AD 1000, the Puuc had until then had hosted one of the highest site densities in the tropical lowlands. It was also prosperous, with many residing in masonry houses faced with superb stonework. Such houses may have been one way of "banking" tribute revenues and creating political capital Thus this research will be of value in demonstrating how such a landscape was successfully managed for centuries as well as providing insight into its eventual collapse. The project will also foster the project's long history of training both Mexican and US undergraduate and graduate students, a substantial number of whom have come from traditionally under-represented populations.Because these questions play out across distances too great to be covered by pedestrian survey, this study will commission LiDAR imagery of a 138 km2 study sample. The sample will target two major physiographic zones of the Puuc, the Bolonchen hills and the Yaxhom Valley, to assess how differences of terrain affected urban settlement and organization. To date no Puuc site of significant size has been fully mapped; this sample will provide complete coverage of at least six, as well as several small centers and the hinterlands connecting them. LiDAR will aid in identifying water storage features and masonry structures. It will also allow assessment of the construction industry by determining the distribution of lime kilns. Visual classification will be followed up by ground verification of approximately 15% of the sample, as well as test excavations to assess chronology. Results will permit development of rational plans for management of the archaeological remains within the study zone and will provide data useful to agencies interested in Puuc forest conservation.