The Cyclic Rise and Fall of Complex Societies

Christina Conlee博士（德克萨斯州立大学）和Corina Kellner博士（北亚利桑那大学）以及一个国际研究小组将研究古代文明的兴衰，以深入了解社会如何获得权力和扩张，实力较弱的群体如何适应和抵抗，以及什么压力因素导致社会转型和崩溃。该项目将在秘鲁沙漠进行，目的是获得关于这些主题的重要比较数据。考古学的独特之处在于，它能够提供对这些过程的长期观察，并有助于理解古代和现代社会的复原力和脆弱性。就更广泛的科学影响而言，学生将在考古领域和实验室方法方面得到支持和培训，以进一步发展他们在考古和其他科学努力方面的职业生涯。文化拓展的目的是包括当地社区，使他们继续投资于保护该地区的考古遗址。该项目的成果将通过德克萨斯州立大学的数字存储库，以及通过演示和书面文章向学者和公众提供。研究小组的目标是研究帝国的扩张、殖民的过程以及地方人民如何抵抗帝国的控制。该团队还将探索社会崩溃的复杂过程，以及社会、政治和环境因素的影响。瓦里（公元650-1000年）是南美洲的第一个帝国，从根本上改变了安第斯山脉的已知世界。调查人员将研究高地瓦里与沿海省份纳斯卡的关系，包括它们之间的动态关系，这种关系有助于瓦里的扩张，导致纳斯卡社会的征服和转型，并最终导致两者的崩溃。调查将集中在瓦卡德尔洛罗，这是纳斯卡这一时期最大、保存最完好的遗址。在住宅、仪式和埋葬区域进行挖掘，同时对考古和人类遗骸进行几种类型的分析。该项目将研究Huaca del Loro遗址的类型。它是一个当地的定居点，一个Wari殖民地，还是一个当地抵抗帝国的地方？这项研究还将探讨该定居点是如何以及为什么被遗弃的，以及这对地方和帝国崩溃的影响。将使用各种创新的技术和技术，包括稳定同位素分析，以确定埋葬在现场的人的地理来源和饮食，动态结构，包括创建现场和挖掘的高分辨率3d图像，以及各种文物的成分分析，以了解各种商品的贸易和制造。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Dr. Christina Conlee (Texas State University) and Dr. Corina Kellner (Northern Arizona University), along with an international team of researchers will examine the rise and fall of ancient civilizations to provide insight into how societies gain power and expand, how less powerful groups adapt and resist, and what stressors lead to a society's transformation and collapse. The project, which will be conducted in the desert of Peru, aims to obtain important comparative data on these topics. Archaeology is unique in its ability to provide a long-term view of these processes and helps in understanding the resilience and frailty of ancient and modern societies. In terms of broader scientific impacts, students will be supported and trained in both archaeological field and lab methods to further their careers in archaeological and other scientific endeavors. Cultural outreach is aimed at including the local community so they remain invested in preserving archaeological sites in the area. The results of this project will be made available to scholars and the general public through a digital repository at Texas State University, and through presentations and written articles. The goal of the research team is to study the expansion of empires, the process of colonization, and how provincial people resist imperial control. The team will also explore the complex processes involved in the collapse of societies, and the impact of social, political, and environmental factors. The Wari (AD 650-1000) were the first empire in South America, and radically changed the known world in the Andes. The investigators will research the highland Wari's relationship with the coastal province of Nasca, including the dynamics between them that aided the expansion of Wari, resulted in the conquest and transformation of Nasca society, and ultimately led to the collapse of both. The investigations will focus on Huaca del Loro, the largest, and best preserved site of this time period in Nasca. Excavations in residential, ceremonial, and burial areas will be conducted along with several types of analyses of the archaeological and human remains. The project will examine what type of site was Huaca del Loro. Was it a local settlement, a Wari colony, or a site of local resistance against the empire? The research will also address how and why the settlement was abandoned and the implications this has for local and imperial collapse. Varied and innovative techniques and technologies will be used and include stable isotope analysis to determine the geographic origin and diet of people buried at the site, Structure from Motion that involves creating high resolution 3-D images of the site and excavations, and compositional analysis of various artifacts to understand trade and manufacture of various goods.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.