Labor Organization In A Traditional Complex Society

路易斯安那州立大学的Heather McKillop博士和德克萨斯大学泰勒分校的E.Cory Sills博士将与研究生和本科生一起，研究在复杂的经济中主要商品和资源是如何生产和分配的，特别是通过研究主食是如何为市场贸易生产的。研究人员将研究小企业成功的因素，包括劳动力的组织和构成以及市场的识别，以及导致失败的因素。考古学在解决这些问题方面特别有用，因为有生产、商品分配的物质证据，以及调查随时间变化的能力。这项研究对美国经济很重要，美国经济既包括大公司，也包括包括家族企业在内的小企业。为什么某些因素会让一些企业成功，另一些企业失败？学生，其中许多是第一代大学生，将接受全球定位系统、地理信息系统和3D数字成像等技术的使用培训，除了参与考古学的跨学科研究外，这些都是有市场的技能。后代社区以及其他感兴趣的人将参加研讨会，分享该项目的发现以及用于展览的3D打印复制品。此外，从这项研究中获得的知识将通过在线公共存储库、网页和数字更新提供给感兴趣的学生、专业人员和公众。研究人员将通过研究废弃的盐厂来评估盐的生产和分配，盐是一种主要商品，在伯利兹南部的一个沿海泻湖里，木制建筑保存了1500至1000年前未被触及的生产记录。作为一种基本的日常必需品，盐在内陆城市是稀缺的，因此沿海地区的盐生产相当于一种商品的供求，这些商品分布在城市、城镇和较小社区的内陆市场。之前的考古调查、测绘和横断面挖掘表明，这里有大量的盐类生产。然而，关于劳动力的问题仍然悬而未决，包括他们是否住在盐厂附近或其他地方，生产是由在个体盐房工作的家庭组织的，还是由来自其他地方的日间或季节性工人组织的。研究人员将在两个大型考古遗址的多座建筑内和相邻院子内进行空中挖掘，以确定住宅、生产和其他用途。此外，还将在盐厂五个不同区域的较小地点进行挖掘。跨学科合作包括对陶器矿物学的研究，以确定制造来源，作为内陆市场和消费者位置的代理。这项研究结合了土壤化学，以确定活动的化学残留物，以及对盐类生产工具的定量和空间评估。木桩的物种鉴定和放射性碳年代测定以及柱子旁的土柱样本将评估古代景观和建筑建造的时间。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Drs. Heather McKillop of Louisiana State University and E. Cory Sills of The University of Texas at Tyler, along with graduate and undergraduate students will investigate how staple goods and resources are produced and distributed in complex economies, in particular by examining how food staples are produced for marketplace trade. The researchers will examine what factors make small enterprises successful, including the organization and composition of labor and the identification of markets, as well as factors that contribute to failure. Archaeology is particularly useful in addressing these issues due to the material evidence of production, distribution of goods, and the ability to investigate changes over time. The research is important to the United States economy, which includes both large corporations, as well as small businesses, including family-run enterprises. Why do certain factors allow some enterprises to succeed and other's fail? Students, many who are first-generation college students, will be trained in the use of technologies such as Global Positioning Systems, Geographic Information Systems, and 3D digital imaging, all marketable skills in addition to participating in interdisciplinary research in archaeology. Descendant communities as well as other interested people will be involved in workshops to share findings from the project as well as 3D printed replicas for exhibits. Additionally, the knowledge obtained from this study will be available to interested students, professionals, and the public through an online public repository, web page, and digital updates. The researchers will evaluate the production and distribution of salt, a staple good, by study of abandoned salt works where wooden buildings have preserved a record of production untouched from 1500 to 1000 years ago in a coastal lagoon in southern Belize. As a basic daily necessity, salt was scarce at inland cities so its production on the coast figures into supply and demand of a good distributed at inland marketplaces in cities, towns, and smaller communities. Previous archaeological survey, mapping, and transect excavations indicated massive salt production. However, there were unanswered questions about the workforce, including if they lived near the salt works or elsewhere, if production was organized by households who worked individual salt kitchens or by day or seasonal workers from elsewhere. The researchers will carry out aerial excavations inside multiple buildings and in the adjacent yards at two large archaeological sites to identify residential, production, and other uses. In addition, excavations will be carried out at smaller sites in five different areas of the salt works. Interdisciplinary collaboration includes study of mineralogy of pottery to identify the sources of manufacture as a proxy for the locations of inland markets and consumers. The study incorporates soil chemistry to identify chemical residues of activities, along with quantitative and spatial evaluation of salt production tools. Species identification and radiocarbon dating of wooden posts as well as column samples of the earth beside posts will evaluate the ancient landscape and timing of building construction.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.