Doctoral Dissertation Research: Bioarchaeological and Biogeochemical Evidence in the Study of Ritual

这个博士论文项目将研究生活史和仪式使用生物考古学和生物地球化学分析的骨骼从考古背景。该研究将为研究古代社会中仪式的作用以及整合骨学和化学技术来重建人类行为提供新的方法和视角。该项目及其成果的传播将增加传统上代表性不足的群体对科学的参与，并通过让公众参与该项目的挖掘、技术研讨会和公开讲座来鼓励未来的合作。作为杜兰大学K-12 STEM教育中心的研讨会负责人，研究人员将把项目结果整合到K-12学生课程资源和研讨会中，以展示创新研究，并扩大传统上在STEM领域代表性不足的群体的教育。人类骨骼创伤是冲突的直接证据，这使得生物考古学，即从考古背景下对人类骨骼遗骸的研究，能够很好地解决考古记录中仪式暴力的可变性和重要性。在这样的仪式背景下，青少年的角色研究相对不足。最近发现的骨骼组合表明，这种仪式在过去的一些社会中发挥了重要作用，但其动机尚不清楚。研究人员假设，在一个社会政治体系中，来自偏远地区的个人被征召参加仪式活动，作为维持对偏远地区控制的策略的一部分。对骨骼组合中骨骼和牙齿的持续挖掘和生物地球化学分析将用于验证这一假设，并更好地理解过去社会将青少年纳入这些事件的方式。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。

This doctoral dissertation project will examine life histories and ritual using bioarchaeological and biogeochemical analyses of skeletons from archaeological contexts. The research will contribute novel methods and perspectives concerning the role of rituals in ancient societies as well as the integration of osteological and chemical techniques to reconstruct human behavior. This project and the dissemination of its results will increase participation of traditionally underrepresented groups in the sciences and encourage future collaborations by involving the public in this project’s excavations, technical workshops, and public lectures. As workshop leaders for the Center for K-12 STEM Education at Tulane University, the investigators will integrate the project’s results into K-12 student curricular resources and workshops to showcase innovative research and broaden the education of groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields.Human skeletal trauma represents direct evidence of conflict, making bioarchaeology, the study of human skeletal remains from archaeological contexts, well positioned to address the variability and significance of ritual violence in the archaeological record. The role of juveniles in such ritual contexts has been relatively understudied. Recently discovered skeletal assemblages suggest that such rituals played an important role in some past societies, yet the motivations for this remain unclear. The investigators hypothesize that individuals from outlying locations in a sociopolitical system were conscripted for ritual events as part of a strategy to maintain control over outlying regions. Continued excavations and biogeochemical analyses of bones and teeth from skeletal assemblagews will be used to test this hypothesis and better understand the ways in which past societies justified incorporation of juveniles in these events.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.