Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: The Historical Ecology of Long-term Agricultural Practice

乡村景观作为一种文化遗产形式越来越受到人们的重视，它们与城市空间一样有着丰富的历史。然而，旨在保护这些景观的政策必须经常与当地社区对这些地方的持续使用相抗衡，因为当地社区的需求可能与保护这些地方的需求背道而驰。与此同时，世界范围内日益严重的水和粮食危机促使人们重新开展研究，旨在了解古代农业系统的功能，以及对其进行调整以适应当前可持续和有效利用的可能性。对这些乡村景观的保护和可持续适应的目标至关重要的是了解古代农业系统运作的社会背景，其最初建设的动机，以及其长期成功或失败的原因。由于考古研究的时间深度，考古方法和方法非常适合解决这些问题，允许调查农村随着时间的变化以及社区面对社会和环境挑战的反应。本研究将评估古代农业技术的可持续性，并探讨当地社区在确保其维护和持续功能方面的持续作用。该项目将调查农业梯田的建设、使用、维护和废弃的长期历史。它调查了一个城市快速扩张和人口逐渐下降的城市，从而作为一个理想的背景，研究农业系统在使用、改造、废弃和复兴的社会和环境条件。与传统的只关注城市背景的叙述相反，相关的腹地已经以不同的强度被占领了很长时间。越来越多的证据表明，在这段时间里，内陆地区继续被开垦和改造。许多农村基础设施（如梯田、水坝、蓄水池和运河）一定是在城市全盛时期建造的，这种假设值得质疑。该项目将采用广泛的测年方法来确定梯田建设和使用的年表，揭示某些农业系统被使用了多长时间，以及在哪里。通过详细的测绘和调查，还将记录阶地类型和功能的多样性，展示当地社区修改和利用这些景观的多种方式。总之，通过更好地理解梯田在历史上的建造、使用和废弃的原因、地点和方式，本研究将通过对乡村景观形成的长期视角，为当代遗产管理和乡村振兴的政策制定提供信息。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。

Rural landscapes have become increasingly appreciated as forms of cultural heritage in their own right, with rich histories on par with those of urban spaces. Policies aimed at the preservation of these landscapes must frequently contend, however, with the ongoing use of these places by local communities, whose needs may run counter to those of conservation. At the same time, growing water and food crises worldwide have led to renewed research aimed at understanding the functions of ancient agricultural systems and the possibility of their adaptation for sustainable and effective use in the present. Critical to the objectives of both conservation and sustainable adaptation of these rural landscapes is an understanding of the social contexts in which ancient agricultural systems functioned, the motivations for their initial construction, and the reasons for their successes or failures over the long term. Archaeological methods and approaches are well-suited for addressing these issues due to the time-depth of archaeological study, allowing for the investigation of rural changes through time and the responses of communities in the face of social and environmental challenges. This study will evaluate the sustainability of ancient agricultural technologies as well as probe the ongoing role of local communities in ensuring their maintenance and continuing functionality. This project will investigate the long-term history of construction, use, maintenance, and abandonment of agricultural terraces. It investigates a city that has seen rapid urban expansions and gradual demographic declines, thereby serving as an ideal context in which to investigate the social and environmental conditions under which agricultural systems stay in use, are transformed, abandoned, and revitalized. Contrary to conventional narratives that focus exclusively on the city context, the associated hinterlands have been occupied at varying intensities for long periods. There is growing evidence that during this time the hinterlands have continued to be cultivated and modified. The assumption that much of the rural infrastructure (i.e., terraces, dams, cisterns, and canals) must have been built during the heyday of the city, is thus worth questioning. This project will apply a wide range of dating approaches to determine the chronology of terrace construction and use, shedding light both on how long certain agricultural systems remained in use, as well as where. Through detailed mapping and survey, the diversity of terrace types and functions will also be recorded, showing the many ways in which local communities have modified and utilized these landscapes. Altogether, by better understanding why, where, and how terraces were historically built, used, and abandoned, this research will inform contemporary policy making on heritage management and rural revitalization through its long-term perspective on the formation of rural landscapes.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.