Military Origins in Middle America

中美洲的军事起源

• 批准号: 2224704
• 负责人: Thomas Garrison
• 金额: $ 13.76万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-04-01 至 2023-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2224704&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Military; Origins; Middle; America

Dr. Thomas Garrison, of Ithaca College, together with a multidisciplinary team of American and Guatemalan scholars, will undertake archaeological field research aimed at developing a better anthropological understanding of the contexts, causes, and outcomes of intra- and intercultural conflicts. Warfare and violence between civilizations of diverse religious and cultural backgrounds continue to shape the societies immersed in these antagonistic interactions. By looking to the past, archaeology has the ability to reveal complex examples of ancient aggression, giving insight into the long-term effects of large-scale and endemic violence on human societies. While it would be easy to focus on the negative aspects of warfare, which are prevalent and varied, there are also contexts in which warfare has acted as a stimulus for cultural florescence. The present project builds upon the sensational discovery of multi thousand new ancient Maya structures in the Guatemalan jungle, detected by laser-based, lidar remote sensing technology, to investigate just such a case. The multi-layered conflicts seen between Maya city-states, as well as contemporary foreign cultures, are reminiscent of the complex conflicts that affect different areas of the globe today, and archaeology can inform upon the long-term societal impacts caused by these clashes.Dr. Garrison and his team will focus their investigations on the newly discovered, ancient fortress of La Cuernavilla. Situated between the great Maya city-state of Tikal and the smaller neighboring kingdom of El Zotz, the fortress appears to date to the late 4th century; the very beginnings of Classic Maya civilization (AD 300-900). Preliminary studies indicate a link between La Cuernavilla and the foreign, central Mexican city of Teotihuacan, which invaded and conquered Tikal in AD 378. Using a combination of archaeological, environmental, and chemical analyses the researchers will conduct field and laboratory investigations to unpack the complex cultural milieu present at La Cuernavilla and in its surrounding landscape. Studies of local environmental conditions in the past, as well as available ancient dietary resources will show to what degree the site was a true fortress, able to withstand long-term attacks and advance a political and military agenda. Archaeological investigations will discern the complex cultural sequence that involves two Maya cities at war during the time of a foreign occupation. These analyses and comparisons with other case studies will be used to interpret to what degree places like La Cuernavilla contributed to the rise of cultural complexity and the florescence of Maya civilization, hopefully serving as a model for understanding similar situations across time and space.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.

伊萨卡学院的托马斯·加里森博士将与美国和危地马拉学者组成的多学科团队一起进行考古实地研究，旨在更好地从人类学角度理解文化内和文化间冲突的背景、原因和结果。不同宗教和文化背景的文明之间的战争和暴力继续塑造着陷入这些敌对互动的社会。通过回顾过去，考古学有能力揭示古代侵略的复杂例子，深入了解大规模和地方性暴力对人类社会的长期影响。虽然人们很容易关注战争普遍存在且多种多样的消极方面，但在某些情况下，战争也刺激了文化的繁荣。本项目以危地马拉丛林中数千个新的古代玛雅建筑的惊人发现为基础，通过基于激光的激光雷达遥感技术探测到这种情况，以调查此类案例。玛雅城邦之间以及当代外国文化之间的多层次冲突让人想起当今影响全球不同地区的复杂冲突，考古学可以了解这些冲突造成的长期社会影响。加里森和他的团队将重点调查新发现的拉库埃纳维拉古代堡垒。这座堡垒位于伟大的玛雅城邦蒂卡尔和邻近的较小的埃尔佐兹王国之间，其历史似乎可以追溯到 4 世纪末。经典玛雅文明的开端（公元 300-900 年）。初步研究表明，拉库埃纳维拉与外国墨西哥中部城市特奥蒂瓦坎之间存在联系，特奥蒂瓦坎于公元 378 年入侵并征服了蒂卡尔。研究人员将结合考古、环境和化学分析进行实地和实验室调查，以解开拉库埃纳维拉及其周围景观中复杂的文化环境。对过去当地环境条件以及现有古代饮食资源的研究将表明该地点在何种程度上是真正的堡垒，能够承受长期攻击并推进政治和军事议程。考古调查将揭示复杂的文化序列，其中涉及外国占领期间两个处于战争状态的玛雅城市。这些分析以及与其他案例研究的比较将用于解释像拉库埃纳维拉这样的地方在多大程度上对文化复杂性的兴起和玛雅文明的繁荣做出了贡献，希望能够成为理解跨越时间和空间的类似情况的模型。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智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

CITADELS AND SURVEILLANCE: CONFLICTIVE REGIONS AND DEFENSIVE DESIGN IN THE BUENAVISTA CITADELS OF GUATEMALA

城堡和监视：危地马拉布埃纳维斯塔城堡的冲突地区和防御设计

• DOI: 10.33547/cnwa.13.01
• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: Contributions in New World Archaeology
• 作者: Houston, Stephen;Garrison, Thomas;Alcover Firpi, Omar Andrés
• 通讯作者: Alcover Firpi, Omar Andrés