Military Origins in Middle America

伊萨卡学院的托马斯·加里森博士将与一个由美国和危地马拉学者组成的多学科小组一起进行考古实地研究，目的是对内部和文化间冲突的背景、原因和结果有更好的人类学理解。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沉浸在这些敌对互动中的社会。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。虽然人们很容易把注意力集中在战争的消极方面，这些方面很普遍，也很多样，但在某些情况下，战争也起到了促进文化繁荣的作用。目前的项目建立在危地马拉丛林中数千个新的古代玛雅建筑的轰动发现的基础上，这些建筑是通过基于激光雷达的遥感技术检测到的，旨在调查这样一个案例。玛雅城邦之间的多层次冲突，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，考古学可以为这些冲突造成的长期社会影响提供信息。加里森和他的团队将把他们的调查重点放在新发现的古库尔纳维拉城堡上。这座堡垒位于伟大的玛雅城邦蒂卡尔（Tikal）和较小的邻国埃尔佐兹（El Zotz）王国之间，其历史似乎可以追溯到4世纪晚期；古典玛雅文明的开端（公元300-900年）。初步研究表明，La Cuernavilla与外来的墨西哥中部城市特奥蒂瓦坎（Teotihuacan）之间存在联系，特奥蒂瓦坎在公元378年入侵并征服了蒂卡尔。通过结合考古、环境和化学分析，研究人员将进行实地和实验室调查，以解开La Cuernavilla及其周围景观中复杂的文化环境。对过去当地环境条件的研究，以及可获得的古代饮食资源，将表明该遗址在多大程度上是一个真正的堡垒，能够承受长期的攻击，并推进政治和军事议程。考古调查将辨别复杂的文化序列，包括两个玛雅城市在外国占领时期的战争。这些分析和与其他案例研究的比较将被用来解释像La Cuernavilla这样的地方在多大程度上促进了文化复杂性的上升和玛雅文明的繁荣，希望能作为一个模型来理解时空上的类似情况。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. 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.