Collaborative Research: Environmental Context of Long Term Cultural Adaptation

这项研究的目的是了解在占领和废弃蒙德维尔遗址期间发生的环境状况，蒙德维尔遗址是阿拉巴马州一个具有区域重要性的晚期史前遗址。这项研究包括收集和分析位于遗址以西2公里处的牛弓Touson湖的湖泊沉积岩心。内容物的识别为推断人类影响提供了有用的数据，这些数据可以在广泛的情况下应用，产生有用的信息，而不需要使用对遗址具有破坏性的方法。此外，了解社会如何应对过去的气候变化和/或当地环境退化，对于了解21世纪的挑战可能如何影响人口非常重要。其中包括与蒙德维尔考古公园博物馆分享结果，并与联邦承认的部落国家的几名代表分享每月更新的数据，这些部落国家参与了数据的采样和解释。该项目还在多所大学的多个学科环境中培训一名研究生和两名本科生。考古学和古环境研究相结合的研究表明，人类与其环境直接和持续地相互作用。虽然在中南美洲有相当多关于气候-环境-人类相互作用的文化的信息，但对于北美密西西比州的土丘建造协会来说，这样的信息是缺乏的。这个项目解决了两个主要的研究问题：1)环境条件是否影响了蒙德维尔人口和农业的变化？2)环境变化是否造成压力，最终导致场地废弃？为了回答这些问题，对吐逊湖沉积物岩心进行了分析：1)有机质中碳和氮的稳定同位素，2)粒度分布，3)磁化率，4)木炭颗粒，5)花粉组合，6)蓝藻色素，7)粪便甾醇，所有这些都表明了过去的环境条件。编撰了关于当地和地区人口统计学的现有考古文献，隶属于蒙德维尔的马斯科吉语部落的代表用他们与该地区相关的土著传统和文化历史来贡献数据解释。这一奖项反映了NSF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。

The goal of this research is to understand the environmental conditions that occurred during occupation and abandonment of the Moundville site, a regionally important late prehistoric site in Alabama. The research includes collection and analysis of lake sediment cores from Touson Lake, an oxbow located 2 km west of the site. Identification of the contents provides useful data for inferring human impacts that can be applied at a wide range of situations, yielding useful information without methods that are destructive to sites. Furthermore, understanding how societies responded to past climate change and/or local environmental degradation is important for understanding how challenges of the 21st century might impact populations. Included are sharing of results with the Moundville Archaeological Park Museum and sharing monthly updates to federally recognized Tribal Nations with several representatives of which are involved with both sampling and interpreting the data. This project also trains one graduate and two undergraduate students at multiple universities in a multi-disciplinary setting.Combined archaeological and paleoenvironmental studies demonstrate that humans are in direct and constant interaction with their environment. While there is considerable information about climate-environment-human interactions for cultures in central and South America, there is a lack of such information for Mississippian mound-building societies in North America. This project addresses two overarching research questions: 1) did environmental conditions influence shifts in population and agriculture at Moundville? and 2) did environmental changes create stresses that caused eventual site abandonment? To answer these questions, sediment cores from Touson Lake are analyzed for: 1) stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in organic matter, 2) grain size distribution, 3) magnetic susceptibility, 4) charcoal particles, 5) pollen assemblages, 6) cyanobacteria pigments, and 7) fecal sterols, all of which indicate past environmental conditions. Compilation of existing archaeological literature on the demography of the local and regional populations are compiled and representatives of Muskogean-speaking tribes affiliated with Moundville contribute to data interpretation with their indigenous traditions and culture histories associated with the region.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.