An Archaeological Survey of the Altar Valley, Sonora, Mexico

这笔赠款允许麦奎尔博士继续他的考古 对祭坛谷地区的调查， 墨西哥索诺拉的北方部分。初步工作已经证实 许多遗址都与Trincheras文化有关， 可以追溯到公元200年到1500年， 似乎是多功能的，包括防御工程， 农业梯田和居住建筑。前期工作 显示了一个相对复杂的史前时期， 适应，社会组织的变化和区域间联系的转移McGuire和他的团队将调查祭坛的选定部分 山谷定位网站。他们将记录网站的大小，功能和 环境背景。他们将收集表面文物。 主要由贝壳、陶瓷和石器遗迹组成。 分析这些。这项工作的目标是建立 为更长期的实地项目奠定基础。 使这一地区具有特殊考古价值的原因是， 它位于墨西哥中部的"高"文化区之间， 美国南部和西南部向北的壳牌 出现在一个贸易项目在西南网站是丰富的， 这表明该地区在 在一个广泛的空壳交易中很明显，一个复杂的社会 但在多大程度上， 作为一个因果因素是不清楚的。考古学家们 从理论上阐述了贸易与经济增长之间的关系， 这种社会复杂性和祭坛谷提供了一个 很好的地方来研究这个问题。该项目还应 为史前西南地区的发展提供了新的线索 cultures. 这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将脱落新的 我们这样的复杂社会 发展和保持。其次， 美国西南部的考古研究 格兰德河在很大程度上阻止了调查， 在墨西哥北方，这条河并没有起到屏障的作用， 史前时代因此，McGuires的工作将提供重要的新的 考古资料

This grant permits Dr. McGuire to continue his archaeological survey of the Altar Valley region which is located in the northern part of Sonora, Mexico. Preliminary work has confirmed the presence of many sites referable to the Trincheras culture, which dates from approximately 200 to 1500 A.D. Trincheras sites seem to be multi.functional and include defensive works, agricultural terraces and habitation structures. Preliminary work indicates a relatively complex prehistory with major shifts in adaptations, changes in social organization and shifting inter.regional contactsMcGuire and his team will survey selected portions of the Altar Valley to locate sites. They will record site size, features and environmental context. They will collect surface artifacts . which consist primarily of shell, ceramic and lithic remains . and analyze these. The goal of this work is to establish the basis for a longer term field project. What makes this region of special archaeological interest is that it lies between the "high" culture areas in Central Mexico, to the South, and the Southwest U.S., to the North. Shell, which appears at a trade item in the Southwest sites is plentiful in the Altar Valley and this suggests that the region played a role in a widespread shell trade. It is clear that a complex society developed in the Altar region but the extent to which trade served as a causal factor is unclear. Archaeolologists have theorized about the relationship betwen trade and the growth of such societal complexity and the Altar Valley provides an excellent area to examine this question. This project should also shed a new light on the development of prehistoric Southwest cultures. This research is important for several reasons. It will shed new light on the question of how complex societies such as our own develop and are maintained. Secondly there is a long history of archaeological research in the Southwestern U.S. While the Rio Grande River has prevented, for the most part, investigation in Northern Mexico, the river did not serve as barrier in prehistoric times. Thus McGuires work will provide important new archeological data.