Dissertation Research: Occupational History of an Early Ceramic Age Settlement on the North Coast of Puerto Rico

Dekin博士和研究生Peter Siegel将从位于波多黎各北海岸的Maisable遗址获得一系列考古材料的日期。通过仔细挖掘，西格尔暴露了一个早期村庄的一部分，并勾勒出了房屋和相关的土丘。他还发现了一些人类骨架。根据相关的文物和几个放射性碳年代，似乎有两个连续的职业，可能是不同的文化群体，发生在Maisable，但证据并不确凿。西格尔将把骨头样本和碳化木材提交给亚利桑那大学进行放射性碳测年。一系列陶片将被送往达勒姆大学进行热释光测年。结果应该能够更安全地按时间顺序排列占领的不同阶段。考古学家已经为波多黎各等加勒比海岛屿的人口提出了几个模型。“海浪理论”假设了一系列在岛链上迁徙的移民。考古记录中观察到的文化变化归因于新移民的涌入。其他史前学者设想了更大的人口连续性，并辩称，许多变化是通过原地开发而发生的，没有人口更替。不幸的是，没有数据来评估这些截然不同的假设。对Maisable进行仔细的年代测定应该有助于回答这个问题。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。波多黎各进行的考古研究相对较少，Maisable将有助于纠正这种情况。其次，这个项目应该增加我们对文化如何变化的理解，以及如何在考古记录中识别这种变化。最后，由于这些结果将被西格尔用于他的博士研究，它们将有助于一位有前途的年轻科学家的职业发展。

Dr. Dekin and graduate student Peter Siegel will obtain dates on a series of archaeological materials from the site of Maisable which is located on the north coast of Puerto Rico. Through careful excavation, Mr. Siegel has exposed portions of an early village and delineated both houses and associated mounds. He has also uncovered a number of human skeletons. Based on associated artifacts and several radiocarbon dates, it appears that two consecutive occupations, possibly by different cultural groups, took place at Maisable but the evidence is not conclusive. Mr. Siegel will submit both bone samples and carbonized wood to the University of Arizona for radiocarbon dating. A series of potsherds will be sent to the University of Durham for thermolumenescent dating. The results should allow more secure chronological placement of the different phases of occupation. Archaeologists have proposed several models for the population of Caribbean islands such as Puerto Rico. The "wave theory" postulates successive series of immigrants who move across the island chain. Cultural changes observed in the archaeological record are attributed to the influx of new immigrants. Other prehistorians envision greater population continuity and argue that much change occurs through in situ development with no population replacement. Unfortunately, the data are not available to evaluate these contrasting hypotheses. Careful dating of Maisable should contribute to an answer. This research is important for several reasons. Relatively little archaeological research has been conducted in Puerto Rico and Maisable will help to rectify this situation. Secondly, this project should increase our understanding of how cultures change, and how this change can be discerned in the archaeological record. Finally, since the results will be used by Mr. Siegel in his doctoral research, they will assist in the professional development of a promising young scientist.