Mounds at Moundville: Development of Public Architecture at a Large Missippian Ceremonial Center

在国家科学基金会的支持下，弗农·奈特博士将继续他在蒙德维尔遗址的考古研究。这个遗址位于阿拉巴马州的黑勇士河附近，标志着前哥伦布美洲原住民最高的文化成就之一。它由大量大致对称排列的土丘组成，许多土丘含有数万立方米的填充物。考古证据表明，这些建筑可能是在很长一段时间内建造的，顶部有宗教建筑，也用作墓室。有几处出土了大量的骨架和陪葬品。最重要的不是结构本身，而是使它们成为可能的社会组织的性质。建造如此庞大的土方工程，需要一个能够长期动员大量劳动力的社会和政治组织。奈特博士的研究应该能让我们深入了解这种潜在的社会结构。奈特博士将在过去工作的基础上进行两个季节的挖掘。使用标准的考古技术，他将在一些土丘上挖沟。收集到的材料将使他能够确定每个建筑（或多个建筑情节）的建造日期。在此基础上，还可以对人的能力随时间的变化进行估计。奈特博士将试图确定每种结构的功能，以及它们是如何随时间变化的。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将提供许多科学家感兴趣的数据。它将增加我们对复杂社会如何在技术简单的层面上发展和维持的理解。它还将协助培养研究生。

With support from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Vernon Knight will continue his archaeological research at the site of Moundville. Located near the Black Warrior River in Alabama this site marks one of the highest cultural achievements of pre- Columbian Native Americans. It consists of a large number of mounds arranged in roughly symmetrical order, many containing tens of thousands of cubic meters of fill. Archaeological evidence indicates that these structures, which were likely built over extended periods of time contained religious structures at their tops and also served as burial chambers. Several have yielded large series of skeletons and burial goods. Of central importance is not the structures themselves but the nature of the social organization which made them possible. To construct such massive earthworks requires a social and political organization which can mobilize a large amount of labor for long periods of time. Dr. Knight's research should provide insight into this underlying social structure. Building on past work at the site Dr. Knight will conduct two seasons of excavation. Using standard archaeological techniques he will cut trenches into a number of mounds. The materials collected will allow him to date the construction (or multiple construction episodes) of each. On this basis estimates of person power over time can also be made. Dr. Knight will attempt to determine the functions of each structure and how these also may have changed over time. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to many scientists. It will increase our understanding of how, at a technologically simple level, complex societies develop and are maintained. It will also assist in the training of graduate students.