Archaeological Reconnaissance at Chau Hiix

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，安妮·派本博士和她的合作者将在洲Hiix遗址进行一个季节的考古研究。这个遗址位于伯利兹的低地，直到1990年才引起考古学的注意，而且非常不寻常，因为居住在该地区的村民保护它免受抢劫。初步研究表明，洲Hiix是一个主要的区域中心，因为它包含许多土丘和相关的庭院。在第一季的工作中，Pyburn博士和她的同事们将绘制和调查这个地点。他们将对可见的结构进行有限的挖掘，并进行一项取芯计划，以确定是否也存在不太明显的考古特征。在此基础上，他们应该能够提供更确切的占领期间的日期，并更好地了解其内部组织。这些数据将为设计第二个更广泛的项目提供基础。玛雅人是考古学关注的焦点，因为他们在艰苦的热带低地环境中发展了一个具有纪念性建筑、文字和大量人口的文明。玛雅文明的兴起和神秘一样，随着大型中心的废弃和大规模建设的停止，玛雅文明也随之衰落。派本博士希望深入了解这个过程。在过去的十年里，伯利兹一直是许多考古研究的场所，人们研究了许多玛雅遗址。目前尚不清楚每个站点作为独立中心的作用有多大，也不知道这些站点是否被组合成更大的功能单元。通过对Chau Hiix的挖掘和与该地区已知的其他遗址的比较，Pyburn博士希望研究这个问题。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将提供关于复杂社会如何产生、维持和衰落的见解。它将为许多考古学家提供感兴趣的数据，并协助培养本科生。

With National Science Foundation support Dr. Anne Pyburn and her collaborators will conduct one season of archaeological research at the site of Chau Hiix. This site, located in the lowlands of Belize, was only brought to archaeological attention in 1990 and is extremely unusual because villagers who live in the region have protected it from looting. Preliminary research suggests that Chau Hiix served as a major regional center because it contains a number of mounds and associated courtyards. In this first season of work Dr. Pyburn and her colleagues will map and survey the site. They will conduct limited excavations on visible structures and also carry out a program of coring to determine whether less obvious archaeological features are also present. On this basis they should be able to provide more exact dates for the span of occupation and obtain a better idea of its internal organization. These data will provide the basis to design a second, more extensive project. The Maya constitute a central focus of archaeological interest because they developed a civilization with monumental architecture, writing and large population concentrations in a difficult lowland tropical environment. Just as mysteriously as it arose, the Maya civilization then declined as large centers were abandoned and large scale construction ceased. Dr. Pyburn wishes to gain insight into this process. In the last decade Belize has been the scene of much archaeological research and a number of Mayan sites have been studied. It is unclear to what extent each functioned as an independent center and it is not known whether sites were grouped into larger functional units. Through excavation of Chau Hiix and comparison with other sites known from the area Dr. Pyburn wishes to examine this question. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide insight into how complex societies arise, are maintained and decline. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and assist in the training of undergraduate students.