The Analysis of Craft Production and Residential Activity at Xochicalco, Mexico

1992年和1993年，在国家科学基金会的支持下，Kenneth Hirth博士在位于墨西哥的考古遗址Xochicalo遗址进行了广泛的挖掘。科奇卡洛很重要，因为它标志着前哥伦比亚国家的首都，这个国家是一个主要的地区强国，而且对地表遗迹的调查表明，它拥有丰富的考古材料。在两个季节的挖掘过程中，希思博士和他的团队发现了三个保存完好的住宅区，其中有丰富而未受干扰的文物组合。发现了大量家居用品、家用工具和黑麻岩(火山玻璃)石器生产的残留物。不同寻常的保存使人们有可能对家庭活动模式进行详细分析，这通常不能用考古遗迹来尝试，希思博士将在这笔赠款的支持下开展这项工作。考古学家想要了解复杂的社会是如何产生的，以及它们是如何在缺乏书面语言和计算系统的技术简单的社会中维持的。有证据表明，社会发展了经济专业化制度，在这种制度下，生产在不同的和受到严格管制的环境中进行，对这种生产的控制有助于加强国家控制所需的中央集权。黑岩在前金属社会中扮演着重要的角色，因为这种玻璃状的岩石可以被加工成锋利的刀刃。在Xochicalco，黑铁矿资源丰富，在住宅建筑和其他车间区域都有分布。通过希思博士计划进行的分析，我们将深入了解这一重要行业的组织结构。这项工作之所以意义重大，有几个原因。它将产生许多考古学家感兴趣的数据。它还将增加我们对复杂社会的出现和维持的理解。

Hirth In 1992 and 1993, with NSF support, Dr. Kenneth Hirth conducted extensive excavation at the site of Xochicalo an archaeological site located in Mexico. Xochicalo is important because it marks the capital of a pre-Columbian state which was a major regional power and because a survey of surface remains indicated that it was rich in archaeological materials. During the course of two seasons excavation, Dr. Hirth and his team uncovered three intact and well preserved residential compounds with rich and undisturbed artifact assemblages. Large quantities of household goods, domestic tools and the remains of obsidian (volcanic glass) stone tool production were recovered. The unusual preservation makes it possible to engage in a detailed analysis of domestic activity patterns which usually can not be attempted using archaeological remains and Dr. Hirth will undertake such work with support of this grant. Archaeologists want to understand how complex societies arose and how they were maintailed in technologically simple societies which lacked written language and computation systems. Evidence has shown that societies developed systems of economic specialization in which production took place in varied and carefully regulated contexts and that control over this production helped to reinforce the centralization of power which state control requires. Obsidian played an important role in pre- metal societies because this glasslike rock can we worked to produce sharp cutting edges. At Xochicalco obsidian is abundant and is present in both the residential structures and other workshop areas. Through the analyses which Dr. Hirth plans to conduct insight will be gained into the organization of this important industry. This work is significant for several reasons. It will produce data of interest to many archaeologists. It will also increase our understanding of the emergence and maintenance of complex societies.