Dissertation Research: Technological Styles of Late Preclassic Lowlands Maya Architectural Sculpture: Cultural Explanations of Technological Change

在Richard Leventhal博士的指导下，Eric Hansen先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。他将收集灰泥样本和有安全考古背景的样本，这些样本是从一系列史前低地玛雅遗址收集的。这些将受到一系列的分析，包括光学显微镜，岩石薄片和油漆截面的图像分析，并辅以仪器检查。有了这些信息，他将能够确定技术风格——制备这些产品的标准化技术——是否存在，它们的均匀程度以及它们如何随时间变化。玛雅人广泛使用灰泥和石膏涂在寺庙的墙壁上，作为绘画设计的基础和雕刻的材料。它们是通过燃烧石灰，将其与水熟化，然后加入各种调温剂制成的。汉森先生的初步工作表明，玛雅人生产实践的细节存在相当大的差异。考古学家研究风格有几个原因。因为风格会随着时间的推移而变化，例如，通过观察陶器碎片上的设计，人们通常能够构建年表，通过放射性碳测定选定样本的日期，然后将其他出土样本与适当的时间槽相匹配。其次，考古学家研究来自同一遗址的物品的标准化，因为它提供了对集中组织和控制程度的洞察。标准化和集中化是直接相关的。通过他的研究，汉森先生将开发一种新的风格分析技术，并提供有关特定玛雅遗址的信息。他和其他几位考古学家认为，玛雅文明的兴起比许多研究人员所接受的要早，他提供的数据将与这个问题直接相关。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将产生许多考古学家感兴趣的数据。它将有助于开拓一种可能广泛适用于考古学的新技术的发展，并将有助于培养有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Richard Leventhal, Mr. Eric Hansen will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will collect samples of stucco and samples which have secure archaeological contexts and which have been collected from a series of Preclassic lowland Mayan sites. These will be subjected to a series of analyses including optical microscopy, image analysis of petrographic thin sections and paint cross sections supplemented by instrumental examinations. With this information he will be able to determine whether technological styles - standardized techniques for preparation of these products - are present, their degree of uniformity and how they change over time. Stucco and plaster were widely used by Maya to coat temple walls, as a base for painted design and as the material to shape into sculptures. They are produced by burning lime, slaking it with water and then adding a variety of tempers. Preliminary work by Mr. Hansen indicates considerable variability in the details of Mayan production practices. Archaeologists study style for several reasons. Because styles change over time, by looking at designs on potsherds for example one is often able to construct chronologies, date selected examples by radiocarbon and then fit other excavated examples in the proper time slot. Secondly, archaeologists study standardization among items from a same site because it provides insight into the degree of centralized organization and control. Standardization and centralization are directly related. Through his research Mr. Hansen will both develop a new technique of stylistic analysis and provide information on specific Mayan sites. He, together with several other archaeologists believe that the rise of Mayan civilization dates to a period earlier than many researchers accept and the data he produces will be directly relevant to this question. This research is important for several reasons. It will produce data of interest to many archaeologists. It will help to pioneer the development of a new technique of potentially wide archaeological applicability and it will assist in the training of a promising young scientist.