Dissertation Research: Inka Imperial Expansion into Northwest Argentina

在Terence D'Altroy博士的指导下，Clarence Gifford先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。继续他以前在该地区的研究，他将调查位于阿根廷西北部萨尔塔省的卡尔查基山谷的十个印加时期遗址。印加帝国是哥伦布发现美洲大陆之前新大陆最大的帝国，以秘鲁高原的库斯科为中心，从北部的厄瓜多尔开始，经过秘鲁、玻利维亚，一直延伸到阿根廷西北部。由于缺乏轮式交通工具，印加人仅仅依靠简单的技术就能够将无数不同的种族融合成一个更大的运作实体。考古学家希望了解他们实现这一壮举的机制。根据民族历史和考古证据，似乎采用了各种策略。有些情况涉及直接征服和强加一套新的统治者和行政管理。在另一些国家，地方领导人被拉拢，并被允许继续掌权。在一些地区，人们建造了防御工事和亵渎印加人的飞地，而在其他地区，人们利用恩惠和操纵仪式和宗教象征来达到预期的目的。卡尔查基山谷标志着印加帝国的南部边界，因此为研究这一过程提供了一个特别相关的场所。初步数据显示，情况很复杂。堡垒和其他印加建筑都存在，但同时也保留了大量的当地文化，许多遗址表明当地和印加的影响。通过对一系列遗址的表面测绘和挖掘，吉福德先生将研究当地人与印加人的关系。这两个群体有不同的建筑风格，使用不同类型的陶器。印加陶瓷在其他地区已经被详细研究过，并且知道哪些类型的容器用于宗教和其他象征性目的，而不是实用目的。这使得在现场进行的许多活动得以确定。 这项研究是重要的，因为它揭示了新的光在技术简单的社会中的政治和社会组织的机制。它将为许多考古学家提供感兴趣的数据，并有助于培养一名有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Terence D'Altroy, Mr. Clarence Gifford will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. Continuing his previous research in the region, he will investigate ten Inka-period sites in the Calchaqui Valley, located in the province of Salta, northwest Argentina. The Inka empire, the largest in the pre-Columbian New World, was centered at Cuzco in the highlands of Peru and extended from Ecuador in the North, through Peru, Bolivia and into northwestern Argentina. With only a simple technology and lack of wheeled vehicles the Inka were able to weld a myriad of distinct ethnic groups into a larger functioning entity. Archaeologists wish to understand the mechanisms through which they achieved this feat. Based on both ethnohistoric and archaeological evidence, it appears that a variety of strategies were employed. Some cases involved direct conquest and the imposition of a new set of rulers and administration. In others, the local leadership was coopted and allowed to remain in power. In some areas fortifications and desecrate Inka enclaves were constructed while in other regions, favors and the manipulation of ritual and religious symbolism and were used to achieve the desired end. The Calchaqui Valley marks the approximate Southern limit of the Inka empire and thus provides a particularly relevant venue to study this process. Preliminary data indicate that the situation was complex. Forts and other Inca structures are present, yet at the same time a significant amount of local culture was preserved and many sites indicate a blend of local and Inca influence. Through the surface mapping and excavation of a series of sites, Mr. Gifford will examine local-Inka relationships. The two groups had distinct architectural styles and used different types of pottery. Inka ceramics have been studied in detail in other regions and it is known what types of vessels served religious and other symbolic as opposed to utilitarian purposes. This allows many activities conducted at sites to be determined. This research is important because it sheds new light on mechanisms of political and social organization in technological simple societies. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and contribute to training a promising young scientist.