Collapse and Regeneration in Early Complex Societies: Excavations at Umm El-Marra, Syria

在国家科学基金会的支持下，Glenn Schwartz博士和他的同事将在位于叙利亚阿勒颇地区的Umm el-Marra考古遗址进行两个季节的实地研究。该遗址由一个大型青铜时代告诉包括约。25公顷的围墙内有三个明显的大门和一个“卫城”约。直径100米，位于场地的中心部分。Schwartz博士先前的工作表明了一个跨越青铜时代的文化序列，包含了重叠的希腊化和罗马遗迹。Umm el-Marra被确定为早期书面档案中提到的图巴古城。研究将集中在早期和中期的青铜时代，约之间。虽然考古学家倾向于以单线的方式看待文化发展，并（正确地）注意到中东和其他地区从平等主义的小村庄到社会分层的酋长，再到文明、国家和帝国的进步，但事实上，这个过程并不那么简单。复杂的实体上升、下降和再次出现，在短时间内，循环模式可能是最合适的。Umm el-Marra记录了这样一个循环，一个复杂的分层社会，然后是一个“崩溃”，接着是另一个稍微不同的复杂实体。施瓦茨博士希望了解这个过程。人们提出了几种崩溃理论，其中最突出的是将气候恶化和当地资源开发作为原因。同样，有几种理论试图解释再生。施瓦茨博士和他的合作者将挖掘三个广泛的领域，这些领域可以追溯到正在考虑的每个阶段。根据住宅和人工制品在它们内部和之间的分布，将有可能重建环境和社会组织。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将提供一个更现实的模式，说明社会如何随着时间的推移而发展和变化。它将为许多考古学家提供感兴趣的数据，并协助培训将参加实地研究的学生。

With National Science Foundation support Dr. Glenn Schwartz and his colleagues will conduct two seasons of field research at the archaeological site of Umm el-Marra, located in the Aleppo region of Syria. The site consists of a large Bronze Age tell comprising ca. 25 hectares within an enclosure wall with three discernible gates and an "acropolis" ca. 100 meters in diameter located in the central part of the site. Dr. Schwartz's previous work has indicated a cultural sequence which spans the Bronze Age and contains overlying Hellenistic and Roman remains. Umm el-Marra has been identified as the ancient city of Tuba which is mentioned in early written archives. The research will focus on the Early and Middle Bronze Age, between ca. 2,500 and 1,600 BC.While archaeologists have tended to view cultural development in unilineal terms and (correctly) noted a progression in the Middle East and other areas from small egalitarian villages to socially stratified chiefdoms to civilizations, states and empires the process is not, in fact, so simple. Complex entities rise, fall and appear again and, over short time periods, a cyclic model can be most appropriate. Umm el-Marra documents such a cycle, a complex stratified society, followed by a "collapse" succeeded by another slightly different complex entity. Dr. Schwartz wishes to understand this process. Several collapse theories have been proposed and the most prominent of which invoke either climatic deterioration and local resource exploitation as causes. Likewise several theories attempt to explain regeneration. Dr. Schwartz and his collaborators will excavate three broad areas which date to each of the stages under consideration. On the basis of distribution of dwellings and artifacts within and among they it will be possible to reconstruct both environment and social organization. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide a more realistic model of how societies develop and change over time. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and assist in training students who will participate in the field research.