Doctoral Dissertation: Early Formative Pottery Production and Exchange in Southern Mesoamerica with Special Reference to the Gulf Coast

在Hector Neff博士和Michael O'Brien博士的指导下，Sergio Herrera先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。他的工作目标是了解考古学家所说的“奥尔梅克现象”。奥尔梅克文化兴盛于墨西哥湾沿岸的墨西哥热带低地，并在公元前1200-900年间达到文化的巅峰。最大的圣洛伦佐遗址被许多较小的遗址所包围，这表明了一个等级制度。巨大的充满泥土的建筑特征，巨大的石雕，居民之间的财富差异和专家工艺的证据都指向一个中央组织的分层社会。一些著名的雕塑，包括纪念性的头像，拟人和兽形雕像，估计重在20到40吨之间。奥尔梅克人很重要，因为他们是中美洲第一个达到这种复杂程度的社会，这为玛雅和其他后来的文明的出现提供了基础。虽然考古学家已经深入了解了奥尔梅克海湾沿岸中心地带的社会组织，但他们对更远地区的影响却知之甚少。在遗址中发现的奇异材料表明了广泛的贸易网络，奥尔梅克风格的陶瓷在遥远的墨西哥山谷也被发现。一些考古学家认为这些联系是奥尔梅克人对一个非常广泛的地区产生直接影响的证据，而另一些人则认为，“奥尔梅克”的概念定义过于狭隘，事实上，它是一个普遍存在的现象，没有真正的墨西哥湾沿岸核心。埃雷拉先生将通过对一些广泛分布的遗址的陶器进行成分和岩石学分析来解决这个问题，这些遗址显示出奥尔梅克的影响。中子活化分析将提供微量元素数据；结合来自粘土来源的类似信息，应该有可能确定奥尔梅克材料是当地生产的还是从圣洛伦索地区长途运输而来的。在这种分析的基础上，可以确定经济集中化的程度。这反过来又反映了更广泛的社会因素。这项研究很重要，因为它将为中美洲文明的兴起提供新的线索。它将提供许多考古学家感兴趣的数据，并帮助培养一位有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Drs Hector Neff and Michael O'Brien, Mr. Sergio Herrera will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. The goal of his work is to gain understanding of, what archaeologists term, the "Olmec phenomenon." The Olmec culture flourished on the Gulf Coast tropical lowlands of Mexico and reached its cultural apogee between 1200-900 BC. The largest site, San Lorenzo was surrounded my many smaller ones indicating a ranked hierarchical system. Large dirt filled architectural features, monumental stone sculptures, wealth differences among inhabitants and evidence of expert craftsmanship all point to a centrally organized stratified society. Some of the well known sculptures which include monumental heads, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures are estimated to weigh between 20 and 40 tons. The Olmec are important because they are the first society in Middle America to reach this level of complexity and this provided the foundation on which Mayan and other later civilizations arose. While archaeologists have gained insight into social organization within the Olmec Gulf coast heartland, their influence further away is poorly understood. Exotic materials found at the site indicate extensive trade networks and Olmec style ceramics have been found as far distant as the Valley of Mexico. Some archaeologists see these ties as evidence for direct Olmec influence over a very broad area while others argue that the concept of "Olmec" is too narrowly defined, and that it is in fact a generalized widespread phenomenon with no real Gulf Coast core. Mr. Herrera will address this issue through a compositional and petrographic analysis of pottery from a number of widely spread sites which exhibit Olmec influence. Neutron activation analysis will provide trace element data; in conjunction with similar information from clay sources it should be possible to determine whether the Olmec materials were produced locally or carried from the San Lorenzo region over long distances. On the basis of such analyses it is possible to determine the degree of economic centralization. This, in turn, reflects broader social factors. This research is important because it will shed new light on the rise of civilization in Middle America. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and assist in training a promising young scientist.