Dissertation: Investigating Lineage Organization Among The Late Classic Maya of Northwestern Belize

在Don Rice博士的指导下，Jon Hageman先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。他的研究目标是了解史前玛雅社会组织的基本原理，为了实现这一目标，他在伯利兹西北部的一个地区工作，该地区在古典时期后期被占领。这标志着玛雅文明的高度，因为伯利兹的这一部分只在这段时间内被占领，所以可以实现时间控制。玛雅人成功地殖民了低地热带地区，其人口密度比现在的人要大得多，他们用相对简单的技术创造了社会/政治/经济实体，将成千上万的人捆绑成一个综合的功能单位。他们创造了足够的剩余劳动力，超过了维持生计所需的劳动力，建造了大型金字塔，生产了非功利主义的奢侈品。在伯利兹的这个地区，他们还建造了用于灌溉和水管理的运河系统。虽然在玛雅社会中存在着明显的财富差异，但在许多地区，明确的阶级差异很难辨别，许多考古学家认为“阶级”并不是主要的组织原则。根据人种学数据和世界上许多其他地方的例子，哈格曼认为，伯利兹北部的这些群体是按照血统原则组织起来的，个人根据出生情况被分配到基本相当的平行群体中。虽然相对地位和财富在个人血统中有所不同，但每个群体都由一个人领导，有神殿来加强群体身份，共享可见的物质特征，并占据空间上连续的区域。哈格曼将继续他在伯利兹北部地区的考古研究，以确定数据是否真的支持这种模型。为了实现这一目标，他将完成一项正在进行的区域调查，以寻找边界标记并检查房屋丘的分布。他还将在一系列地点进行测试和挖掘，以恢复相关信息。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将为许多考古学家提供感兴趣的数据，并为玛雅社会组织的基本原则提供新的线索。它还将有助于培养有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Don Rice, Mr. Jon Hageman will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. The goal of his research is to understand the basic principles which underlay prehistoric Mayan social organization and to achieve this he working in a region of Northwestern Belize which was occupied during the Late Classic Period. This marks the height of the Mayan civilization and because this portion of Belize was only occupied during this interval, chronological control can be achieved. Mayan peoples successfully colonized lowland tropical regions at population densities considerably greater than their present day counterparts and with relatively simple technologies they created social/political/economic entities which bound thousands of people over large areas into integrated functioning units. They created enough surplus labor, over and above that needed for subsistence, to build large pyramids and to produce non-utilitarian luxury goods. In this region of Belize they also created canal systems for irrigation and water management. Although it is clear that wealth differential existed within Mayan society, in many regions clear-cut class differences are hard to discern and "class", many archaeologists believe is not a primary organizing principle. Based on both ethnographic data and examples from many other parts of the world, Mr. Hageman argues that these northern Belize groups were organized along lineage principles and that individuals were assigned to essentially equivalent parallel groups based on birth. While relative status and wealth varied within individual lineages, each group was headed by a single individual, had shrines which reinforced group identity, shared visible material characteristics and occupied a spatially contiguous area. Mt. Hageman will continue his archaeological research in this northern Belize region to determine whether data in fact support such a model. To accomplish this he will complete an ongoing regional survey to search for boundary markers and examine the distribution of house mounds. He will also test and excavate at a series of sites to recover relevant information.This research is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and shed new light on the basic Mayan principles of social organization. It will also contribute to training a promising young scientist.