Dissertation: Social Complexity, Religious Organization, and Mortuary Ritual at the Prehispanic Site of Paquime', Chihuahua, Mexico

在Jane Buikstra博士的指导下，Gordon Rakita先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。他的研究目的是研究宗教控制和相关仪式在史前复杂社会组织中的作用。考古学家已经认识到，当群体从狩猎和采集转变为农业生存基础时，更丰富的食物供应导致了群体规模和人口密度的增加。这种模式在世界范围内普遍存在。在西南地区，早期复杂社会的寿命相对较短。村庄只存在了几代人，随后是人口重新分配。只有当宗教活动的证据增加时，才会出现长期的稳定性。然而，目前尚不清楚这些宗教结构对个人的控制程度，以及宗教实践对日常生活的影响程度。根据人种学数据和理论工作，Rakita先生认为，宗教专家培养了一种统一的信仰和实践结构，有助于将个人纳入一个受控制的功能单位。他认为，其结果是形成了一个等级分明的社会，各个阶层之间有明确的划分，每个阶层内部都是统一的。为了验证这一想法，他将研究美国西南部和邻近的墨西哥北部的一大群人类墓葬。我的多位研究人员发掘出了最大的一组来自墨西哥奇瓦瓦州帕奎米的前西班牙遗址。这座大型复杂城市代表了西南地区复杂程度的高度。Rakita先生将向这一早期样本以及来自邻近区域的接触后材料添加样本，以监测随时间的变化。他将检查墨西哥和美国相关保管处的记录，并记录一系列变量，如尸体的位置和处理方式以及相关的坟墓供品。通过检查变异，应该有可能确定不同的站点分组是否随着时间的推移而出现，以及每个站点的变异是否像他预测的那样减少。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。这将有助于理解宗教和仪式在史前社会组织中的作用，以及随着群体规模的增加，这种作用是如何变化的。它将提供对新世界考古学的深入了解，并产生一种有用的分析工具，可能适用于许多考古情况。它还将帮助培训一名有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Jane Buikstra Mr. Gordon Rakita will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. The goal of his research is to examine the role of religious control and associated ritual in the organization of prehistoric complex societies. Archaeologists have recognized that as groups changed from a hunting and gathering to an agricultural subsistence base a more abundant food supply resulted in increase in group size and population density. This pattern occurs on a world wide basis. In the Southwest early complex societies had relatively short life spans. Villages lasted for only several generations and were followed by population redistribution. Only when evidence for religious activity increases does longer term stability appear. It is unclear however what control such religious structures held over individuals and to what degree religious practice affected daily life. Based on ethnographic data and theoretical work Mr. Rakita believes that religious specialists fostered a uniform structure of beliefs and practices which served to incorporate individuals into a controlled functioning unit. He believes that the result was a hierarchical structured society with defined divisions between levels and uniformity within each. To test this idea he will study a large group of human burials from the US Southwest and adjacent Northern Mexico. Excavated my multiple researchers the largest group derives from the prehispanic site of Paquime in Chihuahua Mexico. This large complex city represents the height of Southwest complexity. Mr. Rakita will add to this sample earlier as well as post contact materials from adjacent regions to monitor change over time. He will examine records in relevant depositories in both Mexico and the U.S. and record a range of variables such as position and treatment of the body as well as associated grave offerings. By examining variation it should be possible to determine whether distinct in site groupings emerge over time and whether variation within each decreases as he predicts.This research is important for several reasons. It will help to understand the role of religion and ritual in the organization of prehistoric societies and how this changes as group size increases. It will provide insight into the archaeology of the New World and yield a useful analytic tool of potential applicability in many archaeological situations. It will also assist in training a promising young scientist.