Dissertation: Community Organization and Cultural Complexity in the Early Formative Cultures of Southeastern Uruguay

在Thomas Dillehay博士的指导下，Jose Iriarte先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。他将在位于乌拉圭大西洋沿岸平原的EMA遗址进行考古挖掘。初步的实地研究表明，该遗址可追溯到形成早期，占地约50公顷，位于一条平坦的支线上，有70多个土丘，伸向广阔的湿地。这些土堆大多是低而平的圆形土堆，高度在0.5米至1.5米之间，直径在15米至30米之间。这些土丘的堆积性质是偶然堆积的中层垃圾造成的，并不意味着有任何故意的施工或刻意塑造。它们以半圆形排列在中央空地周围，类似于许多人种学和史前亚马逊群体特有的村庄布局。艾里亚特将实施一项挖掘计划，目的是确定丘陵和丘外地区的聚落空间是如何划分的。他希望了解在不同领域开展的活动的性质，以及这些活动与社区组织的关系。他将通过海沟横断面检查深丘沉积，并在以丘陵地区为特征的浅部沉积物中进行系统的间隔横断面采样。动物和花卉遗骸将提供对生存和陶瓷系列化的洞察，结合热释光和放射性碳测年将允许对个别特征进行绝对测年。早期形成阶段标志着从狩猎和采集过渡到固定的村庄生活方式。虽然长期以来的假设表明，直到最近，乌拉圭东南部的史前文化仍然是以简单、小和高度流动的乐队组织的边缘狩猎采集者，但EMA和类似的网站认为情况并非如此。多土丘遗址表明住宅流动性的下降，礼仪性的堆砌建筑表明社区规划。像EMA这样的地点聚集在高生产力的湿地地区，这意味着对新环境和物种的集约和开发。饮食中加入了玉米、南瓜、豆类和可能种植的块茎。这种一般类型的转变独立地发生在世界许多地方，考古学家希望了解导致这种变化的过程。艾里亚特认为，许多理论家假定的单一严格定义的发展轨迹并不存在，而是可以在考古记录中观察到显著的变化。该项目有助于界定这种可变性的限度。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 Dr. Thomas Dillehay Mr. Jose Iriarte will collect data for his doctoral dissertation.. He will conduct archaeological excavation at the site of EMA, located on the Atlantic coastal plain of Uruguay. Preliminary field research has revealed that the site dates to the Early Formative period and encompasses ca. 50 ha bearing more than 70 mounds located on a flat spur which projects into extensive wetlands. The majority of the mounds are low flat and circular, between .5 and 1.5 m in height with a diameter ranging between 15 and 30 m. The accretional nature of these mounds results from the incidental accumulation of midden refuse and does not suggest any intentional construction episodes or deliberate shaping. They are arranged in a semicircular shape around a central open space resembling the village layout characteristic of many ethnographic and prehistoric Amazon groups. Mr. Iriarte will carry out an excavation program with the goal of defining how settlement space is partitioned in mound and off-mound areas. He wishes to discover the nature of activities conducted in different areas and how these relate to the organization of the community. He will examine deep mound deposits by trench transect and conduct systematic interval transect sampling in the shallow deposits which characterize off mound areas. Faunal and floral remains will provide insight into subsistence and ceramic seriation in conjunction with thermoluminescent and radiocarbon dating will allow absolute dating of individual features.The Early Formative period marks the transition from hunting and gathering to a settled village way of life. While long-held assumptions suggest that the prehistoric cultures of southeastern Uruguay remained marginal hunter-gatherers organized in simple, small and highly mobile bands until recent times, EMA and similar sites argue otherwise. The multi-mound sites indicate a decrease in residential mobility and ceremonial mounded architecture suggests community planning. Sites such as EMA are aggregated in highly productive wetland areas and this suggests both intensification and the exploitation of new environments and species. Maize, squash, beans and possibly cultivated tubers were added to the diet. This general type of transition occurred, independently, in many parts of the world and archaeologists wish to understand the processes responsible for this change. Mr. Iriarte argues that the single tightly defined developmental trajectory postulated by many theorists does not exist but rather that significant variation can be observed in the archaeological record. This project helps to define the limits of such variability. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and assist in training a promising young scientist.