Dissertation: Pre-Iroquioian Households at the Owasco Period, Thomas/Luckey Site in New York (AD 1250-1350)

在阿尔伯特·德金博士的指导下，劳里·米罗夫女士将为她的博士论文收集数据。她的项目的近期目标是协调专家分析从纽约阿什兰镇的托马斯/勒基遗址出土的考古材料。这座大型露天遗址的历史可以追溯到公元900 - 1300年，根据陶瓷遗迹，它被认为是奥瓦斯科文化的产物。考古学家认为，奥瓦斯科人是易洛魁人的直接祖先，他们在欧洲接触的时候居住在美国东北部的大片地区。易洛魁人的起源知之甚少，根据与邻近群体的比较，独特的易洛魁语言似乎是侵入性的。因为早期的民族志学家广泛研究易洛魁人，他们的史前史是相当大的兴趣，因为它提供了一个背景，了解殖民时期的适应。虽然根据陶瓷类型学，奥瓦斯科文化似乎直接起源于易洛魁人，但相对较少的遗址被挖掘出来，他们的社会组织也知之甚少。米罗夫的研究有可能纠正这种情况。托马斯/勒基遗址包含大量分散的考古材料，从1994年开始，在多个野外季节进行了挖掘。较低的土层未受干扰，它们保留了房屋柱子的痕迹。米罗夫女士和同事们发现了两处大型住宅，根据人种学比较，这两处住宅可能被多个家庭群体占据。Miroff女士将对回收的材料进行空间分析，以确定空间聚类，推断这些材料是否代表国内群体，然后进行跨群体比较，以检查社会分化或专业化存在的程度。在接触时，易洛魁人被组织成酋长和部落，地位差异明显存在。它是不确定的，当这些第一次出现。在NSF的支持下，MS Miroff将获得放射性碳和热释光日期，以确定特征之间的同时代性。还将进行石器的植物学和使用磨损分析，其结果将纳入集群表征。它将阐明一个鲜为人知的美国史前时期，并将提供许多考古学家感兴趣的数据。它将揭示复杂社会的发展，并有助于培养有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Albert Dekin, MS Laurie Miroff will collect data for her doctoral dissertation. The immediate goal of her project is to coordinate specialist analyses of archaeological materials excavated from the Thomas/Luckey site, located in the Town of Ashland, New York. This large open air occurrence dates from 900 - 1300 AD and, on the basis of ceramic remains, is attributed to the Owasco culture. The Owasco, archaeologists believe, are directly ancestral to the Iroquois peoples who inhabited a large region of the US Northeast at the time of European contact. The origin of the Iroquois is poorly understood and based on comparisons with adjacent groups, the distinctive Iroquois language appears intrusive. Because early ethnographers studied the Iroquois extensively their prehistory is of considerable interest because it provides a background for understanding colonial period adaptation. Although based on ceramic typologies the Owasco culture appears directly ancestral to the Iroquois, relatively few sites have been excavated and their social organization is poorly known. MS Miroff's research has the potential to remedy this situation. The Thomas/Luckey site contains large scatters of archaeological material and beginning in 1994 has been excavated over multiple field seasons. Lower soil layers are undisturbed and they preserve traces of house posts. MS Miroff and colleagues have discerned the presence of two large dwellings which, based on ethnographic comparison, likely were occupied by multiple family groups. MS Miroff will conduct a spatial analysis of recovered material to determine spatial clustering, infer whether these represent domestic groups and then compare across groups to examine the extent to which social differentiation or specialization existed. At the time of contact, the Iroquois were organized into chiefdoms and tribes and status differences were clearly present. It is uncertain when these first appeared. With NSF support, MS Miroff will obtain radiocarbon and thermolumenescence dates to determine contemporanity among features. Botanical and use wear analyses of stone tools will also be carried out and the results will be incorporated into cluster characterization.This research is important for several reasons. It will illuminate a poorly understood period of US prehistory and will provide data of interest to many archaeologists. It will shed light on the development of complex societies and contribute to training a promising young scientist.