The Constitution of Political Authority in Archaic Transcaucasian States, CA 1500-780 B.C.: Archaeological Investigations on the Tsakahovit Plain, Republic of Armenia

在国家科学基金会的支持下，亚当·史密斯博士和他的同事们将在亚美尼亚西部的高原察卡霍维特平原进行一个季节的考古研究。约133平方公里。它的范围和包含一系列的堡垒和城堡可追溯到公元前第二个千年，它提供了一个理想的设置，研究的因素，导致了古代国家的崛起和维护。Tsakahovit平原四面环山，是一个地理上有限的分析区域，在一个可管理的区域内包括大量的地质和考古多样性。1998年，史密斯博士及其同事进行的考古调查表明，在青铜器和铁器时代，人们曾广泛地居住在这里。迄今为止，包括这两个组成部分的六个堡垒已被记录在案，其中最广泛和保存最完好的是Tsakahovit堡垒，该堡垒将成为该项目的重点。在这第一个赛季，在什么是设想作为一个长期的努力，该小组将进行一个表面调查的大部分Tsakahovit平原，以重建大规模的定居模式。虽然大型堡垒很容易找到，但较小人口聚集的遗迹更难找到。该小组还将记录和取样调查地区的粘土来源，以测量背景地球化学变异性。这将为陶瓷的潜在采购和贸易网络的重建奠定基础。该团队还将在三个堡垒遗址进行地下勘测和测试挖掘。年代学将通过持续的陶瓷分析和放射性碳测年来完善。虽然人类学家长期以来一直认识到古代国家在复杂政治体系发展中的作用，并将它们整理成类型学系统，但对这些实体实际上是如何运作的了解相对较少。统治者如何维护自己的主权？机构是如何创造离散的管理领域的？政治权威是如何构建的？史密斯博士的研究将探讨这些问题。拟议的调查将利用亚美尼亚共和国提供的合作研究的独特机会。外高加索长期以来一直是各大洲的十字路口，为建立新的人类学方法来研究早期国家提供了丰富的背景。

With National Science Foundation support Dr. Adam Smith and his colleagues will conduct one season of archaeological research in the Tsakahovit plain, an elevated plateau in western Armenia. Approximately 133 square km. in extent and containing a series of fortresses and citadels dating to the second millennium BC, it provides an ideal setting for examining the factors which led to the rise and maintenance of archaic states. Bound by mountains on all sides, the Tsakahovit plain presents a geographically circumscribed region for analysis that includes a significant amount of geological and archaeological diversity within a manageable region. Archaeological investigation conducted in 1998 by Dr. Smith and colleagues indicate an intensive and extensive occupation during the Bronze and Iron Ages. Six fortresses which include both components have been documented to date and the most extensive and best preserved, the Tsakahovit fortress will provide the focus for this project. During this first season in what is envisioned as a long term effort the team will conduct a surface survey over a broad portion of the Tsakahovit plain to reconstruct large scale settlement pattern. While large fortresses are easy to locate, remains of smaller population aggregations are more elusive. The team will also record and sample clay sources from the survey areas in order to measure background geochemical variability. This will lay the groundwork for potential sourcing of ceramics and the reconstruction of trade networks. The team will also conduct subsurface survey and test excavations at three fortress sites. Chronology will be refined through continued ceramic analysis and radiocarbon dating.While anthropologists have long recognized the role of archaic states in the development of complex political systems and have ordered them into typological systems, relatively little is understood about how these entities actually functioned. How did rulers maintain their sovereignty? How did institutions create discrete spheres of administration? How was political authority constructed? Dr. Smith's research will examine these issues. The proposed investigations will take advantage of a unique opportunity for collaborative research offered by the republic of Armenia. Long a crossroads of continents, Transcaucasis offers a rich setting for forging new anthropological approaches to the study of early states.