Remote Sensing, Ancient Footpaths, and Regional Integration in the Arenal Area, Costa Rica

在国家科学基金会的支持下，佩森·希尔斯博士和他的同事们将在哥斯达黎加西北部的阿雷纳尔地区进行两个考古季节的实地研究。他的项目广泛利用了遥感图像、图像处理和数据分析，并得到了位于亨茨维尔的NASA马歇尔太空飞行中心的Tom Sever博士和他的同事的协助。Sheets和Sever发现，他们可以探测到以前认为不可能的事情：人们从他们的古老村庄步行到大陆分水岭上的墓地，从墓地到泉水，再到用于建造坟墓的石材来源，形成了一条小路。卫星技术最近已经发展到了可以提供图像的水平，可以探测到通往使用墓地的一个或多个村庄的人行道的延续。对线状异常的挖掘将提供数据，以验证或否定作为人行道的异常。Sheets博士之前的研究已经发现了墓地中广泛的安葬后仪式和盛宴的证据，这可以追溯到大约1200年前。如果仪式和宴会只由一个村庄进行，那么它们就起到了加强社区或宗族/家庭团结的作用。然而，如果不止一个村庄在举行宴会，那么这些仪式就可以作为一个区域一体化机制发挥作用。如果后者是真的，大陆分水岭两边的社区都参与其中，那么这可以解释东部村庄对阿雷纳尔火山大规模爆发的非凡文化韧性。Sheets和他的同事之前的研究记录了过去4000年来阿里纳尔火山的十次大爆发，并发现在重新占领期间的文化韧性比迄今为止研究的任何其他拉丁美洲古代文化都要强。研究团队包括来自美国和哥斯达黎加的自然科学家和社会科学家。哥斯达黎加国家博物馆的人类学期刊Vinculos将首先以西班牙语发表出版物，然后以英语发表在美国期刊上。一个双语网站将为学者和感兴趣的其他人提供所有相关的图像、战壕简介和摄影、文物和文学作品。

With National Science Foundation support Dr. Payson Sheets and his colleagues will conduct two field seasons of archaeological research in the Arenal area of northwestern Costa Rica. His project extensively utilizes remote sensing imagery, image processing, and data analysis is assisted by Dr. Tom Sever and his colleagues at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. Sheets and Sever have discovered that they can detect something that was previously not believed to be possible: small footpaths created by people walking from their ancient villages to a cemetery on the continental divide, and from the cemetery to a spring and to sources of stone used for tomb construction. Satellite technology has recently progressed to a level that it should provide imagery that can detect the continuation of these footpaths to a village or villages that was using the cemetery. Excavations of linear anomalies will provide data to verify or negate anomalies as footpaths. Previous research by Dr. Sheets has found evidence of extensive post-interment ritual and feasting in the cemetery, that date to about 1200 years ago. If the rituals and feasting were conducted by only one village, then they functioned to reinforce community or lineage/household solidarity. However, if more than one village was conducting feasting, then the rituals could have functioned as a regional integrative mechanism. If the latter is true, with communities on both sides of the continental divide participating, then this could explain the extraordinary cultural resilience of eastern villages to massive explosive eruptions of Arenal volcano. Previous research by Sheets and colleagues has documented ten great explosive eruptions of Arenal volcano over the past 4000 years, and discovered a cultural resilience during reoccupation greater than any other ancient Latin American culture studied to date. The research team includes natural scientists and social scientists from the US and Costa Rica. Publications will first appear in Spanish in Vinculos, the anthropological journal from the Costa Rican Museo Nacional, prior to publications appearing in English in US journals. A bilingual website will present all relevant imagery, trenching profiles and photography, artifacts, and literature for scholars and interested others.