Transition to Maize Agriculture Along the Pacific Coast of Mexico

在国家科学基金会的支持下，道格拉斯·肯内特博士和他的同事们将在墨西哥太平洋海岸进行两个实地考古和古环境研究季节。这项工作的主要科学目标是研究7500至2700年前(BP)前两个不同沿海环境--一个在恰帕斯州，另一个在格雷罗州--向玉米农业的过渡。以及集约农业的出现对每个地区当地环境的影响。最新的生物地理和基因研究表明，玉米是从巴尔萨斯河谷的一种野草(Teosinte)进化而来的，该河谷从墨西哥中央高地一直延伸到太平洋。一种驯化的玉米似乎早在公元前7500年就从巴尔萨斯河谷传播出来。作为中世纪美洲文明的标志之一，玉米农业在公元前2,500年前就在各种不同的环境中得到了很好的发展。最近在美国中部的研究表明，这种转变所涉及的过程是复杂的，在空间上是可变的。至少，这一系列事件包括：1)玉米的初步驯化；2)生活在各种生境中的采食者采用玉米；3)随后的试验导致农业发展或混合生存战略的稳定；4)在某些地区最终出现更集约的农业战略；最后5)通过采用或人口迁移/替代扩大农业经济。从进化的意义上讲，生活在不同环境中的觅食种群最初采用和使用关键的家养动物，是美国中部农业生活最终发展的关键部分。为了研究采用和发展的过程，这个多学科项目采用了：1)考古调查和挖掘这一过渡时期的遗址，2)场外沉积物取心，以及相关的地貌/花粉研究，以检测每个地区最初引入玉米的情况，并跟踪植被变化和对与集约化农业相关的景观的影响。农业的出现是我们人类文化进化中最重要的转变之一。它在世界各地的传播是一个复杂的过程，来自世界不同地区的考古证据表明，这种转变的细节差异很大，特别是所采用的驯养动物的类型和觅食种群对使用它们的抵抗力。重建玉米等关键驯化物种传播之前在各种栖息地使用的觅食策略，将使我们更好地理解这一根本性经济转型背后的主要机制。

With National Science Foundation support Dr. Douglas Kennett and his colleagues will conduct two field seasons of archaeological and paleoenvironmental research on the Pacific coast of Mexico. The primary scientific aim of this work is to study the transition to maize agriculture in two different coastal settings-one in the state of Chiapas and the other in Guerrero-between 7,500 and 2,700 years ago (BP). and the impacts that the emergence of intensive agriculture had on local environments in each area. The most recent biogeographical and genetic studies indicate that maize evolved from a wild grass (teosinte) in the Balsas River Valley, which runs from the central highlands of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. A domesticated form of maize appears to have spread out of the Balsas River Valley as early as 7,500 BP. One of the hallmarks of Middle American civilizations, maize agriculture was well established in a variety of different environments by 2,500 BP. Recent work in Middle America indicates that the processes involved in this transition were complex and spatially variable. At a minimum the sequence of events included: 1) initial domestication of maize; 2) adoption of maize by foragers living in a wide range of habitats; 3) subsequent experimentation leading to agricultural development or stability of mixed subsistence strategies; 4) ultimate emergence of more intensive agricultural strategies in certain locations; and finally 5) spread of agricultural economies via adoption or population movement/replacement. In an evolutionary sense, the initial adoption and use of key domesticates by foraging populations living in different environments was a crucial part of the ultimate development of agrarian life in Middle America. To study the process of adoption and development this multidisciplinary project employs: 1) archaeological survey and excavation of sites dating to this transitional interval, 2) off-site sediment coring, and associated geomorphological/pollen studies, to detect the initial introduction of maize into each area and to track vegetation changes and impacts to the landscape associated with intensified agriculture. The emergence of agriculture is one of the most significant transitions in the cultural evolution of our species. Its spread around the world was, and continues to be, a complex process and archaeological evidence from different parts of the world indicates that the details of this transformation varied greatly, particularly the types of domesticates adopted and the resistance of foraging populations to use them. Reconstructing the foraging strategies that were in use in a variety of habitats prior to the spread of key domesticates, like maize, will provide us with a better understanding of the primary mechanisms underlying this fundamental economic transition.