Dissertation Research - Reconstructing Trincheras: A Study of the Role of Cerros De Trincheras in the South-West United States and Northern Mexico

在Randall McGuire博士的指导下，bridget Zavala女士将在亚利桑那州和墨西哥索诺拉进行考古实地调查。扎瓦拉的研究将有助于系统化和收集有关神秘遗址类型“cerros de trincheras”（即带有石阶和石墙的山丘）的信息。最近对少数梯田丘陵遗址的调查表明，塞罗斯是一个长期存在的建筑传统，从3000年前开始，一直持续到15世纪。在今天的奇瓦瓦州、索诺拉州、亚利桑那州和新墨西哥州都发现了Cerros de trincheras，交叉了五个考古传统。迄今为止，不同的研究人员对这些遗址提出了多种功能解释——防御、仪式、建筑或居住。在过去的二十年里，调查人员参与了对这些遗址的第一次大规模挖掘，这些遗址位于奇瓦瓦州的Cerro Juanaquena；索诺拉的Las Trincheras；新墨西哥的堡垒；亚利桑那州的Linda Vista Hill， Tumamoc Hill和Cerro Prieto终于收集到了一些数据，这些数据将使我们有可能重新评估我们对山地梯田生活的理解。现在我们知道，这些特定的神经在功能上是多维的，它们是许多日常生活活动的场所。女士. .扎瓦拉将进行迫切需要的跨区域分析，分析农村农民在其区域和时间背景中的作用。在索诺拉和亚利桑那州的实地工作将包括对美国/墨西哥边境两侧至少31个cerros de trincheras的现场记录。地点将被绘制成地图，细节将被记录下来。然后将建立一个地理信息系统数据库，以便结合其他项目收集的资料进行实地观察。扎瓦拉女士的调查将会证实或质疑三种假说中的一种：1)所有的cerros de trincheras都有一个特定的用途：国防、农业、仪式或居住，这些用途一直保持不变；2) cerros de trincheras有几种特殊用途：防御、农业、仪式或居住，这些用途一直保持不变；或者3)遗址类型在不同时期被不同的考古传统以不同的方式使用。这项研究不仅有助于消除围绕cerros de trincheras的神秘面纱，还将有助于解决世界各地高地遗址的作用。美国东南部的山顶围栏，爱尔兰和英格兰的山堡，以及其他地方，都引起了人类学家同样的问题，但与洪泛区的同类相比，它们往往被忽视。如果我们想要对过去进行精确的重建，我们就需要把目光投向高地，并将高地前西班牙人的土地使用结合起来。这个项目还将有助于培养一位有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Randall McGuire, MsBridget Zavala will conduct archaeological fieldwork in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. Ms. Zavala's research will help to systematize and gather information on the enigmatic site-type 'cerros de trincheras' or hills with stone terraces and walls. Recent investigations at a handful of the terraced hill sites now show that cerros were a long-lived architectural tradition beginning 3000 years before present and continuing well into the 15th century. Cerros de trincheras are found in the modern day states of Chihuahua, Sonora, Arizona and New Mexico, crosscutting five archaeological traditions. To date, different researchers have posited multiple functional explanations for these sites- either defensive, ceremonial, architectural or residential. In the past two decades, investigators involved in the first large scale excavations of these sites at Cerro Juanaquena, Chihuahua; Las Trincheras, Sonora; the Fortress in New Mexico; Linda Vista Hill, Tumamoc Hill and Cerro Prieto in Arizona have finally collected the kind of data that will make it possible to reassess our understanding of terraced hill life. Wit is now known that these particular cerros were multidimensional in their function and they were the site of many of the activities of daily life. Ms.. Zavala will conduct badly needed cross-regional analyses of the role of cerros de trincheras in their regional and chronological settings. Fieldwork in Sonora and Arizona will involve site recording of at least 31 cerros de trincheras on both sides of the U.S./ Mexico border. Sites will be mapped, and details will be recorded.. A GIS database will then be created to articulate field observations with information gathered by other projects. Ms. Zavala's investigation will either verify or discredit one of three working hypotheses for cerros de trincheras: 1) all cerros de trincheras had one specialized use: defense, agriculture, ceremonial or habitation that remained constant through time; 2) cerros de trincheras had several specialized uses: defense, agriculture, ceremonial or habitation that remained constant through time; or 3) the site type was used in different ways at different times by different archaeological traditions. This research will not only help to dispell the mystery surrounding cerros de trincheras but it will also help address the role of upland sites all over the world. Hilltop enclosures in the southeastern U.S. and hill forts in Ireland and England, among others, all evoke the same kind of questions from anthropologists yet they are often ignored in comparison to their flood plain counterparts. We need to look uphill and incorporate upland pre-Hispanic land use if we intend to create accurate reconstructions of the past. This project will also contribute to training a promising young scientist.