Doctoral Dissertation Research: Burial Caves of the Sierra Tarahumara: A Multidisciplinary Study with Implications for the Greater Southwest

墨西哥西北部（索诺拉州和奇瓦瓦州）的塔拉乌马拉山脉的生物考古学一直被人类学家所忽视，部分原因是缺乏纪念性建筑，但也因为许多遗址难以进入。这项研究奖励将允许实地挖掘和实验室分析，这将澄清塞拉塔拉乌马拉山脉的生物特性和相互作用问题。例如，墨西哥西北部塔拉乌马拉山脉（Sierra Tarahumara）的史前文化是否受到了外部群体的影响（比如那些更著名的美国西南部或墨西哥山谷的文化）？史前居民与今天居住在该地区的土著居民（塔拉乌马拉人、皮马人、瓜里希奥人）有什么关系？为了解决这些问题，研究人员将挖掘和分析至少六个以前未被调查的埋葬洞穴，这些洞穴位于一个过去17年来没有进行过生物考古调查的地区。收集的数据将解决两个问题：第一，塔拉乌马拉山脉是否曾是墨西哥和古典西南部之间史前联系的走廊？第二，文化和骨骼遗迹是否表明与该地区目前的三个人口之一（塔拉乌马拉，皮马，瓜里希奥）和美国西南部有联系？为了解决第一个问题，工件、骨骼度量和牙齿数据（度量和非度量）可能表明从外部发生了一些迁移到Sierra Tarahumara。为了解决第二个问题，从洞穴中收集的牙齿和骨骼数据将与之前的区域研究和墨西哥北部已知的博物馆藏品进行统计比较。此外，将需要放射性碳定年来确定新调查地点的顺序年表。这项研究在三个关键方面为现有的墨西哥历史知识做出了贡献：1)确定被埋葬者的生物亲和性将有助于揭示大西南地区的古代文化，包括现在在美国的地区；2)记录和分析鲜为人知的史前文化习俗与生活方式之间的关系；3)展示史前的范围、分布和过去人口的生活方式可能有助于后代现代人恢复因殖民主义而丢失的文化遗产。这项研究将提供生物学和文化信息，可应用于墨西哥历史、土著政治、定居历史和整个塔拉乌马拉山脉地区的领土。此外，由于该项目将与墨西哥国家人类学和历史研究所的考古学家一起进行，因此将与墨西哥学者建立重要的联系。这将使未来的国际学习、信息、技术和学生交换成为可能。

The bioarchaeology of the Sierra Tarahumara mountains of northwest Mexico (Sonora and Chihuahua states) has been overlooked by anthropologists, partly due to the absence of monumental architecture, but also because many of the sites are difficult to access. This research award will allow field excavations and laboratory analyses that will clarify questions of biological identity and interaction in the Sierra Tarahumara mountains. For example, were prehistoric cultures of the Sierra Tarahumara, northwest Mexico influenced by outside groups (such as those in the better-known American Southwest or Valley of Mexico)? What is the relationship of prehistoric occupants to indigenous people who inhabit the region today (Tarahumara, Pima, Guarijio)?To address these issues, the researchers will excavate and analyze at least six previously uninvestigated burial caves within a region where no controlled bioarchaeological investigation has been undertaken within the past 17 years. Data will be collected to address two questions: First, did the Sierra Tarahumara serve as a corridor for prehistoric contacts between Mexico and the classical Southwest? Second, do the cultural and skeletal remains show affiliation with one of the three current populations in the region (Tarahumara, Pima, Guarijio) and with the American Southwest? To address the first question, artifacts, skeletal metrics, and dental data (metric and non-metric) may indicate some migration from outside took place into the Sierra Tarahumara. To address the second, dental and skeletal metric data collected from the caves will be statistically compared with those of previous regional studies and known museum collections within northern Mexico. Further, radiocarbon dates will be required to establish the sequential chronology of newly investigated sites.This study contributes to existing knowledge of Mexican history in three critical ways: 1) Determining the biological affinities of the interred will shed light on the ancient cultures of the greater Southwest, including areas now in the United States; 2) Documenting and analyzing the relationships among poorly known prehistoric cultural practices and lifeways; and 3) Demonstrating the prehistoric ranges, distributions, and lifeways of past populations may aid descendant modern people in recovering cultural heritage lost through Colonialism. This study will provide biological and cultural information that can be applied in Mexican history, indigenous politics, history of settlement, and territoriality throughout the Sierra Tarahumara region.Further, as this project will be conducted in conjunction with archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico, important ties with Mexican scholars will be formed. This will enable future international study, along with information, technology, and student exchange to take place.