Dissertation Research: Social Emplacement on an Early Maya Landscape: Assessing Preclassic Duration at Aguateca and Punta de Chimino, Guatemala

在猪又武博士的监督下，布鲁斯巴尚德将在危地马拉佩特斯巴通地区邻近的阿瓜特卡和蓬塔德奇米诺玛雅中心挖掘晚前古典时期的文化遗迹。初步发掘表明，这些中心是在公元前100年至公元350年的古玛雅文化历史上一个不稳定的政治时期被占领的。 这两个社区都在这个时候建立了小金字塔，以努力将他们的社会身份和政治倾向锚在一个地方。Bachand的发掘工作将使用从墓葬、缓存沉积物、垃圾堆和石膏表面检索的放射性碳和热释光日期来完善这两个中心的年表，以追踪公共空间、纪念性建筑和周围住宅的一系列修改。在玛雅这样的农业文化中，一个社区的社会身份、与祖先的联系以及集体记忆在物质上融合在一起。前古典时期的玛雅社会安置有许多特点，如埋葬死者、扩建住宅、维护和翻新公共空间以及在公共空间放置仪式物品。这些做法的频率、持续时间和社会性质表明了玛雅社区在不同时期对一个地方的扎根或依恋。本研究旨在将这些习俗的当地表达与玛雅地区邻近地区的政治变革证据相关联。该项目对人类学，考古学和玛雅低地的史前史具有多层次的意义。对于人类学来说，它解决了人们如何在广泛的文化变革时期将自己锚定在物质上，特别是当国家解体时，政治变革需要重塑领导和重塑当地社区身份。在考古学领域，该项目旨在通过创造性地获取样本和应用“基于现实”的统计工具，开发更有效和更准确的计时测年方法。最后，玛雅地区的早期文化历史将得到改善。 新的日期和新的考古证据将用于评估早期Petexbatun社区如何融入快速变化的晚期前古典景观的社会结构。除了解决科学问题，Bachand的项目将提高现代人对Petexbatun景观的安置。随着国际资助的大型修复项目在阿瓜特卡和多斯皮拉斯接近完成，当地的Q'eqchi' Maya正在发展自己的考古旅游业务。Q'eqchi' Maya将作为项目挖掘者了解他们的祖先根源。Bachand还将帮助当地奇米诺岛旅馆的主人为蓬塔德奇米诺的游客开发解释媒体。这种改善吸引了外国游客，鼓励了当地企业家精神，并培养了对该地区文化遗产的欣赏。

Under the supervision of Dr. Takeshi Inomata, Bruce Bachand will excavate Late Preclassic cultural remains at the neighboring Maya centers of Aguateca and Punta de Chimino in Guatemala's Petexbatun region. Preliminary excavations indicate these centers were occupied during an unstable political period in ancient Maya culture history from 100 B.C. to A.D. 350. Both communities erected small pyramids at this time in an effort to anchor their social identities and political dispositions in a place. Bachand's excavations will refine the chronology at these two centers using radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dates retrieved from burials, cache deposits, middens, and plaster surfaces in an effort to trace a sequence of modifications to public spaces, monumental buildings, and surrounding residences. In agrarian cultures like the Maya, a community's social identity, its connection to forbearers, and its collective memory become materially fused in physical places. A number of practices characterize Preclassic Maya social emplacement-burial of the dead, expansion of residential buildings, maintenance and refurbishment of public spaces, and the deposition of ritual objects in public spaces. The frequency, duration, and social nature of these practices are indicative of a Maya community's rootedness or attachment to a place at various moments in time. This study aims to correlate the local expression of these practices with evidence of political change in adjacent areas within the Maya region.This project has multiple levels of significance for anthropology, archaeology, and the prehistory of the Maya lowlands. For anthropology, it addresses how people anchor themselves to places materially during times of broad cultural change, especially political change entailing the reinvention of leadership and reshaping of local community identities when a state disintegrates. In the archaeological sphere, the project seeks to develop more effective and accurate means of chronometric dating through the creative acquisition of samples and application of 'reality based' statistical tools. Finally, the early cultural history of the Maya region will be improved. New dates and new archaeological evidence will be used to assess how early Petexbatun communities fit into the social fabric of a rapidly changing Late Preclassic landscape.Besides addressing scientific questions, Bachand's project will enhance modern people's emplacement on the Petexbatun landscape. Local Q'eqchi' Maya are developing their own archaeo-tourism businesses as large, internationally funded restoration projects approach completion at Aguateca and Dos Pilas. Q'eqchi' Maya will learn about their ancestral roots as project excavators. Bachand will also help the owner's of the local Chimino's Island Lodge develop interpretive media for visitors to Punta de Chimino. Improvements of this kind attract foreign tourists, encourage local entrepreneurship, and foster appreciation for the region's cultural patrimony.