Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Early Intermediate Social Differentiation in the Moquegua Valley, Southern Peru

在Marc P.Bermann博士的监督下，Kirk Costion将分析他在Yahuay Alta的Huaracane遗址进行考古调查期间收集的数据。这些调查将包括密集的地面收集和国内情况下的挖掘。Yahuay Alta位于秘鲁南部干旱的莫夸加山谷中部，海拔约1600米。这个地方的居民是瓦拉卡内传统的一部分。这一传统是指山谷中第一个已知的农业社区，目前可以追溯到公元前385年至公元340年之间。雅花依阿尔塔包含保存完好的公共建筑，包括两个升高的平台和一个大的平台丘，以及至少五个独立的国内部门。这项研究的重点将是该遗址的居住用途，根据深谷和其他自然地形特征，这些居住用途被细分为五个不同的房屋遗迹空间区段。这项研究旨在从五个过程(主要资源生产、远程交换、工艺生产、仪式/仪式和盛宴/互惠)来调查华拉康的社会政治动态，这些过程通常被认为是承保的或与社会分化有关的。此外，还将探讨网站内家庭财富/地位变化的性质。目前对莫夸加山谷中部瓦拉卡内居民的社会组织知之甚少，尽管最近的研究表明，在瓦拉卡内序列的后期出现了一种社会等级制度。这些信息主要来自停尸房情况和定居点调查。这项研究的主要目标之一是调查在瓦拉卡内太平间环境中观察到的社会等级制度如何或甚至是否在居住环境中表现出来。此外，这项调查的目的是确定哪些活动使地位较高的居民有别于瓦拉卡内其余人口，并探索这些活动之间的相互关系。在家庭和住宅部门一级发现上述五个进程的差异，将有助于理解社会某些阶层如何能够确立社会差异并使之合法化。由于社会和经济活动的不同参与以及财富/地位差异的确定是一个复杂的过程，因此本次调查将使用多种证据。这项调查将集中于确定传统文物(陶器碎片、石器)的分布差异，这些文物在遗址表面、住宅建筑和住宅存储设施中都很丰富。此外，这项调查还将利用微观和宏观的植物遗骸和动物遗骸来重建潜在的饮食差异。除了考古界感兴趣的研究问题外，该项目还将产生更广泛的影响，提高公众对考古学的了解水平，特别是在莫夸加山谷的社区内。由于与当地考古博物馆Contisuyo博物馆建立了良好的工作关系，与该地区的这一考古项目和其他考古项目有关的公众宣传得到了便利。拟议的发掘结果将在Contisuyo博物馆向当地社区介绍，并在博物馆工作人员的帮助下，希望这项研究的最终结果将在当地Moqugua学校传播，以充实他们关于当地考古记录的已经详细的课程。在研究完成后，准备一个有研究结果的网站，将提高该项目在秘鲁和美国的公众知名度。在专业期刊上发表文章将有助于将结果传达给考古界。此外，该项目将为提交人和秘鲁本科生助理提供基本考古方法方面的重要培训。

Under the supervision of Dr. Marc P. Bermann, Kirk Costion will analyze data gathered during his archaeological investigations at the Huaracane site of Yahuay Alta. These investigations will consist of intensive surface collections and excavations in domestic contexts. Yahuay Alta is located in the arid middle Moquegua Valley in Southern Peru at an altitude of approximately 1600m above sea level. The inhabitants of this site were part of the Huaracane Tradition. This Tradition refers to the first known agricultural communities in the valley and is currently dated between 385 BC and AD 340. Yahuay Alta contains well-preserved public architecture, including two raised platforms and a large platform mound, and at least five separate domestic sectors. The focus of this research will be on the residential occupations at the site, which are subdivided into five distinct spatial sectors of house remains by deep ravines and other natural topographic features. This research is designed to investigate Huaracane sociopolitical dynamics in terms of five processes (staple resource production, long distance exchange, craft production, ritual/ceremony, and feasting/reciprocity) that are often identified as underwriting or associated with social differentiation. In addition, the nature of intrasite household wealth/status variability will be explored.Little is currently known about the social organization of the Huaracane inhabitants of the middle Moquegua Valley, although recent research suggests that there was an emergence of a system of social hierarchy late in the Huaracane sequence. This information comes primarily from mortuary contexts and settlement surveys. One of the primary goals of this research is to investigate how or even if the social hierarchy observed in Huaracane mortuary contexts was manifested within residential contexts. In addition, this investigation aims to identify the activities through which higher status residents were distinguished from the remainder of the Huaracane population, and explore how these activities interrelated. Detecting variation in the five processes mentioned above at both the household and residential sector level will contribute to an understanding of how certain segments of society were able to establish and legitimize social differences. Because the identification of differential participation in social and economic activities and wealth/status differences is a complicated process, multiple lines of evidence will be used in this investigation. This investigation will focus on identifying differences in the distribution of traditional artifacts (broken pottery, stone tools), which are abundant upon the site's surface, residential architecture, and residential storage facilities. In addition, this investigation will also utilize both micro and macro botanical remains and faunal remains in order to reconstruct potential dietary differences.Beyond the research question of interest to the archaeological community, this project will have a broader impact by enhancing the level of public understanding of archaeology, especially within communities in the Moquegua Valley. Public outreach associated with this and other archaeological projects in the region has been facilitated by an excellent working relationship with the Museo Contisuyo, the local archaeological museum. Findings from the proposed excavations will be presented to the local community at the Museo Contisuyo and with the help of the Museo staff it is hoped that the final results of this research will be disseminated among the local Moquegua schools in order to augment their already detailed curriculum on the local archaeological record. Upon completion of the research, the preparation of a website with the results will enhance the public visibility of the project in both Peru and the United States. Publication in professional journals will help to communicate the results to the archeological community. In addition, this project will provide both the author and Peruvian undergraduate assistants with important training in essential archaeological methods.