Household and Social Change in Ancient Puerto Rico

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，一个由波多黎各和美国考古学家、地貌学家、古民族植物学家和动物考古学家组成的跨学科团队将在波多黎各的Tibes仪式中心进行为期两年的研究项目。这项研究的最终目的是更精确地了解波多黎各古代社会变化所涉及的过程，然后将这种了解应用于世界其他地区社会不平等的发展。在欧洲人征服波多黎各的时候，波多黎各的许多土著居民被组织成分层的社会，现代人类学家将其描述为酋长管辖地。这些分层的社会是在波多黎各经过4000多年占领期间发生的一系列社会文化变化，从早期的平等主义群体发展而来的。随着社会不平等的制度化，仪式主义和对资源、地位和权力的差别获取加剧了。为了全面了解波多黎各过去的社会组织和变化，该项目将重点研究古代家庭的经济、组织、组成和意义。由于社会不平等的动态在个人和社会的尺度上发挥作用，本研究旨在采取“自下而上”而不是“自上而下”的方法，从个人和家庭的角度审视社会不平等的发展。为了实现这些目标，将采用严格的实地方法，通过挖掘现场的广泛区域来揭示家庭区域。随着发掘工作的进行，考古材料和土壤样本将被收集起来，用于分析各种各样的人工制品和鉴定植物和动物遗骸。此外，将进行地貌学研究，以更好地了解土壤是如何形成的，以及人类是如何影响该遗址的总体景观的。这个项目的学术价值是双重的：首先，它试图研究世界上一个传统上受到冷遇的地区的社会分层的原位发展。在美索不达米亚、墨西哥和安第斯山脉等地区，大量的研究都是为了了解社会等级制度日益增加的原因和后果，而在加勒比等地区，研究工作相对较少。其次，通过使用严格的方法，该项目将提供更细粒度的数据，可用于理论构建和测试。拟议中的项目将至少在两个方面产生广泛影响。首先，该项目将包括一个教育部分，允许波多黎各和美国学生参加抽样和分析阶段。其次，教育活动也将扩展到公众，因为该遗址是一个考古公园，有一个博物馆，每年有成千上万的人参观。获得的信息将被纳入他们的展品，小册子和目录。还将提供讲座和小型临时展览。

With the support of the National Science Foundation, an interdisciplinary team of Puerto Rican and American archaeologists, geomorphologists, paleoethnobotanists, and zooarchaeologists will conduct a two-year program of research at the Ceremonial Center of Tibes, Puerto Rico. The ultimate purpose of the research is a more refined understanding of the processes involved in ancient social changes seen in Puerto Rico, an understanding which may then be applied to the development of social inequality in other regions of the world.At the time of European conquest, many of the indigenous peoples of Puerto Rico were organized in stratified societies that have been described by modern anthropologists as chiefdoms. These stratified societies had developed locally in Puerto Rico from earlier egalitarian groups through a series of socio-cultural changes that took place over more than 4000 years of occupation. As social inequality was established in an institutionalized manner, ceremonialism and differential access to resources, status, and power intensified.To develop a robust picture of past social organization and change in Puerto Rico, this project will focus on studying ancient households' economy, organization, composition, and meaning. As the dynamics of social inequality play out on the scale of both individuals and societies, the present study aims to take a "bottom up" rather than "top down" approach and examine the development of social inequality from the perspective of individuals and households In order to accomplish these goals, a rigorous field methodology will be employed to uncover domestic areas by excavating extensive areas of the site. As excavations proceed, archaeological material and soil samples will be collected for the analysis of various kinds of artifacts and the identification of botanical and faunal remains. Moreover, geomorphological studies will be conducted to better understand how soils formed and how humans impacted the general landscape of the site.The intellectual merit of this project is twofold: First, it seeks to study the in situ development of social stratification in a part of the world that has traditionally received short shrift. While a great deal of research has been directed at understanding the causes and consequences of increasing social hierarchization in regions like Mesopotamia, Mexico, and the Andes, comparatively little effort has been expended in regions such as the Caribbean. Second, by using a rigorous methodology, the project will provide more fine-grained data that can be used for both theory-building and testing.The proposed project will have a broad impact at least in two ways. First, the project will include an educational component allowing Puerto Rican and American students to participate during the sampling and analytical stages. Second, educational activities will also be extended to the general public since the site is in an archaeological park with a museum and it is visited by thousands of people every year. The information obtained will be incorporated in their exhibits, brochures, and catalogs. Lectures and small temporary exhibits will also be offered.