Doctoral Dissertation Research: Early Complex Society Development in the Rio Tonosi Valley, Panama

在Robert D. Drennan博士的指导下，C. Adam Berrey先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。他将在巴拿马中部太平洋Río Tonosí山谷对史前人类住区进行区域规模的调查。本研究的中心目标是了解导致该地区大规模社会形态增长的力量，以及组织这些社会形态的活动和关系。在西班牙接触的时候，巴拿马中部的这种“超地方”社会形态是围绕高度不平等的社会关系组织起来的。然而，考古研究表明，这些社会形态在空间和时间上的组织方式存在相当大的差异。社会等级制度是在不同的活动领域中建立起来的，一些社会形态的组织等级制度要少得多。这种变化在世界各地都可以清楚地看到，但在较小的范围内——在单个小区域的社会中——它为研究产生这种变化的力量提供了一个特别有趣的机会。为了研究这个问题，贝里先生将对托诺西山谷进行一次调查，并记录结构、陶瓷和其他表面材料的存在和分布。与巴拿马中部大部分地区形成的等级森严的组织形式相反，Río Tonosí山谷的超地方社会结构似乎等级要低得多。这项研究将确定事实是否如此。如果是这样，该研究将试图确定Río Tonosí社会结构是否在其他方面比附近地区“欠发达”。如果Río Tonosí社会组织比现在看起来更加等级分明，那么拟议的研究将提供有关这种等级性质可能与其他地区不同的方式的信息。该项目将为来自几所大学的学生提供实地培训的机会，并促进国际学术合作。将通过在当地学校的宣传来强调公众对科学的理解和对考古记录的欣赏，初步结果将在Tonosí以及巴拿马的其他场所向当地公众介绍。

Under the supervision of Dr. Robert D. Drennan, Mr. C. Adam Berrey will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will conduct a regional-scale survey of prehistoric human settlement in the Río Tonosí Valley of Central Pacific Panama. The central objective of this research is to understand the forces that led to the growth of large scale social formations within this region, and the activities and relationships around which they were organized. At the time of Spanish contact such 'supra-local' social formations in Central Panama were organized around highly unequal social relationships. However, archaeological research suggests there was considerable variability in how these social formations were organized across space and time. Social hierarchies were founded in different spheres of activity, and some social formations were organized along much less hierarchical lines. This variation can be seen clearly the world over, but for it to manifest at a smaller scale -- among the societies of a single small area -- provides a particularly intriguing opportunity to study the forces that produced it. To examine this question Mr. Berrey will conduct a survey of the Rio Tonosi Valley and record the presence and distribution of both structures, ceramics and other surface material.In contrast to the very hierarchical forms of organization that developed in most of Central Panama, supra-local social formations in the Río Tonosí valley seem to have been much less hierarchical. The research will determine whether in fact this was the case. If it was, the research will attempt to establish whether Río Tonosí social formations were in other ways "less developed" than those of nearby regions. If Río Tonosí social organization turns out to be more hierarchical than it now appears, then the proposed research will provide information about ways in which the nature of that hierarchy may have differed from those of other regions.The project will provide opportunities for field training for students from several universities, and foster international scholarly collaboration. Public understanding of science and appreciation of the archaeological record will be emphasized through outreach at local schools, and preliminary results will be presented to the local public in Tonosí, as well as other venues in Panama.