Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Maya Projectile Technology

在Prudence Rice博士的指导下，Nathan Meissner先生将分析后经典玛雅人制造的小型碎石抛射点，以深入了解他们的经济和贸易实践。这项地区性研究将考察来自玛雅低地多个地点的射弹(箭头)点制造技术的异同，包括危地马拉、伯利兹和墨西哥。地点的选择还将使玛雅语民族的不同文化亚群之间进行比较。这项为期七个月的研究产生的数据将被用来解决在中美洲尚未完全回答的两个普遍的人类学问题：(1)大规模贸易和加强的社会互动如何影响传统社会组织层面的技术系统？(2)在社会互动加剧的时期，文化界限对工具生产的影响程度如何？箭头尖端形式的点技术提供了一个很好的数据来源来解决这些问题，因为原材料采购策略、设计过程和人工制品的使用寿命编码了关于过去行为的重要信息。这项研究将通过结合宏观技术分析、X射线荧光(XRF)、基于地点的空间分析和使用交叉免疫电泳(CIEP)的蛋白质残留分析来生成关于Maya产生的小点的新数据。宏观分析将是创建技术风格分类的基础。XRF将用于从危地马拉和墨西哥高地的火山区以化学方法寻找交易到玛雅低地的黑铁矿的来源，并重建贸易模式。空间分析和蛋白质残留物鉴定将提供与狩猎、战争和仪式活动有关的弓箭使用背景的重要线索。将使用技术系统框架来解释这些数据在地方一级和区域一级的可变性，并将有助于从人类学角度理解过去的经济和后经典低地玛雅的政治地理。该项目将提供研究生培训。它还将有助于在危地马拉、伯利兹和墨西哥的学术和政府机构之间建立伙伴关系。这项研究还将创建此类分类的第一个分类，为未来的研究人员提供一个系统，用于更精细地对小点技术进行逐个站点的比较。这项研究的结果将以各种形式传播，包括一篇论文、在学术会议上发表的论文以及同行评议的英文和西班牙文期刊文章。该项目产生的所有数据将以互动网站的形式在网上共享，还将上传到数字考古记录(TDAR)进行电子共享。

Under the direction of Dr. Prudence Rice, Mr. Nathan Meissner will analyze small chipped-stone projectile points manufactured by Postclassic Mayan peoples to gain insight into their economic and trade practices. This regional study will examine similarities and differences in the manufacturing technology of projectile (arrow) points from multiple sites throughout the Maya lowlands, including Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico. The selection of sites will also allow comparisons among various cultural sub-groupings of Mayan-speaking peoples. Data generated from this seven-month study will be used to address two general anthropological questions that are yet to be fully answered in Mesoamerica: (1) How does large-scale trading and heightened social interaction impact technological systems at traditional levels of social organization? (2) To what degree might cultural boundaries impact aspects of tool production during periods of intensified social interaction? Point technologies in the form of arrow tips provide an excellent source of data to address these questions, as raw material procurement strategies, the design process, and the use life of artifacts encode important information about past behaviors.This study will generate new data on small points produced by Maya through a combination of macroscopic technological analysis, X-Ray Florescence (XRF), site-based spatial analysis, and protein residue analysis using cross-over immuno-electrophoresis (CIEP). Macroscopic analysis will be the basis for creating a taxonomic classification of technological styles. XRF will be used to chemically source the origins of obsidian traded into the Maya lowlands from volcanic regions in highland Guatemala and Mexico, and reconstruct trade patterns. Spatial analysis and protein residue identification will provide important clues concerning contexts of bow-and-arrow use that relate to hunting, warfare, and ritual activities. A technological systems framework will be used to interpret variability of these data at a local level and a regional level, and will contribute to an anthropological understanding of past economies and the political geography of the Postclassic lowland Maya.The project will provide graduate student training. It will also help to create partnerships between academic and governmental institutions in Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico. This study will also create the first taxonomic classification of its kind, providing future researchers a system for more refined site-to-site comparisons of small point technology. The results of this study will be disseminated in various forms including a dissertation, papers presented at academic conferences, and peer-reviewed journal articles in both English and Spanish. All data resulting from the project will be shared online in the form of an interactive website, and will also be uploaded to the Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR) for electronic sharing.