Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Reconstructing Ancient Maya Cuisine Across Time and Space: Macro and Microbotanical

在Gayle Fritz博士的指导下，Clarissa Cagnato女士将在危地马拉Petén西北部的三个遗址进行考古发掘--该地区仍然是玛雅地区调查最少的地区之一。在2012年和2013年的野外季节，通过恢复和分析大型和微型植物遗骸，研究人员将寻求解决有关在古典时期(公元250-900年)占据该地区的古代玛雅人的生存问题。其中两个主要目标是重建生存战略，并确定跨越时间和空间的变化如何与更广泛的社会和政治变化相关联。Cagnato女士的研究使用了多种技术来解决这些问题，包括对植物宏观遗骸(肉眼可见的遗骸)和淀粉粒形式的微观植物遗骸的分析，以及对留在陶瓷器皿上的残留物的分析。虽然古民族植物学方法在考古学中的好处得到了承认，但很少有系统的研究应用于玛雅地区。因此，古代玛雅人的生存战略和选择仍然没有得到很好的理解，这个项目将是邻近地区的第一个项目。为了在时间和空间上最大限度地了解食品实践，研究将重点调查三个地点的食品加工(厨房)和食品处理(垃圾坑)：拉科罗纳、秘鲁-瓦卡和阿基奥塔尔。这些网站将提供有关植物消耗的关键信息，以及随着时间的推移，植物消耗可能会如何变化，因为它们在不同的时间段被占领，每个地点都有自己错综复杂的联盟和战争政治史。这项研究将有助于理解食物消费在时间和空间上的变化模式。它还寻求解决资源管理战略和自然环境的利用，这是当今自然资源保护者的一个重要话题。这项深入的古民族植物学研究不仅将有助于更好地了解过去，而且还将解决更多当代主题，即保护和环境管理。此外，考古研究在该地区的持续存在为当地工人提供了支持，并阻止了对该遗址的掠夺和对脆弱热带雨林的开发。该项目的成果将发表在同行评议的出版物上，并在危地马拉和国际的会议和专题讨论会上介绍。这些努力将突出在考古研究中使用多条线的古民族植物学分析的重要性，并为未来研究古代玛雅人的学者提供一个起点。这项研究将促进危地马拉和美国学生之间的国际合作。

Under the guidance of Dr. Gayle Fritz, Ms. Clarissa Cagnato will conduct archaeological excavations at three sites in Northwestern Petén, Guatemala - an area that remains one of the least investigated in the Maya region. During the 2012 and 2013 field seasons through the recovery and analysis of macro- and microbotanical remains the researcher will seek to address issues regarding the subsistence of the ancient Maya populations that occupied the area during the Classic period (AD 250-900). Two of the main goals are to reconstruct the subsistence strategies, and to determine how variations across time and space relate to broader social and political changes. Ms. Cagnato's research uses multiple techniques to address these questions, including analysis of plant macro-remains (those visible to the naked eye), and microscopic plant remains in the form of starch grains, together with analyzing the residues left behind on ceramic vessels. While the benefits of paleoethnobotanical approaches in archaeology are recognized, few systematic studies have been applied in the Maya region. Therefore, the subsistence strategies and choices of the ancient Maya populations are still not well understood, and this project will be the first in the immediate region. In order to maximize the understanding of food practices through time and space, the research will focus on investigating areas of food processing (kitchens) and food disposal (trash pits) from three sites: La Corona, El Peru-Waka, and El Achiotal. These sites will provide key information about plant consumption and how it may have changed through time, as they were occupied at different time periods, and each has its own intricate political history of alliances and war. The research will aid in understanding the varying patterns of food consumption across time and space. It also seeks to address the resource management strategies and use of the natural environment, an important topic to conservationists today. This intensive paleoethnobotanical study will contribute not only to a better understanding of the past, but also addresses more contemporary topics, namely conservation and environmental management. Moreover, the continued presence of archaeological research in the region provides support for local workers, and deters looting of the site and exploitation of the fragile tropical forest. The results from this project will be published in peer-reviewed publications and presented at conferences and symposia in both Guatemala and internationally. These efforts will highlight the importance of using multiple lines of paleoethnobotanical analysis in archaeological research, and provide a starting point for future scholars of the ancient Maya. The research will foster international collaboration between Guatemalan and US students.