Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Investigation of Environmental, Social, and Demographic Transformations at Woodrow Ruin, Grant County, New Mexico

在Catherine Cameron博士的指导下，Jakob Sedig将在Woodrow Ruin进行研究，以检查新墨西哥州上吉拉地区在史前晚期（公元550-1000年）和古典（公元1000-1130年）时期发生的人口、社会和环境变化。塞迪格的研究将在弹性理论的框架下进行，考古学家最近在他们的研究中采用了这种理论。考古学家长期以来一直在研究环境波动如何影响古代人口。然而，在大多数情况下，这种审查仅限于区域范围，没有在更广泛的理论框架内进行。如果成功，塞迪格的研究将证明，弹性理论可以帮助识别更广泛的模式，提出具体的研究问题，并创建可测试的假设，这些假设与理解人与自然相互关联的系统中的转变有关。2012年夏天在伍德罗废墟进行的考古研究将有两个主要目的：1)阐明在后期pitthouse和古典时期之间发生的社会、人口和环境变化，2)测试和完善弹性理论。考古学家已经在新墨西哥州西南部发现了晚期皮尤斯和古典时期之间发生的巨大变化。在晚期坑屋时期，人们住在地下的坑屋中，这些坑屋围绕着一个庭院。公共仪式和仪式在大型的长方形地下建筑中举行。古典时期发生了重大变化。人们住在地上的、像公寓一样的普韦布洛村庄里，而不是住在地窖里。普韦布洛村庄是用河边的鹅卵石建造的。公共仪式和仪式在大型广场举行。塞迪格提出，伍德罗废墟在这两个时期之间发生的变化是人们对自然和人为环境变化的反应的结果。这一假设将通过地球物理调查，以及对现场植物、动物和其他数据的分析来检验。Sedig先生的调查将在弹性理论的理论框架下进行。弹性理论最初是为生态学领域发展起来的，最近被考古学家用来更好地理解特定地区的人口、社会和环境变化。塞迪格的研究将考察伍德罗废墟（Woodrow Ruin）的晚期Pithouse-Classic过渡与弹性理论的预期是一致的还是不一致的。在伍德罗废墟进行的研究将是塞迪格博士论文的核心部分。它还将对各种各样的群体产生更广泛的影响。塞迪格将与公众互动，让当地业余考古团体亲身体验挖掘过程；志愿者将被用于筛选挖掘的填充物，并在可能的情况下向游客提供现场参观。向公众和学术会议的报告将展示考古学在人类环境研究中的重要性。一些研究生将有机会通过在伍德罗废墟工作来发展他们的考古技能。该遗址出土的文物将用于培养大学生的考古分析能力。最后，赛迪格的研究数据将被上传到在线数据库，供全球的研究人员使用。

Under the direction of Dr. Catherine Cameron, Jakob Sedig will conduct research at Woodrow Ruin to examine the demographic, social, and environmental changes that occurred in the upper Gila region of New Mexico during the prehistoric Late Pithouse (AD 550-1000) and Classic (AD 1000-1130) periods. Mr. Sedig's research will be conducted under the framework of resilience theory, which archaeologists have recently employed in their research. Archaeologists have long studied how environmental fluctuations have affected ancient populations. However, for the most part, such examinations have been limited to a regional context and have not been set in a broader theoretical framework. If successful, Mr. Sedig's research will demonstrate that resilience theory can help identify broader patterns, suggest specific research questions, and create testable hypotheses that are relevant to understanding transformation in linked systems of people and nature.The archaeological research to be conducted at Woodrow Ruin during the summer of 2012 will serve two primary purposes: 1) illuminate the social, demographic, and environmental changes that occurred between the Late Pithouse and Classic periods, and 2) test and refine resilience theory. Archaeologists have identified dramatic transformations that occurred between the Late Pithouse and Classic periods in southwest New Mexico. During the Late Pithouse period people lived in subsurface pithouses that were grouped around a courtyard. Communal ceremonies and rituals were held in large, rectangular subterranean structures. Significant changes occurred by the Classic period. Instead of pithouses, people lived in above ground, apartment-like pueblos constructed from river cobbles. Communal ceremonies and rituals were held in large plazas. Mr. Sedig proposes that the transformations that occurred at Woodrow Ruin between the two periods were the result of how people reacted to environmental changes, both natural and human-induced. This hypothesis will be examined through geophysical survey, together with the analysis of floral, faunal, and other data from the site. Mr. Sedig's investigation will be conducted under the theoretical framework of resilience theory. Originally developed for the field of ecology, resilience theory has recently been used by archaeologists to better understand demographic, social, and environmental shifts in a given area. Mr. Sedig's research will examine how the Late Pithouse-Classic transition at Woodrow Ruin is consistent or inconsistent with the expectations of resilience theory. The research conducted at Woodrow Ruin will be the central part of Mr. Sedig's dissertation. It will also have broader impacts for a wide variety of groups. Mr. Sedig will interact with the public by allowing local avocational archaeology groups to experience excavations first-hand; volunteers will be used in the screening of excavated fill, and site tours will be given to visitors whenever possible. Presentations to the general public and at academic conferences will demonstrate the importance of archaeology in human-environmental studies. Several graduate students will have the opportunity to develop their archaeological skills by working at Woodrow Ruin. Artifacts from the site will be used to train undergraduates in archaeological analysis. Finally, data from Mr. Sedig's research will be uploaded to online databases, making it accessible to researchers across the globe.