Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Frontier of the Heartland: Chimu Imperial Strategies in the Sinsicap Valley, Peru

在保罗·戈尔茨坦博士的带领下，艾丽西亚·博斯韦尔将研究已故的史前奇姆帝国如何与邻近的秘鲁辛西卡普山谷的居民互动。我们的目标是了解Chimú帝国在山谷中的战略。通过收集与遗址建筑模式、国内活动、经济和生存模式相关的数据，这一挖掘策略允许对Chimú扩张期间占据的两个遗址的国内活动进行比较研究。该项目与安第斯山脉内外的帝王研究相关，因为其方法方法强调受试者群体的回旋余地程度和他们可以追求自己目标的程度。在皇室研究中，考察居民的家庭以及习俗是如何随着时间的推移而变化的，是一个重要但未得到充分利用的视角。Sinsicap山谷是Chaupiyunga生态位内莫切河的一条支流。察皮云嘎位于海岸和高地之间，是安第斯山脉西坡唯一生产古柯的生态区，古柯是一种对仪式和其他传统安第斯政治经济战略非常重要的高度宝贵的资源。察皮云嘎的另一个重要特征是，它位于人口稠密的沿海和高地政治之间，这一地区的居民在史前一直与之保持着交流关系。尽管该地区拥有资源和战略地理位置，但几乎没有进行过考古调查。博斯韦尔收集的民族历史和初步考古证据表明，辛西卡普山谷有Chimú的存在。本研究的另一个考虑因素是，Sinsicap河谷靠近位于沿海莫切河谷入海口的Chimú首府Chan Chan。Sinsicap山谷距离禅宗只有40公里。对齐穆帝国北部和南部边境的研究考察了行政中心和相关遗址，以了解奇穆帝国的扩张，发现各种帝国战略的使用对被征服的领土和人口产生了变革性的影响。研究人员一直把重点放在奇姆如何与其他沿海政治互动，而忽视了与东部边境地区的民众的互动，以及它对理解这个帝国的影响。该项目将进一步了解奇穆帝国主义和安第斯沿海政治与其他生态区居民的互动关系。该项目强调国际合作，因为来自秘鲁和美国的考古学家和学生将在整个项目中共同工作。项目成果将以英文和西班牙文在同行评议的出版物中传播，同时将向公众提供原始数据。博斯韦尔组织了501c3非营利性组织Moche，Inc.与Sinsicap山谷的Campeina Emily iana Gonzalez Obregoso de Collambay社区之间的伙伴关系。社区成员同意保护当地考古遗址不受抢劫，以换取对发展项目的援助。这一伙伴关系是提高当地对保护当地考古遗址/资源重要性的认识的重要组成部分。博斯韦尔将继续通过在该地区的社区会议和学校介绍她的研究成果来宣传辛西卡普山谷的文化遗产。

Under Dr. Paul Goldstein, Alicia Boswell will examine how the late prehistoric Chimu empire interacted with residents in the adjacent Sinsicap Valley in Peru. The goal is to understand Chimú imperial strategies in the valley. By collecting data related to site architectural patterns, domestic activities, economics, and subsistence patterns this excavation strategy allows a comparative study of the domestic activities of two sites occupied during Chimú expansion.This project is relevant to imperial studies both within and outside the Andes, as its methodological approach emphasizes subject groups' degree of leeway and the extent to which they can pursue their own goals. Examining inhabitants' households and how practices changed over time is an important, but underutilized perspective in imperial studies. The Sinsicap Valley is a tributary of the Moche river within the chaupiyunga ecological niche. Located between the coast and the highlands, the chaupiyunga (500-2,000 masl) is the only ecological zone on the western slope of the Andes that produces coca, a highly valued resource important for ritual and other traditional Andean strategies of political economy. Another crucial attribute of the chaupiyunga is its intermediary location between densely populated coast and highland polities with whom residents of this region maintained exchange relations throughout prehistory. In spite of its resources and strategic geographical location little archaeological investigation has occurred in this zone. Ethnohistoric and preliminary archaeological evidence collected by Boswell indicate a Chimú presence in the Sinsicap Valley. An additional consideration in this study is the close proximity of the Sinsicap Valley to the urban Chimú capital Chan Chan, located at the mouth of the Moche Valley on the coast. The Sinsicap Valley is only forty kilometers from Chan Chan. Studies of the northern and southern frontiers of the Chimú Empire have examined administrative centers and associated sites to understand Chimú expansion, finding the use of diverse imperial strategies had a transformative impact on conquered territories and populations. Researchers have focused on how the Chimú interacted with other coastal polities, overlooking Chimú interaction with populations on its eastern frontier and its implications for understanding the empire. This project will further understanding of Chimú imperialism and Andean coastal polities' interaction with populations in other ecological zones. This project emphasizes international collaboration as archaeologists and students from Peru and the United States will work together throughout the project. Project results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications in both English and Spanish, while the raw data will be made available for public use. Boswell has organized a partnership between MOCHE, INC, a 501c3 non-profit organization, and the Communidad Campesina Emiliana Gonzalez Obregoso de Collambay of the Sinsicap Valley. Community members have agreed to protect local archaeological sites from looting in return for assistance in development projects. This partnership is an essential component in developing local awareness of the importance of preserving local archaeological sites/resources. Boswell will continue to promote the cultural heritage of the Sinsicap Valley through presentation of her research at community meetings and schools in the region.