The Relationship Between Household Organization And Governance

普渡大学的Richard E.Blanton博士和Lane F.Fargher博士将与来自美国和墨西哥的国际学者团队一起，在墨西哥特拉斯卡拉已故的前西班牙裔城市特拉克斯卡兰开展政治政策对家庭影响的研究。长期以来，社会科学家一直对了解城市和州是如何以及为什么演变的感兴趣，尤其是为筹集收入和管理大量人口而制定的战略。二战后，对社会复杂性和国家演变的解释主要集中在统治精英(如国王、巨头)如何从人口扩张和资源压力中获利，迫使下属人口进贡。然而，最近的研究表明，面对贪婪的精英阶层，农民和其他普通人既不是无能为力，也不是被动的。尤其重要的是布兰顿和法格尔博士对前现代国家中的合作和集体行动的研究。利用经济学和政治学对理性选择、公共产品和官僚化的见解，他们表明，在前现代国家，依赖于大部分公民收入的治理当局必须回应平民的声音，控制公职人员，限制他们的奢侈品消费，以促进税收合规。此外，与建立这种集体政治制度相关的结构变化被发现在家庭和景观上留下了不可磨灭的印记。鉴于向集体治理的转变在家庭和景观上产生了强烈的物质印记，考古学特别适合于研究人类社会中合作、集体行动和民主的长期演变。尤其是前西班牙裔晚期(公元1300-1519年)的梯田山顶城市特拉克斯卡兰。面对来自阿兹特克帝国日益增长的威胁，特拉克斯卡尔特卡(特拉克斯卡兰人民)建立了一个拥有丰富平民声音和公共产品的共和国，以鼓励公民保卫国家及其领土。这些政治政策的实施指导了前西班牙裔墨西哥独特的城市景观的建设。在国家科学基金会的支持下，布兰顿和法格尔博士及其同事将评估特拉克斯卡兰的集体政策对该市家庭和社区的影响。结合地球物理调查和考古发掘，他们将定位和揭示房屋、公共区域和露台建造历史。多学科团队将使用建筑分析、孢粉学、陶瓷分析、土壤化学、地层学、动物群分析、岩屑分析、骨骼研究和放射性碳测年来重建家庭组织、活动模式和建筑序列。这些信息将阐明集体政治政策如何影响房屋和社区的日常生活。这些数据将有助于社会科学不断加深对人类历史上合作、集体行动和民主的长期演变的理解。它们还将为学生和年轻的专业考古学家提供更多的教育和培训机会。

Drs. Richard E. Blanton and Lane F. Fargher, of Purdue University, along with an international team of scholars from the US and Mexico, will carry out research on the impact of political policy on households at the late pre-Hispanic city of Tlaxcallan in Tlaxcala, Mexico. Social scientists have long been interested in understanding how and why cities and states evolved; especially, the strategies developed to collect revenues and govern large populations. After WWII, explanations for the evolution of social complexity and states focused predominantly on the ways in which ruling elites (e.g., kings, magnates) profited from demographic expansion and resource stress to coerce subordinate populations into supplying tribute. However, recent research has demonstrated that peasants and other commoners remain neither powerless nor passive in the face of rapacious elites. Especially important has been Drs. Blanton and Fargher's research on cooperation and collective action in premodern states. Using insights developed in economics and political science on rational choice, public goods, and bureaucratization, they showed that governing authorities who relied on a large segment of citizens for revenues in premodern states had to respond to commoner voice, control public officials, and limit their luxury consumption in order to promote compliance with taxation. Moreover, structural changes associated with building such collective political regimes were found to leave behind indelible marks on households and landscapes. Given that a shift towards collective governance creates a strong material imprint on households and landscapes, archaeology is especially well suited for studying the long-term evolution of cooperation, collective action, and democracy in human societies. This is particularly the case with the late pre-Hispanic (AD 1300 - 1519) terraced, hilltop city of Tlaxcallan. In the face of growing threats from the Aztec empire, the Tlaxcalteca (the people of Tlaxcallan) built a republic rich in commoner voice and public goods to encourage citizens to defend the state and its territory. The implementation of these political policies guided the construction of an urban landscape unique in pre-Hispanic Mexico. With support from the National Science Foundation, Drs. Blanton and Fargher, and their colleagues will evaluate the impact of Tlaxcallan's collective policies in the city's households and neighborhoods. Combining geophysical survey and archaeological excavations, they will locate and expose houses, communal areas, and terrace construction histories. The multidisciplinary team will use architectural analysis, palynology, ceramic analysis, soil chemistry, stratigraphy, faunal analysis, lithic analysis, skeletal studies, and radiocarbon dating to reconstruct household organization, activity patterns, and construction sequences. This information will shed light on the ways that collective political policy affected daily life in houses and neighborhoods. These data will be pivotal to growing social scientific understanding of the long-term evolution of cooperation, collective action, and democracy in human history. They will also provide enhanced educational and training opportunities for students and young professional archaeologists.