Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant: Water Management At An Early Urban Center

提供可靠的水供应对当今和过去的人类社会都至关重要。辛辛那提大学的尼古拉斯·邓宁博士和杰弗里·布鲁尔先生，沿着一个由来自美国的同事组成的跨学科研究小组，墨西哥和加拿大将研究在墨西哥尤卡坦半岛中心一个自然水资源有限和短暂的地区内发展和维护一个城市化的复杂的水收集、储存和分配系统。以往的水资源管理研究已经确定和分析了各种水资源管理功能的范围内的区域环境和文化的变化。特别是，适应多变的气候条件和表达政治控制被认为是创建和监督蓄水功能的关键考虑因素。考古学是很好的定位，以提供独特的见解，通过集中在水文，地形，植被和建筑之间的复杂的相互关系，在多个空间和时间尺度的讨论。何时以及如何使精心管理的水资源成为城市适应的一个固有组成部分？尽管一个社区的水特征的性质和规模在空间和时间上会发生变化，但了解水储存、气候条件和人类住区之间的关系对于促进全球社会的可持续性、资源保护和公共教育至关重要。布鲁尔先生和他的同事们将使用经验数据来研究城市核心和城市边缘的居民如何管理他们有限的水资源水资源管理系统是一个复杂的系统。这项研究将在位于尤卡坦半岛中部低地的古玛雅遗址亚克斯诺赫卡进行。该网站提供了一个独特的机会，以促进对关键资源管理和利用做法的理解，这些做法使当地居民能够在很长一段时间内维持高人口密度。研究人员将与考古学家，地理学家和环境科学家团队合作，研究该地区从中前古典时期到早期后古典时期（公元前900年-公元1100年）的水文，生态和土地利用历史。考古发掘、沉积物岩心研究和高分辨率卫星图像分析的结合将使我们能够对这个文明的水力发展进行独特的研究，并将该领域推向新的方向。这个多样化的多学科数据集将使人们能够更全面地了解这些水力特征的物理，时间和空间特征及其在社区居民日常生活和活动中的确切作用。这项研究将促进我们对人类社会面临重大环境挑战的复原能力的更广泛了解，该项目的合作重点也将为国际学生培训和研究建立和丰富机会。

The provision of a dependable water supply is of critical importance to human societies both today and in the past. Dr. Nicholas Dunning and Mr. Jeffrey Brewer of the University of Cincinnati, along with an interdisciplinary research group, consisting of colleagues from the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, will study the development and maintenance of an urbanized, complex system of water collection, storage, and distribution within an area of limited and ephemeral natural water resources in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Previous studies on water management have identified and analyzed a variety of water management features within the context of regional environmental and cultural changes. Adapting to variable climatic conditions and expressing political control, in particular, are considered key considerations in the creation and oversight of water storage features. Archaeology is well positioned to provide unique insight into this discussion by focusing on the complex interrelationship between hydrology, topography, vegetation, and architecture across multiple spatial and temporal scales. When and how do carefully managed water resources become an inherent component of urban adaptation? Although the nature and scale of a community's water features change across space and time, understanding the relationship between water storage, climatic conditions, and human settlement is vital to promoting sustainability, resource conservation, and public education in global societies.Dr. Dunning, Mr. Brewer and colleagues will use empirical data to study how residents of both the urban core and urban periphery managed their limited water resources and developed and maintained a complex system of water management. The research will be conducted at the ancient Maya site of Yaxnohcah, located within the central lowlands of the Yucatan Peninsula. This site provides a unique opportunity to advance understanding of critical resource management and utilization practices that permitted the local inhabitants to support a high population density across a long span of time. The researchers will work with a team of archaeologists, geographers, and environmental scientists to examine the area's hydrological, ecological, and land use history from the Middle Preclassic to Early Postclassic periods (900 B.C. - A.D. 1100). The combination of archaeological excavation, sediment core studies, and high-resolution satellite imagery analysis will permit a unique examination of this civilization's hydraulic developments and advance the field in new directions. This diverse multidisciplinary dataset will enable a more complete understanding of the physical, temporal, and spatial characteristics of these hydraulic features and their precise roles in the daily lives and activities of community inhabitants. This research will advance our broader understanding of the resilient capacity of human societies faced with significant environmental challenges, and the collaborative focus of the project will also establish and enrich opportunities for international student training and research.