Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award: Effects Of Colonial Interaction In A Traditional Society Context

加州大学圣巴巴拉分校博士生Jessika Akmenkalns将在Stuart Tyson Smith博士的指导下进行研究，研究跨文化互动和殖民主义如何在公元前2500年至1000年期间改变古代努比亚(苏丹北部)腹地社区的文化身份。考古学提供了一个独特的窗口，研究人员和普通公众都可以通过它来了解殖民主义和长期的政治和经济权力斗争如何影响个人和群体的日常生活，无论是在当地还是在广泛的区域范围内。这项研究在当今的全球政治气候中尤其相关，在这种政治气候中，种族、宗教和国家认同对获得土地、资源和机会具有重大影响。该项目将有助于在更广泛的范围内更好地了解这些问题，因为对殖民主义的调查贯穿了包括人类学、社会学、历史学、地理学、经济学和政治学在内的社会科学。此外，该项目将为大学生提供教育机会和科学培训，在该项目中获得的现场和实验室经验将满足学生的学位要求。作为这项研究的一部分，收集的数据将构成阿克门卡尔斯女士博士论文的基础。以前关于跨文化互动的研究集中在大量的城市人口上，或者集中在殖民列强的战略上。虽然研究这种互动如何影响主要中心和强大的政治实体当然很重要，但也必须调查农村社区如何经历权力结构的变化，以及他们如何构建与外国文化群体相反的社区身份。以下研究问题指导了该项目：1)在埃及征服努比亚之前和期间，埃及在努比亚农村地区的存在或影响有多大？2)在埃及征服之前和期间，当地和外国文化传统在表达文化认同方面的重要性是什么？3)该地区精英和非精英以及城市和农村文化认同的表达有什么不同，如果有区别的话？为了回答这些问题，该项目将对位于苏丹北部古代科尔马王国腹地的汉纳克和阿布法蒂玛遗址进行考古发掘。研究人员将调查房屋、公共建筑和墓穴的遗迹，以检查古代的饮食和健康，以及陶器、工具、珠宝和建筑的生产和使用。这些人工制品类型在理解文化身份方面很有用，因为它们是日常生活和构建这些身份的常规行为所不可或缺的。考古学家将在挖掘季节对文物和样本进行初步分析，随后将在美国实验室进行进一步的深入分析，包括放射性碳测年、陶瓷和石器分类，以及对动物和植物遗骸等饮食样本的分析。

UC Santa Barbara doctoral candidate Jessika Akmenkalns, supervised by Dr. Stuart Tyson Smith, will conduct research on how cross-cultural interactions and colonialism transformed cultural identities in hinterland communities in ancient Nubia (northern Sudan) between 2500 and 1000 BC. Archaeology provides a unique window through which researchers and the general public alike can come to understand how colonialism and long-term struggles for political and economic power affect the daily lives of individuals and groups, both locally and on a broad regional scale. This research is particularly relevant in today's global political climate, in which ethnic, religious, and national identities bear significant impact on access to land, resources, and opportunities. This project will contribute to a better understanding of these issues on a broad scale because investigations of colonialism crosscut the social sciences, including anthropology, sociology, history, geography, economics, and political science. In addition, the project will provide university students with educational opportunities and scientific training, and the field and laboratory experience gained on the project will fulfill students' degree requirements. The data collected as part of this research will form the basis of Ms. Akmenkalns' doctoral dissertation.Previous research on cross-cultural interactions has focused on large, urban populations, or it has focused on the strategies of colonizing powers. While it is certainly important to examine how such interactions impact major centers and powerful political entities, it is also essential to investigate how rural communities experience changing power structures and how they construct their community identities in opposition to those of foreign cultural groups. The following research questions guide this project: 1) What was the extent of Egyptian presence or influence in rural Nubia before and during Egyptian conquest of the region? 2) What was the importance of local and foreign cultural traditions in expressing cultural identity before and during the Egyptian conquest? 3) What differences, if any, were present in elite vs. non-elite and urban vs. rural expressions of cultural identity in the region? To answer these questions, this project will employ archaeological excavations at the sites of Hannek and Abu Fatima, which are located in the hinterlands of the ancient kingdom of Kerma in northern Sudan. Researchers will investigate the remains of houses, public buildings, and tombs to examine ancient diet and health, as well as the production and use of pottery, tools, jewelry, and architecture. These artifact types are useful in understanding cultural identities because they are integral to daily life and the routine behaviors that structure those identities. Archaeologists will perform preliminary analysis on artifacts and samples during the excavation season, followed by additional in-depth analyses that will be performed in US laboratories, to include radiocarbon dating, ceramic and stone tool classification, and the analysis of dietary samples such as animal and plant remains.