Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award: The Regeneration of Human Settlements after Episodes of Societal Collapse

西北大学的博士候选人罗伯托·罗萨多·拉米雷斯将与美国和墨西哥的同事一起进行研究，以研究在社会崩溃后刺激人类住区再生的社会条件。社会崩溃是一个使政治实体走向终结、引发经济不稳定、政治分裂和社会结构变化的过程。纵观人类历史，许多社会在经历了崩溃带来的挑战之后都能够重新组织起来。考古学以其对社会现象的长期研究视角，可以促进对人类住区复兴过程中起重要作用的社会和经济条件的更广泛理解。本研究项目将评估可能有助于崩溃后定居点重建的四个社会因素：参与交换网络、有限的财富不平等、人类迁徙和与废墟的互动。确定这些社会因素在建立崩溃后定居点方面所起的作用，对现在和未来都具有重要意义。研究结果可能对受社会崩溃影响的人们的生活产生积极影响，例如流离失所的人口和难民。通过公开讲座、学术文章和在线平台，包括社会科学家、政府官员和普通公众在内的广大个人都可以获得本研究项目得出的结论。Rosado-Ramirez和他的研究小组将调查参与交换网络、有限的财富不平等、人类迁徙以及与废墟的互动是否对废墟城市崩溃后的定居起了重要作用。这项研究将在墨西哥东南部的古城阿克进行。公元750年至1100年间，这一地区受到了社会崩溃的影响，导致了城市中心的废弃，基于神圣王权制度的政治制度的终结，以及大规模的人口减少。在那之后，人们重新组织并建立了新的定居点，这些定居点繁荣了数百年。研究小组将对阿克市内的土丘和神社进行系统的挖掘。他们将分析人工制品、人类和动物遗骸以及建筑证据，以确定在崩溃之后，人们能够在废墟中重建定居点的社会和经济条件。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Doctoral candidate Roberto Rosado-Ramirez, of Northwestern University, along with colleagues in the US and Mexico, will conduct research to examine the social conditions that stimulate the regeneration of human settlements after episodes of societal collapse. Societal collapse is a process that brings political entities to an end, prompting economic instability, political fragmentation, and changes in a society's structure. Throughout human history, many societies have been able to reorganize after the challenging times brought about by episodes of collapse. With its long-term perspective on the study of social phenomena, archaeology can advance a broader understanding of the social and economic conditions that are instrumental in the process of revitalization of human settlements. This research project will evaluate four social factors that may contribute to post-collapse settlement regeneration: participation in exchange networks, limited wealth inequality, human migrations, and interactions with ruins. Determining the role that these social factors play in the establishment of post-collapse settlements has important implications for the present and the future. Research results may have a positive impact on the lives of people affected by episodes of societal collapse, such as displaced populations and refugees. Through public talks, academic articles, and an online platform, a wide range of individuals, including social scientists, government officials, and the general public, will have access to the conclusions reached by this research project.Mr. Rosado-Ramirez and his research team will investigate whether participation in exchange networks, limited wealth inequality, human migrations, and interactions with ruins were instrumental in a case of post-collapse settlement within a ruined city. The research will take place in Ake, an ancient city located in southeastern Mexico. This region was impacted by an episode of societal collapse between 750 and 1100 CE, that resulted in the abandonment of urban centers, the end of a political system based on the institution of divine kingship, and massive depopulation. After that period, people reorganized and established new settlements that thrived for hundreds of years. The research team will conduct systematic excavations in domestic mounds and shrines in Ake. They will analyze artifacts, human and animal remains, and architectural evidence to determine the social and economic conditions that allowed people to revitalize a settlement within a ruined city in the wake of collapse.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.