Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award: The Emergence of Social Complexity

考古学对社会长期变革的关注为理解政治和经济权力的兴起和发展及其对不同社会群体的影响提供了独特的视角。对复杂社会的比较考古学分析表明，这种复杂性的表达方式以及导致其在世界各地出现的过程存在高度的可变性。在这一更广泛的背景下，本研究侧重于家庭经济，以了解政治和经济权力的来源，并揭示其他形式的组织，可能不同于自上而下的规范。结果将告知社会和政治的复杂性，国内和社区经济，以及职业分化。该项目提供了一个与哥斯达黎加遗产当局和国家公园系统合作的机会，以促进公众宣传、教育和文化遗产保护。学生参与者将获得指导，培训，并在考古理论和现场和实验室方法的经验。该项目将吸纳拉丁裔妇女作为现场监督员和工作人员，以扩大她们作为科学领域代表性不足的群体的参与。该项目的成果将通过研讨会、会谈和实地考察在全球范围内以及与当地社区和国家公园官员分享。奥尔巴尼-纽约州立大学的博士生Yajaira Núñez-Cortés将在Robert Rosenswig博士的指导下，研究经济和政治权力的发展如何对社会阶层各个阶层的家庭经济产生影响。在公元800-1500年期间，哥斯达黎加的纪念性中心的出现表明了社会，政治和经济关系的重组。这些变化与哥斯达黎加中部政治的区域间交流和主要互动的扩大相吻合。衡量这些大规模发展的最佳标准是它们对社会各阶层的影响，特别是对最小和偏远的住宅单位的影响。本研究将通过研究家庭经济分化、活动组织和洛马斯塞罗斯交换网络的访问，评估先前关于精英权力与资源和有价值物品控制之间关系的假设。研究人员将结合房屋建筑来分析家庭组合，以描述财富、权力和物质文化使用的表现形式。位于遗址主要核心的房屋结构和周边较简陋的建筑物的数据将提供来自较高和较低社会地位背景的对比实例。该项目还结合了LiDAR（光探测和测距）数据，以了解该网站的结算系统和空间组织。该奖项反映了NSF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。

Archaeology's focus on long-term transformations in society provides a unique perspective to understand the rise and development of political and economic power and its effects on different groups of society. Comparative archaeological analyses of complex societies have demonstrated that there is a high degree of variability in the expression of such complexity, as well as in the processes that led to its emergence around the world. Within this broader context, this study focuses on household economy in order to gain insight about the sources of political and economic power, and reveal other forms of organization that may differ from top-down norms. The results will inform about social and political complexity, domestic and community economy, and occupational differentiation. This project represents an opportunity to collaborate with Costa Rican heritage authorities and the National Parks system to promote public outreach, education, and conservation of cultural heritage. Student participants will receive mentorship, training, and experience in archaeological theories and field and laboratory methods. The project will integrate Latina women as field supervisors and crew in order to broaden their participation as an underrepresented group in science. The results of the project will be shared globally as well as with local communities and National Parks officials through workshops, talks and field visits. University at Albany-SUNY doctoral student, Yajaira Núñez-Cortés, supervised by Dr. Robert Rosenswig, will investigate how the development of economic and political power had an effect on household economies from all segments of the social hierarchy. During AD 800-1500, the appearance of monumental centers in Costa Rica indicates a reorganization of social, political and economic relationships. Such changes coincide with an amplification of interregional exchange and chiefly interaction for Central Costa Rican polities. These large-scale developments are best measured by their impacts in all levels of society, but especially by their impact on the smallest and remote residential units. This study will evaluate previously held assumptions about the relationship between elite power and control of resources and valuable objects by studying household economic differentiation, activity organization, and access to exchange networks at Lomas Entierros site. The researchers will analyze domestic assemblages in combination with house architecture in order to characterize manifestations of wealth, power, and material culture usage. Data from house structures located in the main core of the site and humbler edifices on its periphery will provide contrastive examples from higher and lower social status contexts. This project also incorporates LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data to understand the settlement system and spatial organization of the site. The results will contribute to the debate about sources of political and economic power and will inform anthropological models on political and household organization in the ancient past.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.