Isotopic Analysis to Understand Long Term Human Movement

研究人员希望了解古代遗址的流动性和互动，这为科学研究仪式空间随时间的变化以及朝圣对地区互动和社会稳定的潜在影响提供了难得的机会。这项研究的目的是对这个宗教场所随着时间的推移而进行的互动产生更详细和细微的了解，以解决诸如祭祀动物和祭品来自哪里，以及这个保护区可能如何启发和影响了后来跨地区公共祭祀场所的发展等主题。通过对严重烧毁的动物骨骼进行锶同位素分析和放射性碳分析，以及对陶瓷进行化学和岩石学分析，考古学可以很好地为这些问题提供答案，以系统地检查神社遗留祭品的潜在来源的多样性。一个重要的结果将是在更广泛的区域内绘制锶同位素图，这是该地区迄今所做的最广泛和最系统的工作。这项研究将提供有价值和多功能的锶同位素数据集，反映对国际科学追求的承诺。该项目还致力于支持女性科学家。妇女将对动物骨骼、陶瓷和锶同位素分析的很大一部分进行分析。一组研究人员将分析从现场牺牲的绵羊和山羊身上精选的严重烧毁的动物骨骼中提取的锶。他们还将对这些骨骼进行放射性碳测年，以获得绝对日期。由于利用不同时代地质单元资源的植物、动物和人类具有不同的锶同位素组成，锶同位素分析在古活动性和物源研究中得到了广泛的应用。由于这些不同的地质单元分布在景观中，因此可以定义特定位置的锶特征；因此，可以限制地理上不同地点之间的人和动物的互动。此外，对遗址中精选的陶瓷进行的化学和岩相学分析将揭示它们的来源，从而有助于重建保护区的网络和随着时间的潜在波动。由此产生的产品将包括创建更大区域的锶同位素图，以及描述区域粘土来源的地质数据库。人们通常主要使用文字证据来研究朝圣之旅，但越来越多的考古证据被纳入其中，使人们能够以更微妙的方式理解这些旅程。从考古学中可能收集到的关于朝圣的一些结果包括确认社会身份、参与经济交换、纳入宴会或其他表演方面的证据，表明行为超出了严格的宗教领域。拟议的项目将是高度跨学科的，旨在利用考古和地质技术回答有关古代历史的基本人文问题。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Researchers wish to understand mobility and interaction at a site from antiquity that offers a rare opportunity to scientifically study changes over time in a ritual space and the potential impact of pilgrimage on regional interactions and societal stability. This research aims to produce a significantly more detailed and nuanced understanding of interaction over time at this religious site to address topics such as from where the sacrificial animals and offerings were coming, and how this sanctuary may have inspired and impacted the later development of interregional communal cult places. Archaeology is well placed to provide answers to these questions through strontium isotope analysis and radiocarbon analysis of heavily burnt animal bones, as well as chemical and petrographical analyses of ceramics to systematically examine the diversity of potential origins of offerings left at the shrine. An important result will be the mapping of strontium isotopes across the broader region, by far the most extensive and systematic to be done in the area. This research will contribute valuable and versatile strontium isotope datasets reflecting a commitment to international scientific pursuits. The project is also committed to supporting female scientists. Women will carry out the analysis of the animal bones, the ceramics, and a significant portion of strontium isotope analysis. A team of researchers will analyze the strontium taken from a selection of heavily burnt animal bones from the sheep and goats sacrificed at the site. They will also do radiocarbon dating on these bones to obtain an absolute date. Strontium isotope analysis is widely applied in paleomobility and provenance studies because plants, animals, and people utilizing resources from geologic units of different ages have distinct strontium isotopic compositions. Because these different geologic units are spread over the landscape, it is possible to define the strontium signature of a particular location; therefore, the interaction of people and animals between geographically separate sites can be constrained. In addition, the chemical and petrographical analyses on a selection of ceramics from the site will shed light on their origins, thus contributing to the reconstruction of the sanctuary’s network and potential fluctuations through time. The resulting products will include the creation of a strontium isotope map of the larger region, and a geological database that characterizes regional clay sources. Pilgrimage has often been studied using primarily textual evidence, but archaeological evidence is being incorporated more and more, allowing one to understand these journeys in a more nuanced way. Some results which may be gleaned about pilgrimage from the archaeology include evidence for affirmation of social identities, participation in economic exchange, and incorporation of feasting or other performative aspects, indicating behavior beyond the strictly religious sphere. The proposed project will be highly interdisciplinary in nature, with an aim of answering fundamental humanistic questions about the ancient past using archaeometric and geological techniques.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.