Doctoral Dissertation Research: Landscape Structure, Macroregional Interaction, and Variation among Mississippian Chiefdoms of the Interior Coastal Plain, Georgia

博士论文研究：佐治亚州内陆沿海平原密西西比酋长管辖区的景观结构、宏观区域相互作用和变化

• 批准号: 0340675
• 负责人: Paul Fish
• 金额: $ 1.2万
• 依托单位: University of Arizona
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-11-01 至 2004-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0340675&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Landscape; Structure

Under the supervision of Dr. Paul R. Fish, John F. Chamblee will conduct an archaeological survey in the Chickasawhatchee Swamp of southwestern Georgia. From approximately A.D. 1000 - 1600, the area was home to one or more chiefdoms. Chiefdoms are societies whose members are ruled by a person or group with inherited leadership rights. Such inheritances are often seen as being divinely sanctioned. Unlike kingdoms or states, chiefdoms are generally organized without standing armies, formal literacy, or a bureaucracy. Chiefs instead govern through the strength of their personalities as well as through their ability to attract followers using a combination of exotic gifts, surplus food, and limited physical force. Chiefdoms were prevalent throughout the southeastern United States during the first half of the last millennium, but the Chickasawhatchee chiefdoms are unusual among them in terms of their geographic location. These societies are not located in a coastal region or along a major river, as are most other chiefdoms in southeastern United States. In addition, the Chickasawhatchee Swamp is located between no less than nine other contemporaneous societies in neighboring regions - some of which were chiefdoms and some of which were not. Analysis of survey data will allow for a greater understanding of the ways in which the natural environment and interactions between neighboring societies contribute to variation among chiefdoms.Research on chiefdoms is important because it allows us to understand political power at the level of face-to-face interaction and in the absence of the more complex institutions common in states. While archaeologists cannot document interactions the way ethnographers might, we can see the long-term consequences of strategies used repeatedly by chiefs as they attempted to consolidate and maintain power. Monuments like earthen mounds are indicators of the ability to mobilize labor in public projects. The dispersed swamp resources discouraged compact villages, making labor mobilization by chiefs more difficult. Documentation of mound size and surrounding villages, as well as nearby small family settlements, will provide a basis for understanding the kinds of opportunities available to chiefs in such a natural setting.Items like coastal shell, stone tools made from non-local materials, and decorated pottery are all evidence that chiefs traded with outsiders in order to provide rewards for loyal followers. By analyzing these items, one can gain insights into the relationships between the chiefdoms of the Chickasawhatchee and their neighbors in other regions. The artifact chronology developed during data analysis will be used to trace the growth, maintenance, and eventual decline of the Chickasawhatchee chiefdoms. Comparing this history to that of neighboring regions will provide clues as to the possibility of inter-regional trade, warfare, and other kinds of social interaction. This project will have an impact outside the scientific community. Undergraduate volunteers will be trained in fieldwork techniques, as will local volunteers. In addition, very little archaeological research has occurred in southwestern Georgia, while commercial artifact prospecting is on the rise. As a result, the general public in not aware of either of the importance of archaeological site preservation, or the history these sites represent. Lectures are planned at civic organizations, schools, and relevant government agencies. Outreach to local collectors will encourage them to share information with archaeologists. Since much of the research is being conducted on private land, reports on the excavations will be provided to landowners.

在Paul R. Fish博士的监督下，John F. Chamblee将在佐治亚州西南部的Chickasawhatchee沼泽进行考古调查。从大约公元1000 - 1600年开始，该地区是一个或多个酋长的所在地。酋长国是社会，其成员由具有继承领导权利的人或团体统治。这种遗产通常被视为受到神圣制裁。与王国或州不同，酋长国通常是在没有常设军队，正式识字或官僚机构的情况下组织的。相反，酋长们通过其个性的力量以及通过使用异国情调的礼物，多余的食物和有限的身体力量来吸引追随者的能力来管理。在上一千年的上半年，整个美国东南部都普遍存在，但是在其地理位置上，奇卡萨瓦奇酋长国在其中不寻常。这些社会不像美国东南部的大多数酋长国一样，不在沿海地区或沿着主要河流沿岸。此外，Chickasawhatchee沼泽位于邻近地区不少于九个同时代的社会之间 - 其中一些是酋长国，而其中一些则不是。对调查数据的分析将使人们对邻近社会之间自然环境和互动的方式有更深入的了解。对酋长的研究很重要，因为它使我们能够在面对面的互动层面上理解政治权力，并且在没有更复杂的机构中常见的州。尽管考古学家无法以民族志学家的方式记录互动，但我们可以看到酋长试图巩固和维持权力时反复使用的策略的长期后果。 诸如土墩之类的纪念碑是动员公共项目中劳动力的能力的指标。分散的沼泽资源阻止了紧凑的村庄，使酋长动员更加困难。 丘陵大小和周围村庄以及附近的小型家庭定居点的文档将为理解这种自然环境中的酋长提供的各种机会提供基础。诸如沿海壳，诸如沿海壳，由非局部材料制成的石材工具和装饰的陶器都是与外人交易的酋长，以便为忠实的追随者提供奖励。通过分析这些项目，人们可以深入了解Chickasawhatchee及其其他地区的邻居之间的关系。在数据分析过程中开发的伪影年代学将用于追踪chickasawhatchee酋长国的生长，维护和最终下降。将这一历史与邻近地区的历史进行比较，将为区域间贸易，战争和其他类型的社会互动的可能性提供线索。 该项目将在科学界之外产生影响。本科志愿者将接受现场工作技术的培训，当地志愿者也将接受培训。此外，佐治亚州西南部几乎没有进行考古研究，而商业文物的勘探正在上升。结果，公众不知道考古遗址保存的重要性或这些地点所代表的历史。 在公民组织，学校和相关政府机构计划讲座。向当地收藏家推广将鼓励他们与考古学家共享信息。由于许多研究都在私人土地上进行，因此将向土地所有者提供有关发掘的报告。