Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Phytoliths, Starch Grains, and Emerging Social Complexity at Tell Zeidan, Syria

博士论文改进补助金：植硅体、淀粉粒和新兴社会复杂性，叙利亚 Tell Zeidan

• 批准号: 1136516
• 负责人: Alexia Smith
• 金额: $ 1.48万
• 依托单位: University of Connecticut
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-07-01 至 2014-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1136516&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Grant; Phytoliths

Under the guidance of Dr. Alexia Smith, Thomas Hart will analyze ancient plant remains gathered during the 2009 and 2010 excavation seasons at the Ubaid period site of Tell Zeidan, Syria. Tell Zeidan is located at the confluence of the Balikh and Euphrates Rivers and served as a regional center in northern Mesopotamia between 6,000 and 3,800 B. C. The site is of particular importance because it is one of the largest settlements outside of the southern Mesopotamia heartland. In addition, since it was continuously occupied for over 2000 years, it provides a unique opportunity to study one of the earliest developments of social complexity. Mr. Hart's research will use new archaeological techniques, such as phytolith and starch grain analysis, to determine the subsistence practices that made the transition to complex society possible.The importance of agriculture in facilitating the rise and spread of complex societies is widely accepted. However, with a few exceptions, very little is actually known about subsistence practices in Greater Mesopotamia (the Tigris-Euphrates watershed) between the 6th and 4th millennia B. C. Knowledge of food production and consumption patterns before, during, and after the development of complex societies is essential for revealing the role, if any, of agriculture in emerging social complexity. This project will assess and document each stage of plant food production and consumption from the Ubaid period at Tell Zeidan by examining microscopic plant remains (phytoliths and starch grains) found in archaeological soils, artifact residues, human teeth residues, and the soils associated with the stomach contents of buried individuals. Likewise, by using microscopic remains to reconstruct production and consumption patterns, this project will explore new ways to identify previously invisible markers of social complexity in the archaeological record. When combined with other types of data as part of a larger intra-site study, such as geographic information system data, charred seeds, animal bones, and stone tool data, this project will provide a truly holistic picture of the subsistence practices facilitating the rise of complex society.This research will seek to have a broader impact beyond the research topics presented. The intra-site study component of this project will foster international collaboration between Syrian researchers and researchers from other universities in Europe and within the U.S. The results from this project will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications while the raw data will be distributed online thereby making the data available for public use. Public outreach efforts in The United States will include public lectures at the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and workshops on early agriculture and complex society at the Nonnewaug High School, Woodbury, Connecticut. These efforts will seek to improve public understanding of science, archaeology, and anthropology. Finally, this research hopes to facilitate future research in the sciences by improving the Archaeobotany Laboratory at the University of Connecticut and by training undergraduate research assistants in the skills necessary for scientific research and analysis in this field.

在亚历克西亚·史密斯（Alexia Smith）博士的指导下，托马斯·哈特（Thomas Hart）将分析古老的植物遗体在2009年和2010年的发掘季节聚集在叙利亚的泰尔·Zeidan（Tell Zeidan）的Ubaid时期。 Tell Zeidan位于Balikh和Euphrates河流的汇合处，并在Mesopotamia北部的区域中心（6,000至3,800公元前）担任区域中心。该地点尤为重要，因为它是南部美索不达米亚心脏地带以外的最大定居点之一。此外，由于它被连续占领了2000多年，因此它提供了一个独特的机会来研究社会复杂性最早的发展之一。哈特先生的研究将使用新的考古技术，例如植物学和淀粉谷物分析，以确定使农业成为可能的过渡到复杂社会的生存实践。但是，除了少数例外，在第六和第四千年之间，在大美索不达米亚（tigris-euphrates分水岭）的生存实践实际上知之甚少。该项目将通过检查在考古土壤中发现的微观植物（植物石和淀粉颗粒），评估和记录Tell Zeidan的植物粮食生产和消费量的每个阶段。同样，通过使用微观遗物来重建生产和消费模式，该项目将探索新的方法，以识别考古记录中社会复杂性的先前看不见的标记。当与其他类型的数据结合在一起，作为较大的现场研究的一部分，例如地理信息系统数据，烧焦的种子，动物骨头和石材工具数据，该项目将为促进复杂社会的崛起提供真正的整体态度。这项研究将寻求超出提出的研究主题的更广泛的影响。该项目的内部研究部分将促进叙利亚研究人员与欧洲其他大学和美国的研究人员之间的国际合作，该项目的结果将在经过同行评审的出版物中传播，而原始数据将在线分发，从而使数据可用于公共使用。美国的公共宣传工作将包括康涅狄格州康涅狄格州伍德伯里Nonnewaug高中的康涅狄格州自然历史博物馆和关于早期农业和复杂社会的讲习班的公开演讲。这些努力将寻求提高公众对科学，考古学和人类学的理解。最后，这项研究希望通过改善康涅狄格大学的考古植物实验室以及培训本科研究助理来促进科学研究的未来研究，以了解该领域的科学研究和分析所需的技能。