Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Precarious Power: Ritual, refuse, and reuse at El Zotz, Peten, Guatemala

博士论文改进补助金：不稳定的权力：危地马拉佩滕埃尔佐茨的仪式、拒绝和重用

• 批准号: 1240737
• 负责人: Stephen Houston
• 金额: $ 1.68万
• 依托单位: Brown University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-09-01 至 2014-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1240737&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Grant; Precarious

Under the guidance of Dr. Stephen Houston, Sarah Newman will investigate the relationship between ritual and refuse at the ancient Maya site of El Zotz, located near the large city of Tikal in the modern Department of Peten, Guatemala. The focal point of this project is an enigmatic "problematic deposit" found in the palace complex at El Zotz and dating to the Terminal Classic period (AD 850-1000). This large-scale deposit represents an unusual and widely variable combination of human, faunal, ceramic, and lithic remains, questioning traditional dichotomies between ritual and secular, elite and commoner, and waste and value. In order to gain a better understanding of the human actions responsible for this complex archaeological assemblage, this project employs innovative methods for the examination of depositional and post-depositional processes, drawn from osteological studies but extended to all artifact categories in this research. The detailed assemblage and taphonomic analyses employed in this project will contribute to clarifications in defining and studying depositional behaviors through their traces in the archaeological record. The major aims of this research are to examine how specific materials and their depositional histories vary among types of archaeological discard and thereby recognize "signatures" of ritual and refuse deposits. These will provide concrete criteria that can aid archaeologists in interpreting difficult deposits, decrease the likelihood of either ignoring or over-identifying the remains of ritual practices, and enable inter- and intrasite comparisons between archaeological deposits that rely on more than qualitative assumptions or intuition. Moreover, this project highlights methods that have often been under-utilized by archaeologists, including analysis at the scale of the assemblage and the application of taphonomic techniques to artifact types beyond osteological remains. As such, this project will offer a means by which current categories may be reevaluated, perhaps allowing for a more informed view of the continuum of quotidian and ritual actions that entangles past objects, people, and places.The project will investigate three main hypotheses: (1) that the Terminal Classic "problematic deposit" at El Zotz was produced by the structured deposition of domestic or ceremonial refuse and intentional terminations of objects and architecture; (2) that this deposit represents a unique and intermediary type of ancient discard (the ritual reuse of refuse); and (3) that this example of large-scale investment in ritual practice at El Zotz was employed to reassert political authority and social integration during periods of potential instability (whether real or perceived). In order to test these hypotheses, Newman will use archaeological and taphonomic analyses to evaluate specific materials and depositional histories represented by refuse and ritual deposits in the El Zotz region, for comparison with the deposit in question. Attributes of individual specimens, including pre-depositional wear, fragmentation, weathering, and other natural and cultural modifications, will be used to identify the "signatures" of assemblages with clear behavioral correlates (such as middens or caches) and compare these with the less straightforward deposit, enabling an evaluation of its role in ancient Maya offering, discard, and ritual practices. The broader contexts of ritual deposits will also be explored to assess their role in reasserting political authority and maintaining social integration during periods of instability.International cooperation represents a major component of this research, in terms of fieldwork, analysis, and publications, as well as training provided for both American and Guatemalan archaeology students. This project also plays a part in strong public outreach and education efforts on behalf of the El Zotz Archaeological Project, including guided tours of the ruins of El Zotz for members from the local community of Cruce Dos Aguadas and training sessions and interpretive signs to inform local tour guides and visitors about the site and its place in Maya history. As the sites in the El Zotz region have suffered a long history of heavy looting, with incidents known from as recently as 2010, embracing the role of local communities in site management promotes stewardship of archaeological resources and the sustainable use of the ruins through eco-tourism. Finally, reconsidering the spectrum of depositional behaviors from refuse to ritual forces a reevaluation of trash as a cultural category, in both the past and the present. These issues not only resonate deeply with current concerns over waste management and environmental awareness, but also highlight the hidden potential of trash to offer insight into cultural systems of meaning and value.

在斯蒂芬·休斯顿（Stephen Houston）博士的指导下，莎拉·纽曼（Sarah Newman）将调查位于危地马拉彼得现代部门的大城市蒂卡尔（Tikal）附近的古老玛雅人埃尔·佐兹（El Zotz）的仪式与拒绝之间的关系。该项目的焦点是在El Zotz的宫殿综合体中发现的一个神秘的“有问题的沉积物”，可追溯到终端经典时期（AD 850-1000）。 这种大规模的沉积物代表了人类，动物，陶瓷和岩性遗骸的一种不寻常且广泛的组合，质疑仪式与世俗与世俗与世俗，精英和平民之间的传统二分法，以及浪费和价值。 为了更好地了解负责这种复杂考古组合的人类行为，该项目采用创新方法来检查沉积和沉积后过程，这是从骨学研究中得出的，但在这项研究中扩展到了所有文物类别。该项目中采用的详细组合和taphonomic分析将有助于通过考古记录中的痕迹来定义和研究沉积行为。这项研究的主要目的是研究特定的材料及其沉积历史在丢弃的考古类型之间如何变化，从而认识到仪式和拒绝沉积的“签名”。这些将提供具体的标准，可以帮助考古学家解释困难的沉积物，减少忽略或过度识别仪式实践的遗体的可能性，并在考古沉积物之间进行比较，而考古沉积物之间的比较依赖于定性假设或直觉。此外，该项目强调了考古学家经常不足以利用的方法，包括对组合规模的分析以及将taphonomic技术应用于骨科遗物以外的人工制品类型。 因此，该项目将提供一种可以对当前类别进行重新评估的手段，也许允许对Quotidian和仪式行动的连续性进行更明智的看法，以纠缠过去的物体，人和地方。该项目将调查三个主要的假设：（1）终极经典的经典沉积物“在El Zotz中产生了El Zotz的问题”，而Zotz则由国内式或对象的终结式构成，并终止了国内的反思和对象的反映。 （2）该沉积物代表着古代丢弃的独特而中介类型（垃圾的仪式再利用）； （3）在潜在的不稳定时期（无论是真实的还是感知），采用了El Zotz对El Zotz进行仪式实践的大规模投资的例子。 为了检验这些假设，纽曼将使用考古和taphonomic分析来评估El Zotz地区拒绝和仪式沉积物代表的特定材料和沉积历史，以与所讨论的沉积物进行比较。 Attributes of individual specimens, including pre-depositional wear, fragmentation, weathering, and other natural and cultural modifications, will be used to identify the "signatures" of assemblages with clear behavioral correlates (such as middens or caches) and compare these with the less straightforward deposit, enabling an evaluation of its role in ancient Maya offering, discard, and ritual practices.还将探索更广泛的仪式矿床背景，以评估其在不稳定期间重新确定政治权威和维持社会融合的作用。国际合作代表了这项研究的主要组成部分，在现场工作，分析和出版物以及为美国和危地马拉考古学学生提供的培训方面。该项目还代表El Zotz考古项目中发挥了强大的公共推广和教育工作，包括埃尔·佐兹（El Zotz）废墟的导游，来自当地的克鲁斯·多斯·阿加达斯（Cruce Dos Dos Aguadas）社区的成员以及培训会议和解释性标志，以告知当地的导游和访客有关Maya历史上有关该地点及其在Maya历史上的地点。随着埃尔佐兹地区的遗址遭受了悠久的抢劫历史，最近从2010年开始众所周知，当地社区在现场管理中的作用促进了考古资源的管理，并通过生态旅游促进了废墟的可持续使用。 最后，在过去和现在，重新考虑了从拒绝到仪式的沉积行为范围。这些问题不仅引起了当前对废物管理和环境意识的关注，而且还突出了垃圾的隐藏潜力，以洞悉意义和价值的文化系统。