Doctoral Dissertation Research: Livelihood Strategies at Classic and Colonial Period Tahcabo, Yucatan, Mexico

博士论文研究：古典和殖民时期的生计策略 墨西哥尤卡坦半岛塔卡博

• 批准号: 1709483
• 负责人: Patricia McAnany
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-03-01 至 2018-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1709483&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Livelihood; Strategies

This research project will study the impacts of macro-governance changes such as colonialism on the activities of farmers in rural communities. In studies of contemporary agriculture, researchers strive to understand how people choose livelihood strategies and to infer the long-term implications of their decisions for regional political stability, economic security, and landscape sustainability. Archaeological research is well-positioned to contribute to knowledge about the impact rural farmers can have in these realms due to its focus on behavioral and environmental changes over extended time frames. Within this broader context, this project will generate an agricultural history for the research site, including an account of the activities pursued and crops grown through time, focusing on periods of high population density. The study will provide training to graduate-level students from the United States as well as undergraduate students from Mexico. It will generate collaborations between laboratory scientists in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Research results will be disseminated through publications written for broad audiences in more than one language and the installation of an exhibit in the museum of the community that will host the research. Community residents will be made aware of food production strategies employed in the past that could prove useful for them today.Archaeological research has focused on large political centers, while extant historical records primarily tell the stories of elites. Recent studies have begun to address daily lives and household economies. This project shifts attention to farmers and their strategies given regional constraints and opportunities. It will study whether past peoples living in the rural community of Tahcabo diversified their economic activities or pursued specialized production of particular goods or crops during times of population growth spanning the Early Classic (AD 200-500), Late Classic (AD 600-900), and Colonial (AD 1550-1800) periods. Excavations will take place in houses and gardens from these time periods in order to locate evidence for the economic activities conducted by household. Analysis of soil samples for microscopic plant remains will provide information on the crops grown through time. Chronological information about the occupation of each house will be determined through the study of ceramic styles and the dating of charred wood. Using these lines of evidence, the project will test propositions about the strategies employed by farmers before and after Spanish colonization. The results will provide new insights into the relationship between social and agricultural change.

该研究项目将研究殖民主义等宏观治理变化对农村社区农民活动的影响。在当代农业研究中，研究人员努力了解人们如何选择生计策略，并推断他们的决策对区域政治稳定、经济安全和景观可持续性的长期影响。考古研究由于关注较长时间范围内的行为和环境变化，因此能够很好地了解农村农民在这些领域可能产生的影响。在这个更广泛的背景下，该项目将为研究地点生成农业历史，包括对一段时间内所从事的活动和作物种植的描述，重点关注人口高密度时期。该研究将为来自美国的研究生和墨西哥的本科生提供培训。它将促进美国、加拿大和墨西哥实验室科学家之间的合作。研究结果将通过以多种语言为广大受众编写的出版物以及在举办研究的社区博物馆中安装展览的方式传播。社区居民将了解过去采用的粮食生产策略，这些策略在今天可能对他们有用。考古研究主要集中在大型政治中心，而现存的历史记录主要讲述精英的故事。最近的研究已开始关注日常生活和家庭经济。鉴于区域限制和机遇，该项目将注意力转向农民及其战略。它将研究过去生活在塔卡博农村社区的人们是否在古典早期（公元 200-500 年）和古典晚期（公元 600-900 年）人口增长时期实现了经济活动多样化或追求特定商品或农作物的专业化生产和殖民时期（公元 1550-1800 年）。挖掘工作将在这些时期的房屋和花园中进行，以便找到家庭进行经济活动的证据。对土壤样本中微观植物遗骸的分析将提供有关农作物随时间生长的信息。有关每栋房屋占用的年代信息将通过对陶瓷风格的研究和烧焦木材的年代测定来确定。利用这些证据，该项目将测试有关西班牙殖民前后农民所采用策略的命题。研究结果将为社会与农业变化之间的关系提供新的见解。