Exploring the Initial Upper Paleolithic at Üçagizli Cave, Turkey

探索土耳其阿吉兹利洞穴的早期旧石器时代晚期

• 批准号: 0106433
• 负责人: Steven Kuhn
• 金额: $ 7.06万
• 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: 2001
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2001-07-01 至 2004-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0106433&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Exploring; Initial; Upper; Paleolithic; agizli

With support from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Steven Kuhn and agroup of international researchers will continue archaeological excavationsat UUagizli ("three mouths") cave in south-central Turkey. The team includesprofessional archaeologists, physical anthropologists, geologists, and specialistsin the analysis of ancient plant remains, as well as graduate students fromthe U.S., Turkey, and western Europe. The central goal of the project isto examine evidence for marked changes in human behavior within the earliestUpper Paleolithic period, and to place these developments in their environmentalcontext. Archaeological deposits at the site span the period between about30,000 and 43,000 years before present. Although humans with essentiallymodern skeletal anatomy had appeared much earlier, many researchers believethat it was only after 45,000 years ago that there is evidence in Eurasiafor complex technologies, symbolic communication and art, and other featuresof material, social and intellectual life that distinguish fully modernhumans from their ancestors. Results from excavations at UUagizli caveto date have helped expand our understanding of changes in economies andtechnology for this crucial interval in human history. The site has alsoyielded remains of what are among the earliest ornament-making traditionsin Eurasia. These findings are especially important because they documentthe use of material culture as a medium of symbolic communication, longconsidered an important rubicon in human cognitive evolution. One issueguiding the research is whether developments in human behavior after 45,000years ago represent local responses to changing ecological and demographicconditions, or whether they reflect the appearance of new human populationswith enhanced cognitive abilities. Continuing excavations will allow usto examine in detail the timing of major shifts in behavior, and whetherthey occurred independently or in concert. Studies of animal bones, remainsof shellfish, as well as ancient pollen and phytoliths (durable crystallinecomponents of plant tissues) will allow us to place these developments intheir environmental context, helping to distinguish broad evolutionary trendswithin the human species as a whole from local adaptations to changing conditions. At the same time, the project is helping to establish new links betweenacademic institutions in Turkey and the United States. Through their participationin the research, students from Ankara University obtain training in fieldand lab methods. In exchange, American graduate students get valuableoverseas research experience as well as material for theses and dissertations.

在国家科学基金会的支持下，史蒂文·库恩（Steven Kuhn）博士和国际研究人员的阿格罗普（Agroup）将继续在土耳其中南部的乌伊吉兹利（Uuagizli）（“三嘴”）洞穴。 该团队包括专业的考古学家，身体人类学家，地质学家和专家，对古代植物的分析以及来自美国，土耳其和西欧的研究生。 该项目的核心目的是研究最早的旧石器时代内人类行为的明显变化的证据，并将这些发展置于其环境环境中。该地点的考古矿床涵盖在现场之前约30,000至43，000年之间。尽管具有本质上具有骨骼解剖结构的人类已经出现了很早，但许多研究人员相信，只有45，000年前，欧亚的证据才有证据表明，欧亚的复杂技术，象征性交流和艺术以及其他物质，社交和知识生活的特征，将完全现代的人与祖先区分开来。 乌瓦吉兹利（Uuagizli Caveto）日期发掘的结果有助于扩大我们对人类历史上关键间隔的经济和技术变化的理解。 该地点还掩盖了欧亚大陆最早的装饰传统中的遗迹。这些发现尤其重要，因为它们记录了将物质文化用作象征性交流的媒介，并以人为认知进化中的重要rubicon表示了。 指导这项研究的一个问题是，在45,000年以前，人类行为的发展是否代表了对改变生态和人口统计学条件的局部反应，还是反映了增强认知能力的新人口的出现。持续的发掘将允许USTO详细检查行为重大转变的时机，以及它们是否独立或共同发生。对动物骨骼，贝类残留物以及古老的花粉和植物石（耐用的植物组织的结晶材料）的研究将使我们能够在其环境环境中将这些发展放置，从而有助于区分整个人类的广泛进化趋势，从局部适应到变化的条件。同时，该项目正在帮助建立土耳其和美国的学院机构之间的新联系。 通过参与研究，安卡拉大学的学生获得了实地实验室方法的培训。作为交换，美国研究生获得了宝贵的研究经验以及论文和论文的材料。