Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Neolithic Ovicaprine Herd Management by Multiple Isotope Analysis: a case study at Catalhoyuk, Turkey

博士论文改进补助金：通过多同位素分析进行​​新石器时代卵羊群管理：土耳其 Catalhoyuk 的案例研究

• 批准号: 0541365
• 负责人: T. Douglas Price
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Wisconsin-Madison
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-01-01 至 2009-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0541365&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Grant; Neolithic; Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Grant; Neolithic

Under the supervision of Dr. T. Douglas Price, David Meiggs will use isotopic analysis of sheep and goat teeth from the site of Gritille, southeast Turkey to investigate the geographic extent and seasonal patterns in prehistoric herding strategies the inhabitants employed. Gritille is a village site on the Euphrates River occupied 8,500-9,500 years ago. The economy was largely based on cultivated plants such as wheat, barley, and lentils, and sheep and goat which only become recognizably domesticated during the middle of the occupation. Because isotope ratios fluctuate geographically with environmental conditions, a series of measurements from each tooth will document the animals' movement patterns.Arguably one of the most fundamental changes in human society, the transition from economy based on hunting and gathering to agriculture and pastoralism has been the focus of much archaeological research in the last several decades, particularly in the Near East. This research has shown that experimentation with cultivation of plants began nearly 12,000 years ago at sites in the western wing of the so-called 'Fertile Crescent', but that goat and sheep were first herded somewhere in the eastern wing of this area in the Zagros Mountains approximately 10,000 years ago. These two developments apparently merged about 9,000 years ago at sites along the Euphrates River in Syria and Turkey, forming the first economies with both domestic plants and animals. Ethnographic studies throughout Eurasia have observed large variability in choices people make about where herds are grazed, who grazes in particular areas, and the seasonal patterns of these herd movements. These choices have important social implications for the organization of labor and integration of various facets of the economy in early farming and herding villages, but have been difficult for archaeologists to address using traditional zoological analysis of animal remains from these sites. Enamel in mammalian teeth grows from the crown down toward the root, and is the most mineralized substance in the body. As such, it preserves the biogenic composition of a tooth without significant chemical alteration over long periods. This project will contribute to the study of prehistoric herding practices by taking advantage of this time-progressive nature of enamel on a given tooth, and the different sources of geographic variability in the isotope ratios of different elements which compose enamel. A series of samples will be drilled down the side of each tooth, producing an isotopic 'profile' for each element analyzed. These can then be used in unison to interpret specific geographic and seasonal movement of the animal during its life.Beside issues relevant to archaeologists, this project's broader impact extends to environmental scientists, paleontologists, and historians. It will advance greater understanding of the use of isotopes to understand past environmental conditions, and add to the database of grazing ranges of prehistoric animal species. The project will cultivate inter disciplinary networks as well as partnerships with a variety of international scholars. The results will have implications for economic and regional historians, as well as applicability to ecological and development issues affecting modern pastoral peoples.

在T. Douglas Price博士的监督下，大卫·梅格斯（David Meiggs）将使用来自土耳其东南部格里尔（Gritille）遗址的绵羊和山羊牙齿的同位素分析，以调查史前放牧策略的地理范围和季节性模式。 Gritille是欧普拉茨河上的一个村庄，占地8,500-9,500年。经济在很大程度上是基于耕种的植物，例如小麦，大麦和小扁豆，绵羊和山羊，这些植物只能在占领中间被公认的驯化。由于同位素比在环境条件下在地理上波动，因此每颗牙齿的一系列测量将记录动物的运动模式。毫无疑问，人类社会中最根本的变化之一，从基于狩猎和收集的经济到农业和牧民的过渡一直是过去几十年中许多古老研究的重点，尤其是在近乎东部。这项研究表明，在近12，000年前，在所谓的“肥沃的新月”的西翼的地点开始了植物的实验，但大约10，000年前，该山羊和绵羊首先在该地区的扎格罗斯山区东部的某个地方放牧。这两个发展显然在9000年前在叙利亚和土耳其的Euphrates河沿岸的地点合并，形成了最早的经济体，这些经济体既有家用动植物。各个欧亚大陆的人种学研究都观察到人们对牛群被放牧的地方，特定地区放牧以及这些牛群运动的季节性模式的选择差异很大。这些选择对早期农业和放牧村庄的劳动组织和经济各个方面的整合具有重要的社会影响，但是对于考古学家来说，使用这些地点的动物遗体的传统动物学分析很难解决。哺乳动物牙齿中的搪瓷从牙冠向下生长，是体内最矿化的物质。因此，它保留了牙齿的生物源成分，而没有长时间的化学改变。该项目将通过利用给定牙齿上的搪瓷的这种陈述性质，以及在构成搪瓷的不同元素的同位素比率中的不同地理差异来源，从而有助于研究史前的放牧实践。将在每个牙齿的侧面钻一系列样品，为所分析的每个元素产生同位素的“轮廓”。然后可以一致地使用这些来解释动物在其生命中的特定地理和季节性运动。与考古学家有关的问题问题，该项目的更广泛影响扩展到环境科学家，古生物学家和历史学家。它将进一步了解同位素的使用以了解过去的环境条件，并增加史前动物物种放牧范围的数据库。该项目将与各种国际学者建立纪律间网络以及合作伙伴关系。结果将对经济和地区历史学家以及对影响现代牧民的生态和发展问题的适用性产生影响。