Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Comparative Utilization Of Animal Resources In Long Term Perspective

博士论文改进补助金：从长远角度比较动物资源的利用

• 批准号: 1551399
• 负责人: John Marston
• 金额: $ 1.77万
• 依托单位: Trustees of Boston University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-12-01 至 2016-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1551399&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Grant; Comparative

Under the supervision of Dr. John Marston, Anna Goldfield will undertake research to study how Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans (AMH) butchered prey carcasses to extract bone marrow and bone grease during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic (~300-12 thousand years ago) in southwest France. There is currently little academic consensus regarding the biological, cognitive, and cultural nature of Neanderthals and their replacement by AMH in Europe approximately 40,000-35,000 years ago. Differences in diet, hunting behavior, and resource use are among the major factors discussed as components of AMH success in Europe. Human diet is a crucial element of archaeological research into human prehistory and evolution, because it is a representation of cognition and behavior for which there is the most physical evidence, including the skeletal remains of animals hunted as prey. Animal bones are an excellent source of data for subsistence strategies in the Paleolithic because they are abundant and well preserved in many Middle and Upper Paleolithic archaeological sites. The research has contemporary significance because through comparison with the Neanderthals, human's nearest relatives, it is possible to gain insight into fundamental behaviorial aspects of our species.This study addresses Neanderthal and AMH exploitation of bone marrow and bone fat, crucial nutritional resources during glacial periods in Paleolithic Europe. Goldfield will analyze animal bones from two Middle Paleolithic Neanderthal faunal assemblages (c. 70,000-50,000 years ago), two early Upper Paleolithic AMH assemblages (c. 35,000-40,000 years ago), and one later Upper Paleolithic AMH assemblage (c. 18,000-12,000 years ago). She will address questions of how Neanderthals and AMH prioritized and obtained important food resources such as meat, bone marrow, and bone grease from the carcasses of their prey. This study will combine traditional zooarchaeological analysis with a new coding system to characterize and quantify bone processing within each assemblage.The focus of this research is the Perigord region of southwest France, which has a rich and well-documented Middle and Upper Paleolithic archaeological record, with abundant and well-preserved animal bone assemblages. The types of animal body parts in each assemblage included in the study and the fragmentation of these bones will highlight differences and patterning in the ways in which Neanderthals and AMH processed their prey. These differences will indicate whether AMH spent more time and effort extracting bone fats from individual carcasses than Neanderthals, a behavior which may have provided AMH with an evolutionary advantage. The study's use of consistent coding methods will allow important inter-site comparisons that will expand the applicability of this research into other geographical regions where Neanderthals and AMH are known to have overlapped. This will provide the opportunity to explore whether differences in Neanderthal and AMH resource use are universal, or are driven by other factors such as climate or geography. All primary data obtained during analysis will be stored permanently and made publicly accessible. Results will be disseminated through peer-review journals, conference papers, and field reports. Finally, Goldfield will incorporate the framework of this study into an illustrated handbook of archaeological field methods, with the aim of engaging students aged 12-18.

在约翰·马斯顿博士的监督下，安娜·戈德菲尔德将开展研究，研究尼安德特人和解剖学上的现代人类 (AMH) 在旧石器时代中晚期（约 300-12000 年前）如何屠宰猎物尸体以提取骨髓和骨油脂。在法国西南部。目前，关于尼安德特人的生物学、认知和文化本质以及大约 40,000-35,000 年前在欧洲被 AMH 取代的问题，学术界几乎没有达成共识。饮食、狩猎行为和资源利用的差异是 AMH 在欧洲取得成功的主要因素。人类饮食是人类史前和进化考古研究的重要组成部分，因为它是认知和行为的代表，有最多的实物证据，包括作为猎物猎杀的动物的骨骼遗骸。动物骨骼是旧石器时代生存策略的极好数据来源，因为它们在许多旧石器时代中晚期考古遗址中含量丰富且保存完好。这项研究具有当代意义，因为通过与人类最近的亲戚尼安德特人进行比较，可以深入了解我们物种的基本行为方面。这项研究探讨了尼安德特人和 AMH 对骨髓和骨脂肪（冰川时期重要营养资源）的利用在旧石器时代的欧洲。 Goldfield 将分析来自两个旧石器时代中期尼安德特人动物群（约 70,000-50,000 年前）、两个旧石器时代早期 AMH 群（约 35,000-40,000 年前）和一个旧石器时代晚期 AMH 群（约 18,000-40,000 年前）的动物骨骼。 12,000 年前）。她将解决尼安德特人和 AMH 如何优先考虑并从猎物尸体中获取重要食物资源的问题，例如肉、骨髓和骨脂。这项研究将传统的动物考古学分析与新的编码系统相结合，以表征和量化每个组合内的骨骼处理。这项研究的重点是法国西南部的佩里戈尔地区，该地区拥有丰富且有据可查的旧石器时代中晚期考古记录，拥有丰富且保存完好的动物骨骼组合。研究中包含的每个组合中动物身体部位的类型以及这些骨头的碎片将突出尼安德特人和 AMH 处理猎物的方式的差异和模式。这些差异将表明 AMH 是否比尼安德特人花费更多的时间和精力从个体尸体中提取骨脂肪，这种行为可能为 AMH 提供了进化优势。该研究使用一致的编码方法将允许进行重要的站点间比较，从而将这项研究的适用性扩展到已知尼安德特人和 AMH 重叠的其他地理区域。这将为探索尼安德特人和 AMH 资源利用的差异是否具有普遍性，或者是由气候或地理等其他因素驱动的提供机会。分析过程中获得的所有主要数据将被永久存储并可供公众访问。结果将通过同行评审期刊、会议论文和现场报告进行传播。最后，戈德菲尔德将把这项研究的框架纳入一本考古实地方法图解手册中，目的是吸引12-18岁的学生。