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（John Marston）博士的监督下，安娜·戈德菲尔德（Anna Goldfield）将进行研究，以研究尼安德特人和解剖学上现代的人（AMH）如何在西南法国屠杀猎物尸体，以在中部和上层旧石器时代（〜300-12000年前）中提取骨髓和骨油脂。目前，关于尼安德特人的生物学，认知和文化性质以及大约40,000-35，000年前的AMH的替代者几乎没有学术共识。饮食，狩猎行为和资源使用的差异是欧洲AMH成功的组成部分所讨论的主要因素之一。人类饮食是对人类史前和进化的考古研究的关键要素，因为它是对认知和行为的代表，其中有最大的证据，包括作为猎物猎杀的动物的骨骼残留物。动物骨骼是旧石器时代的生存策略的绝佳数据来源，因为它们在许多中石器时代和上层古老的考古遗址中都很丰富且保存得很好。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。这项研究解决了尼安德特人对尼安德特人的骨髓和骨脂肪的利用，在古植物欧洲的糖化时期，至关重要的植物资源。戈德菲尔德（Goldfield）将分析两种旧石器时代尼安德特人的动物组合中的动物骨骼（c。70,000-50,000年前），两个早期的上旧石器时代的AMH组合（约35,000-40,000年前）和后来的一层古石器时代AMH组合（c。18,000-12,000年前）。她将解决尼安德特人和AMH如何从猎物的尸体中获得优先和获得重要食品资源的优先级和重要食物资源，例如肉，骨髓和骨油脂。这项研究将将传统的动物考古学分析与新的编码系统结合起来，以表征和量化每个组合中的骨处理。这项研究的重点是法国西南部的围角，该地区具有丰富且有据可查的中旧石器化考古记录，具有丰富的和保存完好的动物骨头。研究中包括的每个组合中的动物体部位的类型以及这些骨骼的碎片将以尼安德特人和AMH处理猎物的方式突出差异和模式。这些差异将表明AMH是否花费更多的时间和精力从单个尸体中提取骨骼脂肪，而不是尼安德特人，这种行为可能为AMH提供了进化优势。该研究对一致的编码方法的使用将允许重要的现场比较，从而将这项研究的适用性扩展到已知尼安德特人和AMH已重叠的其他地理区域。这将为探索尼安德特人和AMH资源的差异是否普遍存在，或者是由气候或地理等其他因素驱动的。分析期间获得的所有主要数据将被永久存储，并可以公开访问。结果将通过同行评审期刊，会议论文和现场报告传播。最后，戈德菲尔德（Goldfield）将将这项研究的框架纳入一本插图的考古田地方法手册，以吸引12-18岁的学生。