Collaborative Research: Bridging Paleolimnology And Archaeology Through Human Biomarkers In Lake Sediment

合作研究：通过湖泊沉积物中的人类生物标志物连接古湖沼学和考古学

• 批准号: 1623232
• 负责人: Aubrey Hillman
• 金额: $ 1.93万
• 依托单位: Ohio State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-08-01 至 2016-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1623232&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Bridging; Paleolimnology; Archaeology

Understanding human population levels over time is fundamentally important for answering numerous questions about society?s deep past. For instance, were rising population levels responsible for spurring major social transformations, like the adoption of agriculture, more complex social and political hierarchies, or intensified warfare? How were population levels affected by major events like the colonization of new areas, environmental crises, or the collapse of states? Traditionally, archaeologists arrive at estimates of past demography through archaeological survey, but this is not always possible (e.g., for phases of human settlement with low population densities and high mobility, or in regions with poor surface visibility of sites due to thick vegetation or alluvial deposition). Paleolimnology, the study of lakes and other bodies of water , has the potential to provide relevant information. This interdisciplinary project aims to establish whether recently defined biochemical markers in ancient lake sediment can serve as reliable proxies for human population levels over time. P.I. Dr. Elizabeth Arkush, Co-P.I. Dr. Aubrey Hillman, Co-PI Dr. Josef Werne, and Co-PI Dr. Mark Abbott will use National Science Foundation support to analyze sediments in lake cores recovered in 2015 from small lakes in the Titicaca Basin of southern Peru. If successful, this technique will hold major potential for reconstructing the demographic histories of regions. In addition, because lake core sequences also have other significant information such as precipitation levels, this technique holds promise for investigating the relationship between human populations and environmental change by reducing the chronological uncertainty that comes from matching separate climate and population records. Recent research shows that fecal ?stanols?, a class organic compounds deriving from feces of higher mammals, are present in measurable amounts in lake sediments. The presence and quantity should reflect human population levels in the lake watershed, particularly coprostanol, which is the major stanol type in human feces. This project aims to evaluate and expand the utility of this biomarker for archaeological research by comparing stanols in cores from two lakes in the south-central Andes with sequences of population levels derived from two completed full-coverage archaeological surveys. In addition to advancing new methodology for the reconstruction of past demography, the resulting dataset has the potential to make significant advances on questions about the connection between pre-Columbian sociopolitical change and paleoclimate. The project?s broader impacts include significant training and research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students.

随着时间的流逝，了解人口水平从根本上来说对于回答有关社会的众多问题至关重要。例如，人口水平的上升是否促进了重大的社会转变，例如采用农业，更复杂的社会和政治等级制度，还是加强战争？人口水平如何受到重大事件的影响，例如新地区的殖民化，环境危机或国家崩溃？传统上，考古学家通过考古调查得出了过去人口统计学的估计，但这并非总是可能的（例如，对于人口密度低和较高流动性的人类定居的阶段，或者由于植被厚实或高层沉积而导致的地点表面可见性较差的地区）。湖泊和其他水体的研究有可能提供相关信息。这个跨学科的项目旨在确定古老的湖泊沉积物中最近定义的生化标志物是否可以随着时间的流逝而成为人口水平的可靠代理。 P.I.伊丽莎白·阿库什（Elizabeth Arkush）博士。 Aubrey Hillman博士，Co-Pi博士Josef Werne博士和Co-Pi Mark Abbott博士将使用国家科学基金会的支持来分析2015年从秘鲁南部Titicaca盆地的小湖中恢复的湖岩心的沉积物。如果成功，该技术将具有重建地区人口统计学历史的主要潜力。此外，由于湖泊核心序列还具有其他重要信息，例如降水水平，因此该技术有望通过减少匹配单独的气候和人口记录的时间顺序不确定性来调查人口与环境变化之间的关系。最近的研究表明，粪便？stanols？是一种源自较高哺乳动物粪便的类有机化合物，存在于湖泊沉积物中的可测量量。存在和数量应反映湖流域中的人口水平，尤其是索氏菌，这是人类粪便中主要的stanol类型。该项目旨在通过比较来自中南部安第斯山脉的两个湖泊中的核心的stanols与来自两个完整的完整考古调查得出的序列来评估和扩展该生物标志物在考古研究中的实用性。除了推进过去人口统计学重建的新方法外，由此产生的数据集还有可能在哥伦比亚前社会政治变化与古气候之间的联系上取得重大进展。该项目的更广泛的影响包括本科和研究生的重大培训和研究机会。