Collaborative Research: Inquiry into the Origins of Modern Human Distributions

合作研究：现代人类分布的起源探究

基本信息

批准号：
1724997
负责人：
Jonathan Haws
金额：
$ 18.6万
依托单位：
University of Louisville Research Foundation Inc
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2017
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2017-07-01 至 2022-06-30
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1724997&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Collaborative Research Inquiry into Origins

项目摘要

Since their discovery over 150 years ago, Neanderthals have captured the imagination of scientists and the general public. Researchers have been trying to understand their life ways and the processes through which they disappeared. Archaeology and the earth sciences are particularly well placed to address this dilemma because both investigate processes that act over deep time. Within this broad context, Dr. Jonathan Haws (University of Louisville) and Dr. Michael Benedetti (University of North Carolina Wilmington) will lead a three-year study of Neanderthal extinction and replacement by anatomically modern humans . The project brings together an international team to recover high-resolution archaeological, geological and paleoecological records from the excavation of Lapa do Picareiro, a cave in central Portugal. The project is designed to test whether or not differences in land use and diet allowed Neanderthals to survive in southwestern Europe longer than anywhere else. The ultimate goal is to determine why Neanderthals went extinct and were replaced by modern humans. The benefits of this project to society at large include a deeper understanding of human evolution, particularly the role played by environmental change, technology and diet choice. The project also offers scientific engagement and cultural enrichment for student participants who will join an interdisciplinary research team in an international setting. The PIs and their institutions have shown commitment to undergraduate research and demonstrated success in mentoring student research in previous NSF-funded projects. Many of the students involved in this project over the past 5 years have been first-generation college students from under-represented, working poor, and rural demographic groups in Kentucky and eastern North Carolina. Recruiting these students has the dual benefits of diversifying the field crew and enriching the educational experience for students who may not otherwise have opportunities for international travel or study. Building on the success of our previous work in Portugal, this project will also continue to generate scientific partnerships among American, Portuguese and Czech universities, creating new collaborative learning and research opportunities for students and faculty alike.Lapa do Picareiro is a unique site, with about 10m of sediments spanning over 50,000 years. The sequence includes almost 2m of intact deposits dated between 30-42,000 years ago, making it an ideal place to track changes in paleoenvironments and human ecodynamics during the critical period of Neanderthal extinction and modern human colonization of Europe. The proposed methodology uses radiocarbon dating to establish age control, stone tool analyses to understand the decision-making of Paleolithic humans, animal bone assemblages to reconstruct paleoenvironments and understand Neanderthal and modern human diets, and sedimentological analyses to infer site formation processes and environmental context of human occupation. Taken together, the work will establish a complete paleoenvironmental and geoarchaeological chronology for the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition at Lapa do Picareiro, providing critical context that is missing from many other sites in the region.

自从150年前发现他们的发现以来，尼安德特人捕捉了科学家和公众的想象。研究人员一直在试图了解他们的生活方式和消失的过程。考古学和地球科学在解决这一难题方面特别有利，因为这两种过程都研究了在深层时间的作用。在这种广泛的背景下，乔纳森·霍斯（Jonathan Haws）博士（路易斯维尔大学）和迈克尔·贝内德蒂（Michael Benedetti）博士（北卡罗来纳大学威尔明顿大学）将领导一项为期三年的尼安德特人灭绝和解剖学现代人类替代的研究。该项目汇集了一个国际团队，以从葡萄牙中部洞穴的Lapa do Picareiro挖掘中恢复高分辨率考古，地质和古生态记录。该项目旨在测试土地使用和饮食的差异是否使尼安德特人在西南欧洲生存的时间比其他任何地方都长。最终目标是确定尼安德特人为何灭绝并被现代人类取代。该项目对整个社会的好处包括对人类进化的更深入的了解，尤其是环境变化，技术和饮食选择所扮演的角色。该项目还为将在国际环境中加入跨学科研究团队的学生参与者提供了科学参与和文化丰富。 PIS及其机构表现出致力于本科研究的承诺，并证明了在以前的NSF资助项目中指导学生研究的成功。在过去的5年中，许多参与该项目的学生都是来自肯塔基州和北卡罗来纳州东部的人口不足，贫穷和农村人口的第一代大学生。招募这些学生具有使现场工作人员多样化并丰富可能没有国际旅行或学习机会的学生的双重好处。在我们先前在葡萄牙工作的成功的基础上，该项目还将继续在美国，葡萄牙和捷克大学之间建立科学伙伴关系，为学生和教职员工创造新的合作学习和研究机会。lapado picareiro是一个独特的网站，大约有1000万年级的现场，大约有超过50,000年的年龄。该序列包括在30 - 42，000年前之间的近2M完整沉积物，使其成为追踪尼安德特人灭绝和欧洲现代人类殖民化的关键时期，追踪古环境和人类生态动力学变化的理想场所。拟议的方法论使用放射性碳年代来建立年龄控制，石材工具分析以了解旧石器时代的人类的决策，动物骨骼组合以重建古环境，了解尼安德特人和现代人类饮食，以及推断人类职业的现场形成过程和环境环境。综上所述，这项工作将为Lapa do Picareiro的中opper旧石器时代的过渡建立完整的古环境和地球考古年代学，提供了该地区许多其他地点缺少的关键环境。