Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Ecology in the Western Great Basin

罗伯特·凯利博士将在内华达州西部的卡森辛克地区进行为期一季的考古田野工作。由于近年来这一地区的暴雨，发生了大量的径流，这暴露了一个考古宝藏，掩埋的房屋以及文化材料和人类骨骼遗骸。由于这些遗址将受到进一步的侵蚀和可能的掠夺，因此必须尽快开始考古研究。凯利博士和他的合作者将对遗址进行基本勘察，并确定哪些遗址最有希望进行进一步的大规模挖掘。这将通过测绘场地特征、受控地表网格收集和对特征样本的测试挖掘来确定。有了这些数据，就有可能为未来几年制定详细的挖掘计划。卡森辛克地区的占领始于公元前5000年左右，第一批村庄出现在公元前1500年左右。在那段时间的大部分时间里，该地区都是沼泽，当地居民可能利用了当地的资源。该项目将对Pihouse村庄和以沼泽为导向的久坐不动的经济的起源进行首次彻底调查。它将有助于我们理解自给自足和狩猎采集流动之间的关系，并有助于理解定居进程。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。从长远来看，它将增加我们对人类如何在简单的组织层面上应对变化和不可预测的环境的理解，从而阐明人类适应的过程。它还将挽救极其重要的考古材料，否则这些材料将会丢失。

Dr. Robert Kelly will conduct one season of archaeological fieldwork in the Carson Sink region of western Nevada. Because of heavy rains in this area in recent years major runoff has occurred and this has exposed an archaeological treasure trove of buried houses as well as cultural materials and human skeletal remains. Because these sites will be subjected to further erosion and possible looting it is important that archaeological research be begun as quickly as possible. Dr. Kelly and his collaborators will conduct a basic reconnaissance of sites and determine which are the most promising for further large scale excavation. This will be determined by mapping site features, controlled surface grid collection, and test excavations of a sample of features. With this data it will be possible to develop a detailed excavation plan for future years. Occupation of the Carson Sink area began about 5000 B.P. and the first villages appeared about 1500 B.P. Over most of that period the region was marshy and the inhabitants presumably made use of local resources. This project will provide the first thorough investigation of pithouse villages and of the origins of a sedentary, marsh-oriented economy. It will contribute to our understanding of the relationship between subsistence and hunter- gatherer mobility and to an understanding of the sedentarization process. This research is important for several reasons. It will increase our understanding of how, over the long run, humans at a simple level of organization cope with shifting and unpredictable environments and thus shed light on the process of human adaptation. It will also rescue extremely important archaeological materials which otherwise would be lost.