Dissertation Research: Origins of Human Use of Fire in Africa

人类开始使用和控制火一直是人类起源的学生关心的一个重要问题，因为这对于理解早期原始人文化的适应和发展至关重要。最近，肯尼亚Koobi Fora报道了早更新世背景下的火灾痕迹。然而，考古学家缺乏一种方法来区分这些遗骸是自然发生的还是人类努力的结果。为了帮助纠正这种情况，这名学生将在扎伊尔和肯尼亚进行一系列关于营火、树桩火灾和草火的实际实验，看看它们如何在早期原始人使用的沉积环境范围内物理和宏观上表现出来。这项研究将带来新的方法和技术，以帮助确定世界各地考古遗址中是否存在火灾。

The beginnings of human use and control of fire has been an important concern for students of human origins since it is crucial for understanding early hominid cultural adaptation and development. Recently, traces of fire in early Pleistocene contexts have been reported at Koobi Fora, Kenya. However, archaeologists lack a methodology to distinguish whether these remains are naturally occurring or the result of human endeavors. To help remedy this situation, the student will conduct a series of actualistic experiments in Zaire and Kenya on the effects of campfires, tree stump fires and grass fires to see how they may be manifested physically and macroscopically in the range of sedimentary environments used by early hominids. The research will result in new methods and techniques to help determine the presence of fire in archaeological sites around the world.