Dissertation Research: Middle Paleolithic Technology in A Semi-Desert Habitat

最近发现的新证据表明，在旧石器时代中期，古代智人在非洲南部存在。这比现代人类在欧洲和亚洲出现要早很多年。也有迹象表明，这些史前民族的觅食适应能力比之前预期的更发达，其特征是使用刀片和燃烧石器。在这个项目中，研究者将分析南非Zeekoe山谷中旧石器时代中期猎人的空间组织。她将分析发生在最后一次间冰期的定居模式的变化，并根据从Driekoppen岩石避难所和一系列露天地点收集的材料，建立石器设计变化的时间尺度和顺序。该项目将使研究人员能够确定哪些工具类型是该地区和时期最具诊断性的时间标记。区域年代学的建立在古考古学中变得越来越重要。没有良好的年代控制，现代人类文化的发展就无从谈起。

New evidence has been discovered recently that indicates the presence of archaic Homo sapiens sapiens in southern Africa during the Middle Paleolithic. This is many years before the appearance of modern human beings in Europe and Asia. There are also indications that these prehistoric peoples had a more developed foraging adaptation characterized by blade and burin stone tools than had previously been expected. During this project, the researcher will analyze the spatial organization of Middle Paleolithic hunters in the Zeekoe valley of South Africa. She will analyze the changes in settlement pattern that occurred during the last Interglacial and establish a time scale and sequence of changes in stone tool design based on materials collected from the Driekoppen Rockshelter and a series of open air sites. This project will enable the researcher to establish which tool types are the most diagnostic time-markers for this region and period. The establishment of regional chronologies is becoming increasingly important in paleoarchaeology. Without good chronological controls, little can be said about the development of modern human culture.