Early Neolithic in the Eastern Sahara

根据之前在埃及南部撒哈拉沙漠的研究， 弗雷德温多夫博士和他的同事们发现， 令人惊讶的早期材料。 考古发掘 在Gebel Nabta和Bir Kiseiba遗址， 家畜和偶尔出现的陶器碎片，其历史可追溯到大约9500年 年龄。 约会网站CA 8,100年前已经产生了 国内大麦和国内绵羊或山羊的谷物， 从7,000年前的环境中恢复过来。 不幸的是，这些发现是在技术被应用之前做出的。 为非常小的样品的放射性碳测年而开发， 由于无法直接确定它们的年代， 这些年龄的案子。 因此，温多夫博士和他的同事们 将返回Gebel Nabta地区进行一个季节的实地考察 进行精心控制的挖掘 额外的材料。 通过多年在撒哈拉沙漠的研究，温多夫博士和他的 同事们挑战了传统的考古学 文化发展的诠释。 深入研究 亚洲提出的证据表明， 新石器时代革命-从狩猎和采集到 依赖驯化的动植物和使用 陶器-最早出现在近东。 从这个角度 北方非洲是一个落后的地方，新石器时代， 出现了，是从外面引进的。 温多夫博士的工作 表明这个故事要复杂得多， 元素，如牛，第一次出现，可能是 在这片土地上驯化。 最重要的不是历史--什么最早出现在哪里 - 而是事件背后的过程 可能是 人类史前史上一个最重要的转变就是 从狩猎采集到植物驯化 动物种类。 考古学家无法就造成这一现象的原因达成一致 改变正在发生。 有些人认为人口的增加 是原因，而其他人则认为，气候变化， 迫使人类和非人类群体以新的方式互动 都有责任 由于出色的环境数据 根据温多夫博士和他的团队几十年来收集的数据， 有可能得出一个明确的答案，在这个地区， 至少. 这项研究很重要，因为它增加了我们对 复杂性发展的基础过程 像我们这样的社会。

Based on previous work in the Sahara Desert of Southern Egypt, Dr. Fred Wendorf and his colleagues have discovered cultural materials of surprisingly early date. Archaeological excavations at the sites of Gebel Nabta and Bir Kiseiba yielded rare bones of domestic cattle and occasional potsherds dating to about 9,500 years in age. Sites dating to ca. 8,100 years ago have yielded grains of domestic barley, and domestic sheep or goat were recovered from contexts earlier than 7,000 years ago. Unfortunately, these finds were made before techniques had been developed for the radiocarbon dating of very small samples, and because it was not possible to date them directly, doubt has been case on these ages. Therefore, Dr. Wendorf and his colleagues will return to the Gebel Nabta region for one season of fieldwork and conduct a carefully controlled excavation to recover additional materials. Through many years of research in the Sahara, Dr. Wendorf and his colleagues have challenged traditional archaeological interpretations of cultural development. Intensive research in Asia had produced evidence that argued that many hallmarks of the Neolithic revolution - the shift from hunting and gathering to reliance on domesticated plants and animals and the use of pottery - first occurred in the Near East. From this perspective Northern Africa was a backwater and the Neolithic, when it appeared, was introduced from the outside. Dr. Wendorf's work suggests that the story is much more complex and that some elements, such as cattle, first appear and were probably domesticated in this region. What matters most is not the history - what first appeared where - but the processes which underlie the events. Possibly the single most important transition in human prehistory is the shift from hunting and gathering to the domestication of plant and animal species. Archaeologists cannot agree on what caused this change to take place. Some have argued that increased population is the cause, while others contended that climatic changes which forced human and non-human populations to interact in new ways are responsible. Because of the excellent environmental data collected over decades by Dr. Wendorf and his team, it may be possible to arrive at a definitive answer, in this region at least. This research is important because it increases our understanding of the processes which underlie the development of complex societies such as our own.