Neolithic Economy and Social Relations in the Eastern Sahara

东撒哈拉新石器时代的经济和社会关系

• 批准号: 9020967
• 负责人: Fred Wendorf
• 金额: $ 10.18万
• 依托单位: Southern Methodist University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1991
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1991-02-01 至 1992-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9020967&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Neolithic; Economy; Social; Relations; Eastern

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Fred Wendorf and his international team of collaborators will conduct archaeological research in the Gebel Nabta and Bir Safsaf regions of the Eastern Sahara Desert in Egypt. They will return to sites located in past work and employ a series of strategies which include survey, surface collection of exposed materials and careful excavation. All sites date from the Neolithic period, ca. 9,000 to 6,000 years before the present. A series of houses from Nabta are particularly important because they contain large numbers of small depressions, probably the remains of cooking fires. Each holds abundant and well preserved floral remains which possibly are the byproducts of individual cooking events. With such data it is possible to gain unprecedented insight into subsistence practices since it is extremely rare for plant materials be so well preserved. A broad scale site survey should provide information on settlement pattern and subsistence strategies. The Neolithic period marked the appearance of many of the hallmarks which characterize our society today. The first long term settlements were established, pottery first appears in the archaeological record, and plants and animals were domesticated. Because this change was so important, archaeologists refer to it as "The Neolithic Revolution." However, it is not well understood what caused groups in many parts of the world to change from a hunting and gathering way of life to a more sedentary existence. Dr. Wendorf's work focusses directly on this issue and the Egyptian desert provides an excellent region for this study because sites are often visible from surface remains and the dry climate favors floral preservation. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to a large number of archaeologists. It will explore indirectly the issue of black Africa and its contribution to the development of civilization. It will also shed light on the processes which led to the emergence of complex societies.

在国家科学基金会的支持下，弗雷德温多夫博士和 他的国际合作者团队将进行 Gebel Nabta和Bir Safsaf地区的考古研究 位于埃及的东撒哈拉沙漠。 他们会回到 定位在过去的工作，并采用了一系列的战略， 包括勘测、暴露材料表面收集， 小心挖掘。 所有遗址都可以追溯到新石器时代， 约距今9,000到6,000年前。一系列的房子 特别重要，因为它们含有大量的 许多小凹陷，可能是烹饪的残余物 火灾 每一个都保存着丰富而保存完好的花卉遗迹 这可能是个别烹饪事件的副产品。 有了这些数据，就有可能获得前所未有的洞察力， 由于植物极为罕见， 材料保存得很好。 一个大规模的现场调查应该 提供关于定居模式和生计的资料 战略布局 新石器时代标志着许多 这是我们当今社会的特点。 第一长 长期定居点建立后，陶器首次出现在 考古记录，植物和动物被驯化。 因为这一变化如此重要，考古学家将其称为 新石器时代革命“然而， 了解是什么导致世界上许多地方的群体 从狩猎和采集的生活方式转变为 久坐的存在。 温多夫博士的工作重点是 埃及沙漠提供了一个很好的地区 因为从表面上看， 保持和干燥的气候有利于花卉保存。 这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。 它将提供 大量考古学家感兴趣的数据。它将 间接探讨黑非洲问题及其贡献 文明的发展。 它还将揭示 导致复杂社会出现的过程。