Prehistoric Human Ecology on the Golfo Dulce, Southern CostaRica

在1990年的初步实地勘察中，约翰·胡普斯博士 在哥斯达黎加的戈尔菲托湾及其周围发现了22处史前遗址 Rica. 陶瓷和石器文物表明，这些覆盖了一个 时间范围从公元前500年到公元600年。 发现了两个大型贝壳垃圾场， 保存有机材料。 这在潮湿的热带地区很少见 地区这些地点都含有高浓度的 保存完好的哺乳动物、鸟类、鱼类和人骨， 壳大量的木炭和陶器也被 礼物 在国家科学基金会的支持下，胡普斯博士 将在两个贝冢进行挖掘。他会收集 各种各样的有机和无机样品 仍然存在。 一个专家小组已经被召集起来分析 它将特别强调这些方面， 将允许重建史前环境， 维持生计的模式。 还将收集湖芯沉积物 将这些网站放置在一个更广泛的 古环境背景 最后，初步调查 当地的洞穴和岩石掩体将进行搜索， 这些遗址可以追溯到该地区最早的占领时期。 虽然大量的考古学关注集中在 相对而言，温带地区的农业发展 关于人类如何适应热带环境， 地区 但很明显，酋长和复杂的社会 在美国中部的这些地区发展起来， 研究是为了了解生存基础， 让这一切发生 据了解，史前群体在 美洲热带地区既种植块根作物，也种植玉米， 不清楚后者是何时通过的，也不清楚它可能发挥的作用。 在社会复杂性的发展中起了作用。 不 缺乏考古兴趣，但保存不善 这阻碍了研究，是什么让胡普斯博士的网站， 重要的是动物群和植物群都得到了很好的保护 仍然存在。 除了将出现的区域知识外， 研究是重要的，因为它将增加我们的理解 人类长期适应潮湿的热带环境的证据 它将 还提供了深入了解如何热带森林可用于 持续的基础。 鉴于研究生的参与， 研究将有助于培养青年科学家。

During preliminary field reconnaissance in 1990, Dr. John Hoopes located 22 prehistoric sites on and around Golfito bay, Costa Rica. Ceramic and lithic artifacts indicate that these cover a time range from 500 B.C. to 600 A.D. Among the most important discoveries were two large shell midden sites with excellent preservation of organic materials. This is rare in wet tropical regions. Each of these sites contained high concentrations of well-preserved mammal, bird, fish and human bone in addition to shell. Large quantities of charcoal and pottery were also present. With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Hoopes will conduct excavation at both shell middens. He will collect samples of a wide variety of organic as well as inorganic remains. A team of specialists has been assembled to analyze these and it will place specific emphasis on those aspects which will permit reconstruction of prehistoric environmental and subsistence patterns. Lake core sediments will also be collected to allow placement of these sites into a broader paleoenvironmental context. Finally, a preliminary survey of local caves and rockshelters will be conducted to search for sites dating to the earliest periods of occupation of the region. While considerable archaeological attention has been focussed on the development of agriculture in temperate regions, relatively little is known about how human populations adapted in tropical areas. Yet it is clear that chiefdoms and complex societies developed in such regions in Middle America and the goal of this research is to learn about the subsistence base which allowed this to happen. It is also known that prehistoric groups in the American tropics utilized both root crops as well as maize, but it is not clear when the latter was adopted and the role it may have played in the development of social complexity. It is not lack of archaeological interest but rather poor preservation which has hampered research and what makes Dr. Hoopes sites so important is the excellent preservation of both faunal and floral remains. In addition to the regional knowledge which will emerge, this research is important because it will increase our understanding of long-term human adaptations to the humid tropics. It will also provide insight into how tropical forests may be used on a sustained basis. Given the involvement of graduate students, the research will contribute to the training of young scientists.