Dissertation Research: La Elvira: A Paleoindian Site in Southwestern Columbia

在大卫·布朗曼博士的指导下，华盛顿大学的研究生克里斯托巴尔·格内科先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。1985年，在哥伦比亚西南部波帕扬山谷的道路和下水道建设过程中，发现了一处广泛的考古遗址。初步分析表明，这些石器可归因于古印度猎人和采集者，可以追溯到大约11,000年前。在NSF的支持下，格内科将返回La Elvira遗址，进行仔细的地层挖掘。他将剥离一大片水平区域，以恢复更多的文化材料，并将遗址置于更清晰的地质背景中。这样收集的分布数据有望为活动的空间组织提供线索。有机物质和黑铁矿材料将分别用放射性碳法和水合技术测年。最后，格内科和他的合作者将尝试对该遗址进行古气候重建。将获得岩心，并对花粉和植物大型化石进行分析。将收集区域植被，以提供比较基础。尽管考古学家一致认为，第一批进入新大陆的人是通过白令陆桥从亚洲进入阿拉斯加的，但令人惊讶的是，一些已知的最早的考古遗址位于南美洲。至于第一批人是如何以及何时进入世界这一地区的，我们不得而知。同样令人惊讶的是，在北美，这些“古印第安人”在相对开放的环境中与大型猎物狩猎联系在一起，而在南美，情况似乎并非如此。由于考古资料的相对匮乏，南美洲的古印度史前问题变得复杂起来。在这方面，从La Elvira遗址恢复的信息极其重要。有趣的是，这一丰富的考古遗址位于一个森林覆盖的山谷中。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。这将有助于填补一个明显的考古学空白，这些数据将引起大量史前学者的极大兴趣。这项研究应该会为早期新大陆人民的适应提供新的线索，并将有助于培养一位非常有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the guidance of Dr. David Browman, Mr. Cristobal Gnecco, a graduate student at Washington University will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. In 1985, an extensive archaeological site was discovered in the course of road and sewer construction in the Popayan Valley in southwestern Colombia. Preliminary analysis indicates that the stone tools are attributable to paleoindian hunters and gatherers and may date to approximately 11,000 years ago. With NSF support, Mr. Gnecco will return to the La Elvira site and conduct careful stratigraphic excavation. He will strip a large horizontal expanse both to recover additional cultural materials and to set the site into a clearer geological context. Distributional data thus collected will hopefully shed light on the spatial organization of activities. Both organic and obsidian materials will be dated by radiocarbon and hydration techniques respectively. Finally, Mr. Gnecco and his collaborators will attempt a paleoclimatic reconstruction of the site. A core will be obtained and pollen and plant macrofossils analyzed. Regional vegetation will be collected to provide a comparative base. Although archaeologists agree that the first people to enter the New World crossed from Asia via the Bering Land bridge into Alaska, it has been surprising to learn that some of the earliest known archaeological sites are located in South America. Just how and when the first peoples entered this part of the world is unknown. It is also surprising that while in North America these "paleoindian" peoples are associated with big game hunting in relatively open environments, in South America such appears not to be the case. The question of paleoindian prehistory in South America is complicated by the relative dearth of archaeological data. In this context, information recovered from the La Elvira site is extremely important. It is also interesting that this rich archaeological occurrence is located in a forested valley. This research is important for several reasons. It will help to fill a glaring archaeological gap and the data will be of great interest to a large number of prehistorians. The research should shed new light on the adaptations of early New World peoples and will help in the training of an extremely promising young scientist.