Renewed Excavation in the Middle and Later Stone Age Layers of Die Kelders Cave1, Southern Cape Coast, South Africa

南非南开普海岸 Die Kelders Cave1 石器时代中后期地层的重新发掘

• 批准号: 9120117
• 负责人: Frederick Grine
• 金额: $ 32.12万
• 依托单位: SUNY at Stony Brook
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1992
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1992-02-01 至 1997-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9120117&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Renewed; Excavation; Middle; Later; Stone

This project entails the excavation and analysis of material contained in the Middle Stone Age (MSA) deposits of Die Kelders Cave 1, on the southwestern coast of South Africa. Previous excavations revealed substantial Later Stone Age (LSA) materials overlaying a thick MSA deposit. Some human teeth were found which are similar to those of modern southern African indigenes, tentatively date at prior to 40,000 years before the present. A team of specialists will excavate the cave, and analyze the MSA and the LSA material. Given the depth and volume of the MSA deposit in this cave, the demonstrated richness of the deposits, the excellent quality of boner preservation, and the substantial amount that will be excavated, the potential is high that the site will yield new fossils that can help resolve the issue of modern human origins. This research is important because it can contribute important information to the possibility that modern humans lived in Africa while more "primitive" Neanderthal contemporaries were living in Europe and the Levant, and so help us trace the history of modern humans.

该项目需要挖掘和分析南非西南海岸Die Kelders洞穴1中石器时代（MSA）沉积物中的材料。先前的挖掘揭示了大量的晚石器时代（LSA）材料覆盖在厚的MSA沉积物上。一些人类牙齿被发现，与现代南部非洲土著人的牙齿相似，暂定日期为距今4万年之前。一队专家将挖掘洞穴，并分析MSA和LSA材料。考虑到这个洞穴中MSA沉积物的深度和体积，沉积物的丰富性，bonner保存的优秀品质，以及将挖掘的大量，该遗址很有可能发现有助于解决现代人类起源问题的新化石。这项研究很重要，因为它可以为现代人生活在非洲而更“原始”的尼安德特人生活在欧洲和黎凡特的可能性提供重要信息，从而帮助我们追溯现代人类的历史。