Investigation of Levantine Mousterian Sites

在国家科学基金会的支持下，唐纳德·亨利博士将继续他在约旦南部的考古研究。他将在三个已被证明具有丰富考古遗迹的分层遗址进行挖掘。它们包含的材料可归因于“穆斯特尔”文化传统，其中一层的上层可以追溯到大约65,000年前。所有这些都有丰富的文化遗存。工作将集中在Tor Faraj的一个区块(约45平方米)的挖掘上，其中包含一个巨大的深(+3.5米)的Levame Mousterian矿藏。最上面的80厘米。存款展示壁炉和灰透镜定义了三个“起居层”。除了分析岩屑和动物遗骸外，亨利博士和他的同事们还将研究沉积物中包含的花粉和植硅石，以及基质本身。该团队的目标是重建不断变化的环境并确定其日期，并在此背景下理解莫斯特斯式的适应。许多人类学家感兴趣的问题是，解剖学上的现代人是在何时何地出现的，以及这些群体是如何分布在旧大陆和新大陆的。虽然最新的数据表明起源于非洲，但近东一直是人们关注的焦点，因为“现代”和更“古老”的形式明显混合在一起，以及各自具有特征的考古遗迹。“Mousterian”一词指的是石器传统和文化，在近东、北非和欧洲，这是前现代形式中最后一种形式的特征。考古学家希望了解这些群体是如何在社会上组织起来的，以及自从他们为现代人的出现奠定了基础以来，他们遵循了什么生存战略。亨利博士将挖掘的遗址可以追溯到穆斯特尔时代的末期，因此与这个问题直接相关。它们还蕴藏着极其丰富的文化遗迹，显然没有受到干扰的起居层应该会产生宝贵的社会信息。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将增加我们对导致解剖学上现代人类出现的因素的理解。它将为了解近东的史前历史提供新的线索，并提供许多考古学家感兴趣的数据。

With National Science Foundation support Dr. Donald Henry will continue his archaeological research in southern Jordan. He will excavate at three stratified sites proven rich in archaeological remains. The materials they contain are attributable to the "Mousterian" cultural tradition and the upper layers of one have been dated to ca. 65,000 years ago. All are rich in cultural remains. Work will center on a block (ca 45 square meters) excavation of Tor Faraj which contains a large deep (+3.5m) Levantine Mousterian deposit. The top 80 cm. of the deposit display hearths and ash lenses defining three "living floors." In addition to analysis of lithic and faunal remains, Dr. Henry and his colleagues will study the pollen and phytoliths contained in the sediments as well as the matrix itself. The team's goal is to reconstruct and date the changing environment and understand Mousterian adaptation within this context. Many anthropologists are interested in the question of when and where anatomically modern humans emerged and how these groups spread across both the Old and New Worlds. While most recent data points to an African origin, the Near East has been the focus of much attention because of the apparent intermixing of "modern" and more "ancient" forms as well as the archaeological remains which characterize each. The term "Mousterian" refers to the stone tool tradition and culture which, in the Near East, North Africa and Europe, characterizes the last of the pre-modern forms. Archaeologists wish to understand how these groups were socially organized and what subsistence strategies they followed since they set the stage from which modern humans emerged. The sites which Dr. Henry will excavate date from the end of the Mousterian period and are thus directly relevant to this question. They are also extremely rich in cultural remains and the apparently undisturbed living floors should yield valuable social information. This research is important for several reasons. It will increase our understanding of the factors which led to the emergence of anatomically modern humans. It will shed new light on the prehistory of the Near East and provide data of interest to many archaeologists.