A Proposed Study of the Late Neolithic in the Egyptian Sahara

9308078在国家科学基金会的支持下，弗雷德·温多夫博士和安吉拉·克洛斯博士将继续他们对埃及东撒哈拉沙漠史前的研究。他们将把工作重点放在新石器时代晚期，即大约6500到5000年前，并调查两个地区。第一个是纳布塔，那里有一个巨大的直立石块建筑群。这些都与一个将被挖掘的非常大和深度分层的遗址有关。通过恢复动植物和花卉材料，将有可能重建生存模式，并确定对家养动植物的依赖程度。调查人员还将对纳布塔和邻近盆地进行调查，并记录所有新石器时代晚期的事件。萨夫萨夫附近的第二个地区发现了牧民营地的证据，这些营地可以追溯到同一时期。通过在遗址之间收集和改装文物，调查人员希望追踪牧民的活动，并确定他们是如何使用这一地区的。埃及对我们理解人类史前极为重要，因为它标志着世界上最伟大的史前文明之一的摇篮。虽然人们对法老时期有很多了解，但这种文明的根源还没有被很好地理解。考古学家尤其希望了解这种文化是在很大程度上独立发展的，还是像许多人认为的那样，在很大程度上是从西南亚派生出来的。文多夫博士和克洛斯博士认为，尼罗河沿岸的重要文化发展受到西部沙漠地区文化发展的强烈影响，这项研究将提供相关数据。它还将增加我们对相对简单技术水平的人们如何适应撒哈拉恶劣的流动条件的理解。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将提供许多考古学家感兴趣的数据。它还将增加我们对复杂社会如何发展以及人类如何适应环境压力的理解。***

9308078 Wendorf With National Science Foundation support Drs. Fred Wendorf and Angela Close will continue their study of the prehistory of the Eastern Sahara Desert of Egypt. They will focus their work on the Late Neolithic period, which dates from approximately 6,500 to 5,000 years ago and investigate two areas. The first is Nabta where a large megalithic complex of standing stones has been located. These are associated with a very large and deeply stratified site which will be excavated. Through the recovery of faunal and floral materials it will be possible to reconstruct subsistence patterns and determine the extent of reliance on domestic vs. wild plants and animals. The investigators will also conduct a survey of the Nabta and adjacent basins and record all Late Neolithic occurrences. A second area near Safsaf has yielded evidence of herding camps which date to the same time range. By collecting and refitting artifacts between sites, the investigators hope to trace herders' movements and determine how they used this area. Egypt is extremely important to our understanding of human prehistory because it marked the cradle of one of the world's great prehistoric civilizations. While much is known about the Pharonic period, the roots of this civilization are not well understood. In particular archaeologists wish to learn whether this culture developed largely independently or whether, as many believe, it is largely derivative from Southwest Asia. Drs. Wendorf and Close believe that important cultural developments along the Nile were strongly influenced by those in the desert to the West and this research will provide relevant data. It will also increase our understanding of how people at a relatively simple level of technology adapted to the harsh fluxuating conditions in the Sahara. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists. It will also increase our understanding of how complex society develo ped and how humans adapt to environmental stress. ***