The Upper Paleolithic Settlement of the Transbaikal, Siberia

在国家科学基金会的支持下，特德·戈贝尔博士将与美国和俄罗斯的同事合作，在西伯利亚外拜加尔地区的马斯特罗夫·克利赫遗址进行考古发掘。之前的测试发掘发现了五个在地层上独立的考古成分。最低的三个含有旧石器时代晚期的物质，时间跨度从大约40,000年到10,000年前。除了挖掘，该小组还将应用一些专门技术，以加强对考古信息的捕捉。整个地层剖面将通过多个程序进行测年，包括加速器放射性碳、发光和电子自旋共振。所有出土的文物和生态文物都将得到精确的证实，并将记录方位，以重建工地平整过程。将对动物群进行详细研究，分析和改装石器文物，以追踪技术制造过程和遗址空间模式。人类第一次进入西伯利亚是在旧石器时代晚期，欧亚大陆北部地区是最后一个主要的居住地。根据现有信息，这些团体似乎从西向东扩张，而这些团体特有的石刃工具似乎止步于外拜加地区。原因尚不清楚，这一现象很有趣，因为它可能揭示人类适应的基本过程。这项研究之所以意义重大，有几个原因。它将增加我们对现代人起源和扩散的理解，特别是试图解释人类全球殖民的模式。这将大大增加我们对旧石器时代晚期的了解。通过应用古生态和古地理观点，这项研究将增加越来越多的知识，研究过去人类适应战略和影响过去和现在人口分布的相关环境限制因素。最后，该项目将为本科生提供独特的研究体验。

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Ted Goebel, in collaboration with American and Russian colleagues will conduct archaeological excavations at the site of Masterov Kliuch' which is located in the Transbaikal region of Siberia. Previous test excavations have revealed five stratigraphically separate archaeological components. The lowest three contain Upper Paleolithic materials and span the period from ca. 40,000 to 10,000 years ago. In addition to excavation, the team will apply a number of specialized techniques that will enhance the capture of archaeological information. The entire stratigraphic profile will be chronometrically dated through multiple procedures including accelerator radiocarbon, luminescence and electron spin resonance. All excavated artifacts and ecofacts will be precisely provenienced and orientations will be noted to reconstruct site formation processes. Fauna will be studied in detail and lithic artifacts analyzed and refitted to trace technological manufacturing processes as well as site spatial patterns. Humans first penetrated Siberia during Upper Paleolithic times and the Northern Eurasian region constituted the last major habitable area to be settled. Based on available information it appears that groups expanded from West to East and the stone blade tools characteristic of these groups appear to stop in the Transbaikal region. The reason for this is not known and the phenomenon is interesting because it may shed light on basic processes of human adaptation. This research is significant for several reasons. It will add to our understanding of the origins and dispersal of modern humans, especially attempts to explain the pattern of human global colonization. It will significantly increase our knowledge of the Upper Paleolithic of the Old World. Through the application of paleoecological and paleogeographic perspectives, the research will add to a growing body of knowledge addressing past human adaptive strategies and associated environmental limiting factors affecting past and present population distributions. Finally, the project will offer unique research experiences for undergraduate students.