Dissertation Research: Behavioral Change and Regional Variation across the Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition

在Ofer Bar-Yosef博士的指导下，Gilbert Tostevin先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。大约40,000年前，西欧出现了旧石器时代晚期的考古工业。它们与解剖学上现代人类的第一次出现有关，包含了制作精良的专门石器，以及精心雕刻的骨头和象牙雕像，这些雕像为认知能力提供了令人信服的证据，可与我们的认知能力相媲美。然而，旧石器时代晚期的起源尚不清楚，因为它是在进入欧洲的过程中出现的。为了试图回答这个问题，托斯特文将分析欧亚大陆西部和近东关键地区的29个考古组合，这些组合可以追溯到6万到3万年前。尽管许多考古学家对这些材料进行了研究，但这项研究是在一个地区的背景下进行的，并使用了个性化的分析技术，这使得跨越时间和空间的广泛比较成为可能。之所以选择中欧(特别是捷克共和国)、东欧(乌克兰)、东南欧(保加利亚)和莱万特(以色列)的目标地区，是因为这些地区的考古组合对这一问题的重要性，以及用于获取它们的出色的挖掘技术。托斯特文将分析石器的成分，确定相似程度，然后在地理和年代背景下对这些成分进行解释。通过这种方式，应该可以洞察起源点和时间以及扩散的速度和方向。托斯特文不会单独研究艺术品，而是专注于整个生产过程，更多地将比较建立在生产技术而不是成品上。这项研究很重要，因为它将揭示解剖学和文化上的现代人的外表和传播情况。它将产生许多考古学家感兴趣的大量和一致的数据集，并有助于培养一位有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Ofer Bar-Yosef, Mr. Gilbert Tostevin will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. Approximately 40,000 years ago Upper Paleolithic archaeological industries appeared in Western Europe. They were associated with the first appearance of anatomically modern humans and contain finely made specialized stone tools as well as delicately carved bone and ivory figurines which provide compelling testimony for cognitive abilities comparable with our own. However point of origin for the Upper Paleolithic is unknown as in the process by which it entered Europe. To attempt to answer this question Mr. Tostevin will analyze 29 archaeological assemblages dating between 60,000 and 30,000 years ago from key regions in western Eurasia and the Near East. Although numerous archaeologists have worked on such materials, the research has proceeded in a regional context and employed individualized analytic techniques which make broad scale comparisons across time and space impossible. Target regions of Central Europe (specifically the Czech Republic), Eastern Europe (Ukraine), Southeastern Europe (Bulgaria) and the Levant (Israel) have been chosen because of the importance of their archaeological assemblages to this issue and to the excellent excavation techniques used to procure them. Mr. Tostevin will analyze the lithic (stone tool) components, determine degrees of similarity and then interpret these in a geographical and chronological context. In this way it should be possible gain insight into points and time of origin and rates and direction of diffusion. Rather than study artifacts alone, Mr. Tostevin will focus on the entire production process and base his comparisons more on production technique than finished product. This research is important because it will shed light on the appearance and spread of anatomically and culturally modern humans. It will produce a large and consistent data set of interest to many archaeologists and assist in training a promising young scientist.