Dissertation Research: "Reconstructing" Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Mobility Patterns in Archaeology: A Perspective from the Near East

论文研究：考古学中“重建”史前狩猎采集者的流动模式：近东的视角

• 批准号: 9812516
• 负责人: Douglas Bamforth
• 金额: $ 1.02万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1998
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1998-09-01 至 1999-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9812516&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Reconstructing; Prehistoric; Hunter

Under the direction of Dr. Douglas Bamforth, Mr. Mark Becker will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. His goal is twofold: to apply new techniques of analysis to archaeological materials to demonstrate their utility and to gain insight into the processes which led to the domestication of plants and animals in the Near East. At approximately 12,000 years ago evidence for a shift in lifestyle in the Israel-Sinai area is evident. Peoples known as the `Natufians` established large permanent or semi-permanent villages, adopted ceramics and displayed many of the attributes associated with pastoral and agricultural societies. Although they did not in fact have domesticates and relied on hunted and gathered foods, clearly they were on a trajectory which led in this direction. Archaeologists however do not agree on how their predecessors were organized during the Upper Paleolithic Period, from ca. a35,000 to 12,000 years ago which preceded this. Some argue that the pattern observed in the Natufian developed gradually and that evidence for increasing sedentization is present in the Upper Paleolithic. Others believe that the Natufian pattern occurs abruptly and its appearance is quantum in nature. The distinction is important because the alternatives suggest different underlying processes are involved. Mr. Becker will examine this issue by studying a series of 6 Upper Paleolithic sites located in the Sinai Desert. He will focus on stone tools and the byproducts of their manufacture because these are the most common materials recovered in such sites. Through use wear analysis he will determine the range of activities which took place in each location. He will refit tools with the byproducts of their manufacture and spatially plot these within sites. These data provide information on single vs. multiple occupations. By using such procedures it is possible to determine the range of activities conducted in individual settlements and the relative length of time each was occupied. The six sites under consideration span the Upper Paleolithic period and thus it can be determined whether directional change occurred through time. This research will test the applicability of relatively new analytic techniques to Near Eastern archaeological material. It will address a significant anthropological question and assist in training a promising young scientist.

在道格拉斯·班福斯博士的指导下，马克·贝克尔先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。他的目标是双重的：将新的分析技术应用于考古材料，以证明其实用性，并深入了解导致近东动植物驯化的过程。在大约12，000年前，以色列-西奈地区生活方式转变的证据是显而易见的。被称为“Natufians”的民族建立了大型的永久性或半永久性村庄，采用了陶瓷，并展示了与畜牧和农业社会有关的许多特征。虽然他们实际上没有驯化动物，而是依靠狩猎和采集食物，但显然他们正朝着这个方向发展。然而，考古学家并不同意他们的祖先是如何在旧石器时代晚期组织起来的，从大约。在此之前的35,000到12,000年前。一些人认为，在纳图夫时期观察到的模式是逐渐发展起来的，而增加沉积作用的证据存在于旧石器时代晚期。另一些人认为纳图夫模式是突然出现的，它的出现是量子性质的。这种区别很重要，因为不同的选择表明涉及不同的基本过程。 贝克尔先生将通过研究位于西奈沙漠的6个旧石器时代晚期遗址来研究这个问题。他将专注于石器及其制造的副产品，因为这些是在这些遗址中回收的最常见的材料。通过使用磨损分析，他将确定在每个位置发生的活动范围。他将用制造过程中的副产品改装工具，并在空间上将这些副产品绘制在场地内。这些数据提供了有关单一职业与多个职业的信息。通过使用这种程序，有可能确定在各个定居点进行的活动的范围以及每个定居点被占用的相对时间长度。研究中的六个地点跨越旧石器时代晚期，因此可以确定方向是否随时间发生了变化。 这项研究将测试相对较新的分析技术对近东考古材料的适用性。它将解决一个重要的人类学问题，并协助培养一名有前途的年轻科学家。