Dissertation Research - Human Migration in Early Neolithic Europe

在道格拉斯普莱斯博士的指导下，R.Bentley先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。他将参与德国莱茵河河谷一处早期农业遗址的发掘工作。然后，他将对从这次和其他考古发现中发现的人类骨骼材料进行锶和铅同位素分析，这些材料可以追溯到同一时期和文化。这项研究的目的是了解导致西欧出现驯化作物、动物和定居生活方式的过程。虽然科学家们认识到，小麦和大麦等作物以及驯养的牛、绵羊和山羊最早出现在近东，后来向西传播到欧洲，但这一运动的机制尚不清楚。在许多地区，这种驯化的陶器突然出现-可能在一代人的时间内，并伴随着一种独特的陶器类型，称为“线性带陶瓷”（LBK）。许多考古学家认为，LBK现象反映了人类的实际运动-一群先驱者迅速遍布西欧大部分地区。其他研究人员指出，这一地区已经居住着狩猎和采集人口，因此远远没有人类的存在。他们认为，移动的不是人本身，而是物体和对如何使用它们的理解。根据这种模式，当地的猎人和采集者学会了如何种植作物，放牧牲畜和制作陶器。因此，观察到的定居模式的变化是新技术和生存实践的结果。为了帮助解决这个问题，本特利先生将检查一系列来自莱茵河山谷LBK遗址的骨骼，并对骨骼和牙齿进行锶和铅同位素分析。人体从食物中吸收这两种元素，锶和可能的铅同位素的比例反映了它们在食物中的丰度。这反过来又受到底层基岩地质的强烈影响。因为牙齿在一个人生命的早期形成，并且不会随着时间的推移而重塑，所以它们反映了一个人早年度过的地区的比例。然而，骨随着时间的推移而重塑，骨同位素比率反映了个体生命的后期。本特利先生指出，在发现LBK遗址的莱茵河洪泛区，锶同位素值与周围高地的锶同位素值有很大差异，而周围高地是先前存在的狩猎和采集人口所在地。通过对这些比率的分析，应该有可能确定LBK人是否一生都生活在这个地区，或者他们是否来自其他地方。按性别对结果进行分析还应有助于深入了解可能的婚姻模式。它将揭示史前欧洲的文化动态。这将有助于锶同位素分析工具在考古问题中的应用。它还将探讨以同样方式使用铅同位素分析的可能性。最后，它将有助于培养一个有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Douglas Price, Mr. R.Bentley will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will participate in the excavation of an early agricultural site in the Rhine Valley, Germany. He will then conduct strontium and lead isotope analyses on human skeletal material recovered from this and other archaeological occurrences which date to the same time period and culture. The goal of the research is to understand the process which led to the appearance of domesticated crops, animals and a settled way of life in Western Europe. While scientists recognize that crops such as wheat and barley and domesticated cattle sheep and goats first appeared in the Near East and at some later date spread westwards into Europe, the mechanism which underlies this movement is unclear. In many regions such domesticates appear suddenly - possibly within the span of a single generation and are accompanied by a distinctive pottery type termed "linear band ceramic" (LBK) A lively debate exists concerning whether it was technology itself or actual populations which moved. Many archaeologists believe that the LBK phenomenon reflects the actual movement of people - a group of pioneers who spread rapidly across much of Western Europe. Other researchers note that this area was already inhabited by hunting and gathering populations and thus far from devoid of a human presence. They argue that it was not people themselves who moved but rather objects and an understanding of how to use them. According to this model local hunters and gathers learned how to plant crops, herd livestock and make pottery. The observed changes in settlement pattern were thus the result of new technology and subsistence practices.To help resolve this issue, Mr. Bentley will examine a series of skeletons from LBK sites in the Rhine valley and conduct both strontium and lead isotope analyses of bone and teeth. The human body absorbs both elements from food and the proportions of strontium and likely lead isotopes reflects their abundance in the food itself. This in turn is strongly affected by the underlying bedrock geology. Because teeth form early in an individual's life and do not remodel over time, they reflect the ratio in the region where one's early years were spent. Bone however remodels over time and bone isotope ratios reflect a later period in an individual's life. Mr. Bentley has noted that strontium isotopic values in the Rhine floodplain where LBK sites are found, differ significantly from those in the surrounding highlands where pre-existing hunting and gathering populations were located. Through analyses of these ratios, it should be possible to determine whether LBK people lived their entire lives within this area or whether they came from elsewhere. Analysis of results by sex should also provide insight into possible marriage patterns.This research is important for several reasons. It will shed light on cultural dynamics in prehistoric Europe. It will help to develop the application strontium isotope analysis tool to archaeological questions. It will also explore the possibility of using lead isotope analysis in the same way. Finally, it will contribute to training a promising young scientist.