Exploring the Initial Upper Paleolithic at Üçagizli Cave, Turkey

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

With support from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Steven Kuhn and agroup of international researchers will continue archaeological excavationsat UUagizli ("three mouths") cave in south-central Turkey. The team includesprofessional archaeologists, physical anthropologists, geologists, and specialistsin the analysis of ancient plant remains, as well as graduate students fromthe U.S., Turkey, and western Europe. The central goal of the project isto examine evidence for marked changes in human behavior within the earliestUpper Paleolithic period, and to place these developments in their environmentalcontext. Archaeological deposits at the site span the period between about30,000 and 43,000 years before present. Although humans with essentiallymodern skeletal anatomy had appeared much earlier, many researchers believethat it was only after 45,000 years ago that there is evidence in Eurasiafor complex technologies, symbolic communication and art, and other featuresof material, social and intellectual life that distinguish fully modernhumans from their ancestors. Results from excavations at UUagizli caveto date have helped expand our understanding of changes in economies andtechnology for this crucial interval in human history. The site has alsoyielded remains of what are among the earliest ornament-making traditionsin Eurasia. These findings are especially important because they documentthe use of material culture as a medium of symbolic communication, longconsidered an important rubicon in human cognitive evolution. One issueguiding the research is whether developments in human behavior after 45,000years ago represent local responses to changing ecological and demographicconditions, or whether they reflect the appearance of new human populationswith enhanced cognitive abilities. Continuing excavations will allow usto examine in detail the timing of major shifts in behavior, and whetherthey occurred independently or in concert. Studies of animal bones, remainsof shellfish, as well as ancient pollen and phytoliths (durable crystallinecomponents of plant tissues) will allow us to place these developments intheir environmental context, helping to distinguish broad evolutionary trendswithin the human species as a whole from local adaptations to changing conditions. At the same time, the project is helping to establish new links betweenacademic institutions in Turkey and the United States. Through their participationin the research, students from Ankara University obtain training in fieldand lab methods. In exchange, American graduate students get valuableoverseas research experience as well as material for theses and dissertations.