Doctoral dissertation improvement grant: Archaeology and tephrostratigraphy of the southern Kapthurin Formation, Baringo, Kenya

在Sally McBrearty博士的指导下，Christian Tryon先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。他的目标是利用肯尼亚巴林戈地区Kapthurin地层序列中日期密切的考古和古生物发现，来研究解剖学和行为学上现代人的出现。Kapthurin组对于理解这一转变至关重要，因为跨越过去约200万年的物质与火山灰互层，这符合钾-Ar测年。不同的火山灰--每次喷发的结果--有不同的微量元素组成，通过它们的分析，可以对各个火山灰进行“指纹”，并绘制它们在整个地层中的分布图。因此，它们提供了一个相对安全的框架来跟踪行为和生物变化。来自Kapthurin和非洲其他地方的精心制作的弯曲石器被称为“中期石器时代(MSA)”，它们为人类具有与我们相似的认知能力提供了第一个证据。最早的日期约为28.5万年前，来自卡普图林，特赖恩希望深入了解这一过程的早期阶段。迄今为止，对Kapthurin北部裸露的研究极大地改变了考古学对这一过程的看法，因为它表明，三个独立的石器加工传统，即MSA和两个所谓的先前传统实际上是相互交错的，并不形成一个按时间顺序连贯的发展序列。研究人员不知道这种差异是由一种文化造成的，这种文化在不同的情况下制造了不同类型的工具，还是存在三种不同的不同文化。在近东，这种交代发生的时间稍早，不同的岩群随着环境条件的变化而起伏不定。虽然北部的卡普图林矿床已经进行了大量的研究，但南部的对应矿床则鲜为人知。Tryon先生正在对这一地区进行地质和考古调查，以确定遗址的位置并建立详细的年代顺序。在国家科学基金会的支持下，他将描述收集到的火山灰的特征，并进行考古挖掘，以提供有关文化变异的更多信息。这项研究很重要，因为它将揭示行为现代人的出现。它还将帮助培养一位有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Sally McBrearty, Mr. Christian Tryon will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. His goal is to use closely dated archaeological and paleontological occurrences in the Kapthurin stratigraphic sequence in the Baringo region of Kenya to examine the emergence of anatomically and behaviorally modern humans. The Kapthurin formation is crucial for understanding this transformation because materials spanning the last ca. 2 million years are interbedded with volcanic ash which is amenable to potassium argon dating. Different ashes - the result of individual eruptions - have distinct trace element compositions and through their analysis, individual ashfalls can be "fingerprinted" and their distribution mapped across the formation. Thus they provide a relatively secure framework to track behavioral and biological change. Careful crafted hafted stone tools from both the Kapthurin as well as elsewhere in Africa are termed "Middle Stone Age (MSA)" and they provide the first evidence for humans with cognitive abilities similar to our own. The earliest date, ca. 285,000 years ago comes from the Kapthurin and Mr. Tryon wishes to gain insight into this early phase of the process. Research to date in the northern Kapthurin exposures has significantly changed archaeological views of this process because it has demonstrated that three separate stone working traditions, the MSA and two supposedly preceding ones are in fact interbedded and do not form a chronologically coherent developmental sequence. Researchers do not know whether this variability results from a single culture which manufactured different types of tools in different situations, or whether three separate and distinct cultures existed. In the Near East at a slightly younger date, such replacement occurred with different groups ebbing and flowing in response to changing environmental conditions.While much work has taken place in the northern Kapthurin deposits, their southern counterparts are more poorly known. Mr. Tryon is conducting a geological and archaeological survey of this area both to locate sites and to establish a detailed chronological sequence. With NSF support he will characterize the volcanic ashes collected and will conduct archaeological excavation to provide additional information on cultural variation. This research is important because it will shed light on the emergence of behavioral modern humans. It will also assist in training a promising young scientist.