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地层序列中精确的考古和古生物发现，来研究解剖学和行为学上的现代人的出现。Kapthurin地层对于理解这种转变至关重要，因为过去大约200万年的物质与火山灰互层，这符合钾氩定年法。不同的火山灰——单个喷发的结果——有不同的微量元素组成，通过他们的分析，单个火山灰可以被“指纹化”，并在地层中绘制出它们的分布。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以及非洲其他地方的精心制作的有柄石器被称为“中石器时代（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，大约28.5万年前来自Kapthurin， Tryon先生希望深入了解这一过程的早期阶段。迄今为止，在Kapthurin北部出土的研究已经显著地改变了考古学对这一过程的看法，因为它已经证明了三个独立的石头加工传统，MSA和两个被认为在此之前的传统实际上是相互作用的，并没有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于单一文化在不同情况下制造不同类型的工具，还是存在三种不同的文化。在较早的近东，这种更替发生在不同群体因环境条件的变化而起起落落的时候。虽然对Kapthurin北部的矿藏进行了大量的研究，但对其南部的矿藏却知之甚少。特赖恩先生正在对这一地区进行地质和考古调查，以确定遗址位置并确定详细的时间顺序。在国家科学基金会的支持下，他将对收集到的火山灰进行特征描述，并将进行考古发掘，以提供有关文化差异的额外信息。这项研究很重要，因为它将揭示行为现代人的出现。它还将帮助培训一名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.