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

在Sally McBrearty博士的指导下，Christian特里翁先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。他的目标是利用肯尼亚Baringo地区Kapthurin地层序列中的密切日期考古和古生物事件来研究现代人类的解剖学和行为学的出现。Kapthurin形成对于理解这种转变至关重要，因为材料跨越了最后一个世纪。200万年前的火山灰夹层，可以进行钾氩年代测定。不同的火山灰--个别喷发的结果--具有不同的微量元素组成，通过分析，可以对个别火山灰进行“指纹”，并绘制其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。来自卡普图林和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）”，它们提供了人类具有与我们相似的认知能力的第一个证据。最早的日期，CA。285，000年前来自卡普图林，特里翁先生希望深入了解这一过程的早期阶段。到目前为止，在卡普图林北方的研究已经大大改变了考古学对这一过程的看法，因为它已经证明，三个独立的石头加工传统，MSA和两个被认为是前一个实际上是相互交错的，并没有形成一个时间上连贯的发展序列。研究人员不知道这种差异性是否来自于在不同情况下制造不同类型工具的单一文化，或者是否存在三种独立和不同的文化。在近东，这种替换发生在稍晚的时期，不同的群体随着环境条件的变化而潮起潮落。虽然在北方Kapthurin矿床中进行了大量工作，但对它们的南方对应物却知之甚少。特里翁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，并确定详细的年代顺序。在NSF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，以提供有关文化差异的更多信息。这项研究很重要，因为它将揭示行为现代人类的出现。它还将协助培养一名有前途的青年科学家。

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.