Excavations at Cave 13B, Pinnacle Point at Mossel Bay, South Africa: Faunal Exploitation, Raw Material Procurement, and Organization of Domestic Space During the Middle Stone Age

在国家科学基金会的支持下，柯蒂斯·马雷安博士于2000年7月对南非西开普省莫塞尔海湾附近的三个洞穴进行了探索性考古调查。该项目由考古计划提供的高风险探险赠款资助。这些调查的目的是评估几个洞穴是否适合进行更密集的挖掘。其中两个洞穴被证明有保存完好的考古沉积物，可以追溯到石器时代中期，具有出色的化石骨骼保存。发现了两个原始人化石，这表明进一步的研究可能会产生更多的结果，并有助于目前的小样本。此外，壁炉等特征保存完好，并发现了赭色铅笔，表明居住者参与了象征性活动。在这些结果的基础上，马雷恩博士将与美国国家科学基金会合作，对其中一个名为13B洞穴的洞穴进行更密集的挖掘。这项研究是一项广泛的国际和跨学科研究工作的一部分，该研究试图了解人类行为从“古代人”到“现代人”的文化转变。这项研究工作的重点是大约25万到3万年前的时间间隔，主要涉及欧亚大陆和非洲的学者。到目前为止，来自欧洲的证据一直占据主导地位，在过去的100年里，欧洲的科学家们一直在紧张地工作。这项研究的结果导致许多科学家认为，我们将现代人类文化与现代人联系在一起的那些方面，最早出现在4万年前之后不久。这些现代性指标包括由艺术表达和宗教的存在所暗示的象征性行为，以及由来自遥远来源的原材料的存在所表明的复杂的社会结构，如贸易网络。最近，来自样本较少的非洲大陆，特别是沿海的南非的新结果表明，这些现代性指标在那里可能比欧亚大陆更早出现，而这一4万年前一度可靠的卢比孔可能是非洲证据不足的经验记录的产物。该项目寻求扩大非洲在这一关键过渡方面的记录。莫瑟尔湾的发掘应该有助于更可靠地了解这些事件在非洲发生的时间。对出土材料的分析将侧重于对原材料进行地球化学分析，以调查贸易网络，对人工制品和动物遗骸进行空间分析，以调查社会活动的组织情况，并对动物遗骸进行空间分析，以了解狩猎行为的复杂性。

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Curtis Marean conducted exploratory archaeological investigations in July of 2000 of three caves near Mossel Bay in the Western Cape province of South Africa. That project was funded by the high risk exploratory grants provided by the Archaeology Program. The goal of those investigations was to evaluate the suitability of several caves for more intensive excavations. Two of those caves proved to have very well preserved archaeological sediments dating to the Middle Stone Age, with excellent fossil bone preservation. Two hominid fossils were found, suggesting that further investigations could yield more and contribute to a currently small sample. Furthermore, features such as hearths are well preserved, and ochre pencils were found, suggesting that the occupants had been involved in symbolic activities. Based on those results, Dr. Marean will conduct with National Science Foundation support more intensive excavations at one of those caves, named Cave 13B.This study is part of a wide ranging international and interdisciplinary research effort that seeks to understand the cultural transition from "archaic" to "modern" human behavior. This research effort, focusing on the interval of time between about 250,000 and 30,000 years ago, involves scholars working primarily in Eurasia and Africa. To date the evidence has been dominated by that from Europe, where scientists have been working intensively for the last 100 years. The results of that research have led many scientists to argue that those aspects of modern human culture that we associate with modern people appear first shortly after 40,000 years ago. These indicators of modernity include such things as symboling behavior as suggested by the presence of artistic expression and religion, and complex social structures such as trade networks as indicated by the presence of raw materials from distant sources. Recently, new results from the poorly sampled African continent, particularly in coastal South Africa, suggest that these indicators of modernity may have appeared earlier there than in Eurasia, and that this once-secure Rubicon at 40,000 years ago may be an artifact of an empirical record weak in African evidence. This project seeks to expand the African record for this crucial transition. The excavations at Mossel Bay should help provide a more secure understanding of the timing of these events in Africa. The analysis of the excavated materials will focus on geochemical analyses of raw materials to investigate trade networks, spatial analysis of the artifacts and faunal remains relative to hearth placement to investigate the organization of social activities, and faunal remains to understand the sophistication of hunting behavior.