Laboratory Analysis of the Oldowan Artifact and Zooarcheological Samples from Kanjera South, Kenya

对肯尼亚坎杰拉南部的奥尔杜旺文物和动物考古样本进行实验室分析

• 批准号: 0355356
• 负责人: Thomas Plummer
• 金额: $ 8.67万
• 依托单位: CUNY Queens College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-02-01 至 2006-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0355356&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Laboratory; Analysis; Oldowan; Artifact; Zooarcheological

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Thomas Plummer and an international team of colleagues will conduct laboratory analyses on materials recovered from the Oldowan site of Kanjera South, Kenya. The team brings together American, English, Italian and Kenyan specialists in paleontology, archeology, geology, geochemistry and material science to examine hominin activities within their paleoecological context. The appearance of Oldowan archeological sites at c. 2.5 million years ago reflects one of the most important adaptive shifts in human evolution. However, our understanding of Oldowan hominin behavior continues to be dominated by interpretations from a small sample of sites, particularly those from Bed I Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Excavations in 1996-2001 recovered rich concentrations of Oldowan artifacts and fossils in c. 2.0 Ma deposits in the Southern Exposures at Kanjera, Kenya. Approximately 3000 fossils and 4500 artifacts were lifted with three dimensional coordinates and thousands of additional fossils and artifacts were collected in spit bags and sieving, providing the first major Oldowan assemblage with both artifacts and fauna outside of Bed I/lower Bed II Olduvai. The analysis of these materials provides a significant opportunity to expand our knowledge of the paleoecology, technology and subsistence behavior of hominins using Oldowan tools.This project will conduct laboratory analyses and a related lithic survey to elucidate the paleoecological context at Kanjera, hominin ranging behavior including the transport of lithic raw materials, faunal acquisition strategies, including the strong possibility of small mammal hunting, the relationship between technology and raw material availability and quality, and artifact function. Paleoecological information will be derived from isotopic analysis of tooth enamel and bovid mandibular ecomorphology (to reconstruct diet), from isotopic analysis of multiple enamel samples taken along the axial lengths of developing teeth (to reconstruct dry season intensity and frequency), from taxon-based paleocommunity analyses and from antelope postcranial ecomorphology (to reconstruct habitat structure). This data will augment the isotopic analysis of palesol carbonates already completed by the project. Zooarcheological analysis will assist in reconstructing site formation processes and elucidate the timing of hominin access to carcasses and the degree of on-site competition with carnivores. A final lithic survey will allow us to complete our census of primary and secondary sources of lithic raw material. Analysis of reference sample and artifact geochemistry as well as lithic thin sections should allow us to source a substantial proportion of the artifact raw materials. Material science analysis of lithic raw materials will allow us to quantify aspects of raw material fracture predictability and edge durability and in combination with sourcing data illuminate the relationship between technological attributes and raw material availability and quality. Edgewear analysis will provide the oldest direct documentation of Oldowan artifact function.In totality, this project will substantially expand our knowledge of Oldowan hominin behavioral variation and of the adaptive significance of the first lithic technology. Methodologically, it represents the broadest array of analytical and theoretical approaches yet applied to an archeological occurrence of this antiquity.In addition to broadening our knowledge of the first lithic technology, this project will advance the careers of two American doctoral students and strengthen scientific ties between researchers in the U.S., England, Italy and three Kenyan organizations (National Museums of Kenya, Institute of Nuclear Science and the Ministry of Works).

在国家科学基金会的支持下，托马斯·普卢默博士和一个国际同事团队将对从肯尼亚坎杰拉南奥尔多旺遗址回收的材料进行实验室分析。 该团队汇集了美国、英国、意大利和肯尼亚的古生物学、考古学、地质学、地球化学和材料科学专家，研究古人类在古生态背景下的活动。 奥尔多旺考古遗址的出现250 万年前反映了人类进化中最重要的适应性转变之一。 然而，我们对奥杜威古人类行为的理解仍然主要取决于一小部分遗址样本的解释，特别是来自坦桑尼亚奥杜瓦伊峡谷 Bed I 的遗址。 1996 年至 2001 年的发掘工作中发现了丰富的奥尔杜旺文物和化石。肯尼亚坎杰拉 Southern Exposures 的 2.0 Ma 矿床。 大约 3000 块化石和 4500 件文物通过三维坐标被提升，数千件额外的化石和文物被收集在垃圾袋和筛分中，提供了第一个主要的奥尔杜旺组合，其中包括 I 层/下层 II 奥杜瓦伊之外的文物和动物群。 对这些材料的分析提供了一个重要的机会，以扩大我们对使用奥尔多旺工具的古生态、技术和古人类生存行为的了解。该项目将进行实验室分析和相关的石器调查，以阐明坎杰拉的古生态环境、古人类活动范围（包括石器原材料的运输）、动物区系获取策略（包括捕猎小型哺乳动物的可能性很大）、技术与原材料可用性之间的关系 以及质量和工件功能。 古生态信息将来源于牙釉质和牛下颌生态形态学的同位素分析（以重建饮食）、沿发育牙齿轴向长度采集的多个牙釉质样本的同位素分析（以重建旱季强度和频率）、基于分类单元的古群落分析和羚羊颅后生态形态学（以重建栖息地结构）。 这些数据将增强该项目已完成的古索尔碳酸盐的同位素分析。 动物考古学分析将有助于重建遗址形成过程，并阐明古人类接触尸体的时间以及与食肉动物现场竞争的程度。 最终的石器调查将使我们能够完成对石器原材料的主要和次要来源的普查。 对参考样本和人工制品地球化学以及岩屑薄片的分析应该使我们能够获取相当大比例的人工制品原材料。 对石质原材料的材料科学分析将使我们能够量化原材料断裂可预测性和边缘耐久性的各个方面，并结合采购数据阐明技术属性与原材料可用性和质量之间的关系。 边缘磨损分析将提供奥尔杜旺人工制品功能的最古老的直接记录。总的来说，该项目将大大扩展我们对奥尔杜旺古人类行为变异和第一个石器技术的适应性意义的了解。 从方法上来说，它代表了迄今为止应用于这一古代考古事件的最广泛的分析和理论方法。除了拓宽我们对第一个石器技术的了解之外，该项目还将促进两名美国博士生的职业生涯，并加强美国、英国、意大利和三个肯尼亚组织（肯尼亚国家博物馆、核科学研究所和工程部）的研究人员之间的科学联系。