Doctoral Dissertation Research: Resource Intensification and Sedentism in Prehistoric Central California: A Bioarchaeological Perspective on Diet and Disease

博士论文研究：史前加州中部的资源集约化和定居：饮食和疾病的生物考古学视角

• 批准号: 0424292
• 负责人: Lori Wright
• 金额: $ 0.32万
• 依托单位: Texas A&M Research Foundation
• 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: 2004-07-15 至 2005-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0424292&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Resource; Intensification

The bioarchaeology of central California is a neglected area of anthropological research, in part reflecting the misconception that prehistoric societies from this region exhibited little cultural change through time. Archaeological investigations over the past several decades, however, have revealed substantial change in subsistence patterns from a more generalized large-game hunting adaptation in the Early Period (4500-2800 BP) to a more sedentary lifeway involving the adoption of an acorn-storage economy during the Middle Period (2800-1200 BP). In this project, the investigators will measure stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in human bone, and will study skeletal and dental evidence of disease to examine temporal changes in diet, health, and the sexual division of labor in archaeological skeletons from central California. This study will be the first to evaluate prehistoric diet and health trends in the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta using data from stable isotope analysis in conjunction with paleopathology.Although population numbers in central California were among the highest in North America at the time of European contact, high population density was maintained in the absence of agriculture. Many researchers have argued that the increase in abundance of mortar and pestle technology throughout the Middle Period signified a transition toward intensified acorn use, which may have provided significant nutritional benefits since acorns are high in fat, can be stored for long periods, and would have provided a valuable buffer against winter food shortages. More recently, others have argued that increased sedentism and population growth throughout the Middle and Late Period resulted in the depletion of large fauna, leading to the intensification of less optimal foods, such as acorns and marine foods. Although resource intensification models predict conditions associated with declining health, few studies have directly evaluated the health consequences of subsistence change and sedentism in central California. The results of this project will provide a continuous biological record of prehistoric diet and health for over three millennia of California prehistory, and will further provide the foundations for future investigations in the region. This study will greatly contribute to our understanding of the biology of prehistoric California societies, and will serve as a basis for comparison with other nonagricultural sedentary societies. One of the broader impacts of this project is that it will provide the researcher with advanced graduate training and access to state of the art methods in stable isotope analysis that will foster future investigations in paleodietary research. Additionally, this research will be a valuable contribution toward understanding the earliest lifeways of California's indigenous populations, which will be of interest to living Native American peoples.

加州中部的生物考古学是人类学研究中一个被忽视的领域，部分反映了一种误解，即该地区的史前社会几乎没有随着时间的推移而发生文化变化。 然而，过去几十年的考古调查显示，生存模式发生了重大变化，从早期（4500-2800 BP）更普遍的大型狩猎适应到中期（2800-1200 BP）更久坐不动的生活方式，包括采用橡子储存经济。 在这个项目中，研究人员将测量人类骨骼中稳定的碳和氮同位素，并将研究骨骼和牙齿疾病的证据，以检查饮食，健康和性别分工的时间变化，在加州中部的考古骨骼。 这项研究将是第一个评估史前饮食和健康趋势在旧金山弗朗西斯科湾和萨克拉门托-圣华金三角洲使用稳定同位素分析数据与paleopathology.Although人口数量在加州中部是最高的北美在欧洲接触的时候，高人口密度保持在没有农业。 许多研究人员认为，在整个中期，大量的研钵和杵技术的增加标志着向强化橡子使用的过渡，这可能提供了显着的营养益处，因为橡子脂肪含量高，可以长期储存，并将提供对冬季食物短缺的宝贵缓冲。 最近，其他人认为，在整个中晚期，增加的sedentism和人口增长导致大型动物群的枯竭，导致不太理想的食物，如橡子和海洋食物的强化。 虽然资源集约化模型预测与健康下降的条件，很少有研究直接评估的生存变化和sedentism在加州中部的健康后果。 该项目的结果将提供超过三千年的加州史前史的史前饮食和健康的连续生物记录，并将进一步为该地区的未来调查提供基础。 这项研究将大大有助于我们了解史前加州社会的生物学，并将作为与其他非农业定居社会进行比较的基础。 该项目的更广泛的影响之一是，它将为研究人员提供高级研究生培训，并获得稳定同位素分析的最新方法，这将促进未来的古饮食研究。 此外，这项研究将是对了解加州土著居民的最早生活方式的宝贵贡献，这将是生活在美国土著人民的兴趣。