Late Pleistocene Hunter-Gatherer Adaptations in the Great Basin: Continued Studies of Bonneville Estates Rockshelter

大盆地更新世晚期狩猎采集者的适应：邦纳维尔庄园岩石庇护所的继续研究

• 批准号: 0514504
• 负责人: Frank Goebel
• 金额: $ 6.57万
• 依托单位: Board of Regents, NSHE, obo University of Nevada, Reno
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-06-01 至 2007-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0514504&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Late; Pleistocene; Hunter; Gatherer; Adaptations

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Ted Goebel and his colleagues will continue archaeological excavations of Bonneville Estates Rockshelter, located in Elko County, northeastern Nevada. Their work in 2005 will focus on the rockshelter's earliest cultural occupations that span from 7000 to as early as 12,300 radiocarbon years ago. Excavations in 2003-2004 revealed that these occupations contain an incredibly rich record of diagnostic spear points and other stone artifacts, perishable artifacts including fragments of baskets, cordage, and wood and bone tools, remains of plants, and very well-preserved animal bones, many of which display clear signs of human butchery. The richness of the cave's late Pleistocene-early Holocene deposits, coupled with the fact that they are well-stratified and can be securely dated, make Bonneville Estates arguably the most important archaeological site known in the Great Basin for answering questions about the early peopling of the interior of western North America and the evolution of human adaptations from the late Pleistocene into the Holocene. Work in 2005 will focus on (1) firmly establishing the age of the rockshelter's late Pleistocene cultural occupations, (2) characterizing artifact assemblages to explain human technologies, (3) characterizing faunal and floral assemblages to explain human subsistence activities, and (4) placing the rockshelter's record into the greater context of the peopling of the Americas. This will be done through excavation of the rockshelter's late Pleistocene deposits, and through careful analyses of artifacts, ecofacts, and features recovered. The project will provide invaluable learning experiences for both graduate and undergraduate students, and will lead to greater appreciation of the human experience in harsh arid environments. By considering the archaeological record of the eastern Great Basin within a paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental context, the proposed study will also enhance our understanding of the impacts of global change on small-scale human societies.

在国家科学基金会的支持下，泰德·戈贝尔博士和他的同事们将继续对位于内华达州东北部埃尔科县的博内维尔庄园岩洞进行考古发掘。他们在2005年的工作将聚焦于避难所最早的文化活动，从7000年前到12300年前的放射性碳。2003-2004年的发掘显示，这些职业包含了令人难以置信的丰富记录，包括诊断性矛尖和其他石器，易腐烂的器物，包括篮子、绳索和木器和骨器的碎片，植物的遗骸，以及保存非常完好的动物骨骼，其中许多都显示出明显的人类屠杀迹象。该洞穴晚更新世-早全新世沉积的丰富，再加上它们分层良好，可以安全地确定年代，使博内维尔庄园成为大盆地中最重要的考古遗址，因为它回答了有关北美西部内陆早期人类居住以及从晚更新世到全新世的人类适应进化的问题。2005年的工作将侧重于：(1)确定避难所晚更新世文化活动的年代；(2)确定人工制品组合的特征以解释人类技术；(3)确定动物和植物组合的特征以解释人类的生存活动；以及(4)将避难所的记录置于美洲人民的更大背景下。这将通过挖掘避难所晚更新世的沉积物，并通过仔细分析文物、生态文物和恢复的特征来完成。该项目将为研究生和本科生提供宝贵的学习经验，并将使人们更好地欣赏人类在恶劣干旱环境中的经验。通过在古气候和古环境的背景下考虑大盆地东部的考古记录，拟议的研究还将加强我们对全球变化对小规模人类社会的影响的理解。