Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: The Upper San Pedro Revisited: Early Paleoindian Subsistence and Geochronology in Southeastern Arizona

博士论文改进补助金：重访上圣佩德罗：亚利桑那州东南部的早期古印第安人生存和地质年代学

• 批准号: 0532685
• 负责人: Steven Kuhn
• 金额: $ 1.2万
• 依托单位: University of Arizona
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-06-01 至 2008-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0532685&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Grant; Upper

The earliest uncontested human population to enter North America is recognized by archaeologists as the Clovis complex. When found in archaeological sites, their tools are often associated with extinct large mammals such as mammoth. Human predation on big-game prey such as mammoth is one of the most debated and significant research topics in American archaeology. The most robust record of human-mammoth interaction occurs in the San Pedro River valley of Southeastern Arizona, where radiocarbon dates indicate that Ice Age hunters killed and butchered mammoth and an extinct form of bison approximately 13,000 years ago. A total of six sites occur within a 15 km radius, and this concentration of sites is used to demonstrate not only a hunting economy focused on big game, but also its impact on megafauna ecology and extinction.The search for additional Clovis complex sites and mammoth sites in the San Pedro River valley is important for 3 reasons. First, nearly all of the previous mammoth sites were discovered by ranchers who noticed large bones eroding from their property. This circumstance creates a discovery bias for large mammals and perhaps misrepresents the everyday diet of Clovis people. A systematic survey along the San Pedro River for all forms of archaeological evidence is needed to test the association of Clovis tools with large game. Second, the role of human "overkill" in Pleistocene extinction suffers from an incomplete sample of sites. The dense cluster of mammoth kill sites in the study area must be considered in relation to a sample of mammoth natural death sites to determine what impact, if any, human hunting could have had on mammoth populations. And third, the timing of human colonization sets important conditions necessary to accommodate the role of big-game hunting on Pleistocene "overkill". Additional radiocarbon dates are required to better assess the arrival and duration of Clovis groups in the study area.To address these questions a one-year study of the upper San Pedro will be conducted. Site location, subsistence and geochronological information will be recorded. Data will be collected using pedestrian surveys and limited archaeological excavations at a small number of sites. Significant geological and archaeological talent and resources are available at the University of Arizona to assist in the fulfillment of these goals.The Pleistocene record of the San Pedro River is popular in the history of American archaeology, paleontology, geoarchaeology, and paleoecology. As part of the San Pedro River National Conservation Area, the project is still more widely relevant to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and their mission to foster understanding of past and present cultures, improve social studies and science education, and enhance citizenship education to help preserve archaeological legacy. At the project level, this outreach includes K-12 school visits, public lectures, local media opportunities, website development, and archaeological training for several undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Arizona.

考古学家认为，进入北美的最早的无争议的人类群体是克洛维斯情结。当在考古遗址中发现它们的工具时，往往与已灭绝的大型哺乳动物有关，如猛犸象。人类对猛犸象等大型猎物的捕食是美国考古学中争论最多、意义最重大的研究课题之一。在亚利桑那州东南部的圣佩德罗河流域，人类与猛犸象相互作用的最有力的记录出现在那里，放射性碳测年表明，大约13,000年前，冰河时代的猎人杀死并屠宰了猛犸象和一种灭绝的野牛。在15公里半径内共有6个地点，这种地点的集中不仅用来证明以大型动物为重点的狩猎经济，而且还表明它对大型动物生态和灭绝的影响。在圣佩德罗河流域寻找更多的克洛维斯复杂地点和猛犸象地点是重要的，原因有三。首先，几乎所有以前的猛犸象遗址都是牧场主发现的，他们注意到自己的土地上有大块骨头被侵蚀。这种情况造成了对大型哺乳动物的发现偏见，可能还歪曲了克洛维斯人的日常饮食。需要沿着圣佩德罗河进行一次系统的调查，以寻找各种形式的考古证据，以测试克洛维斯工具与大型猎物的关联。其次，人类“过度杀戮”在更新世物种灭绝中的作用受到遗址样本不完整的影响。必须将研究区域内密集的猛犸象捕杀地点与猛犸象自然死亡地点的样本相联系，以确定人类狩猎可能对猛犸象种群产生的影响(如果有的话)。第三，人类殖民的时机为适应更新世大型动物狩猎的作用设定了必要的重要条件。为了更好地评估克洛维斯群体在研究区域的到达和持续时间，需要更多的放射性碳测年。为了解决这些问题，将对圣佩德罗河上游进行为期一年的研究。将记录工地位置、生存和地质年代学信息。数据将通过步行调查和在少数遗址进行有限的考古挖掘来收集。亚利桑那大学拥有大量的地质和考古人才和资源来帮助实现这些目标。圣佩德罗河的更新世记录在美国考古学、古生物学、地质考古学和古生态学的历史上很受欢迎。作为圣佩德罗河国家保护区的一部分，该项目仍然与土地管理局(BLM)及其使命有更广泛的相关性，即促进对过去和现在文化的了解，改善社会研究和科学教育，并加强公民教育，以帮助保护考古遗产。在项目层面，这一推广活动包括K-12学校访问、公开讲座、当地媒体机会、网站开发，以及对亚利桑那大学的几名本科生和研究生进行考古培训。