Paleoanthropological Investigations of Swartkrans Cave, South Africa

该项目的目标是增加南非早期人类进化的知识，南非是人类出现的中心之一。 特别是，该项目的重点是挖掘和分析来自斯瓦特克朗斯洞穴的古生物和考古材料，斯瓦特克朗斯洞穴是世界上最重要的人类化石遗址之一，公元前1000年。1.8- 一百万年前 从1948年到1986年，斯瓦特克朗斯的工作：（1）确定直立人是现代人类的直接祖先，与另一种灭绝的人类南方古猿粗壮种是同时代的;（2）确定了一种独特的骨工具文化类型，南方古猿粗壮种（一种专门的素食主义者）使用这种工具来挖掘可食用的根;（3）已确认的烧过的骨头，这可能是世界上人类控制火的最早痕迹。 我们的目标是通过一个新的挖掘和分析计划来建立这一开创性的研究。 通过调查斯瓦特克兰斯保存的两类人类之间的额外形态（从化石研究中收集）和行为（从考古材料研究中收集）差异，我们希望提出可能导致南方古猿粗壮种灭绝和直立人成功的因素，最终导致我们自己的物种进化，智人。 斯瓦特克兰斯作为其时代最具生产力的遗址之一，有着悠久而可靠的记录，我们从2004年开始在那里进行的初步重新调查证实了这一点。 我们的工作记录了南部非洲狩猎和食肉的最早证据（以化石骨骼表面屠宰痕迹的形式），我们假设这是直立人进化成功的基本适应之一。 只有新的化石和考古遗迹才能让我们检验和完善这个想法和其他假设，这对于理解人类逐渐物化的基本特征至关重要。 在Swartkrans的工作是一项国际合作努力，将为当地南非人提供就业机会。 该项目还提供了一个美国博士学位。全职担任工地主管的学生。 此外，作为在遗址上运行的考古实地学校的一部分，当地和国际学生有机会在斯瓦特克朗斯进行挖掘。 最后，对斯瓦特克朗斯古人类学新方面的研究将增加我们对非洲及其他地区更新世人类进化和行为的理解。在当地范围内，这是很重要的，因为斯瓦特克兰斯是最近宣布的人类世界遗产豪登摇篮的一个组成部分。 在更广泛的范围内，对人类起源的科学研究继续受到智能设计倡导者的攻击。 斯瓦特克朗斯早期人类的化石和考古数据，加上其他类似研究中产生的数据，是迎接和克服这一挑战的最有力武器，以促进对人类进化的科学理解。

The project goal is to increase knowledge of early human evolution in South Africa, one of the centers of the emergence of humankind. In particular, the project is focused on excavation and analysis of paleontological and archaeological materials from Swartkrans Cave, one of the most important fossil human sites in the world, dated c. 1.8 - 1.0 million years old. From 1948 - 1986, work at Swartkrans: (1) established that Homo erectus, a direct ancestor of modern humans, was contemporaneous with another type of extinct human called Australopithecus robustus; (2) identified a unique type of bone tool culture that was used by Australopithecus robustus, a specialized vegetarian, to dig up edible roots; (3) identified burned bones, which are likely the earliest traces of humanly controlled fire in the world. Our goal is to build upon this pioneering research through a new program of excavation and analysis. By investigating additional morphological (gleaned from study of the fossils) and behavioral (gleaned from the study of the archaeological materials) differences between the two types of humans preserved at Swartkrans, we hope to suggest factors that might have been responsible for the extinction of Australopithecus robustus and the success of Homo erectus, which culminated in the evolution of our own species, Homo sapiens. Swartkrans has a long and proven record as one of the most productive sites of its age, and our initial re-investigation there, beginning in 2004, has confirmed this. Our work has documented the earliest evidence of hunting and meat-eating (in the form of butchery marks on fossil bone surfaces) in southern Africa, one of the fundamental adaptations we hypothesize was responsible for the evolutionary success of Homo erectus. Only new fossils and archaeological remains will allow us to test and refine this idea and other hypotheses, crucial to understanding the basic features that characterized the gradual materialization of our humanness. Work at Swartkrans, which is an international collaborative effort, will provide local South Africans with employment. The project is also providing an American Ph.D. student with fulltime employment as the site supervisor. In addition, as part of an archaeological fieldschool run at the site, local and international students have the opportunity to excavate at Swartkrans. Finally, the research on new aspects of the paleoanthropology of Swartkrans will lead to an increase in our understanding of human evolution and behavior during the Pleistocene in Africa and beyond. On a local scale, this is important because Swartkrans is an integral part of the recently declared Gauteng Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. On a broader scale, the scientific study of human origins continues to be assaulted by advocates of intelligent design. The Swartkrans fossil and archaeological data of early humans, in combination with others generated in like studies, are the most powerful weapons in meeting and surmounting this challenge to the advancement of the scientific understanding of human evolution.