Paleoanthropological Investigations of Swartkrans Cave, South Africa

南非斯瓦特克兰斯洞穴的古人类学调查

• 批准号: 0608723
• 负责人: Travis Pickering
• 金额: $ 11.66万
• 依托单位: University of Wisconsin-Madison
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-10-01 至 2008-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0608723&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Paleoanthropological; Investigations; Swartkrans; Cave; South

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.

该项目的目标是增加对南非早期人类进化的了解，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斯沃特克兰洞穴的古生物和考古材料，该洞穴是世界上最重要的人类化石遗址之一，距今约180-100万年。从1948-1986年，Swartkrans的研究工作：(1)证实现代人的直立人与另一种已灭绝的人类--粗壮南方古猿--同宗；(2)发现了一种独特的骨工具培养方式，被专业的素食者南方古猿用来挖掘可食用的根；(3)发现了焚烧的骨头，这很可能是世界上最早的人类控制火的痕迹。我们的目标是通过一个新的挖掘和分析计划，在这一开创性研究的基础上再接再厉。通过调查斯沃特克兰保存下来的两种人类在形态上(从化石研究中收集到的)和行为上的(从考古材料研究中收集到的)其他差异，我们希望提出可能导致南方古猿和直立人灭绝的因素，而直立人的成功最终导致了我们自己的物种智人的进化。Swartkrans作为其时代最具生产力的地点之一，有着长期且得到证实的记录，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最早的狩猎和食肉(以化石骨头表面屠宰痕迹的形式)的证据，我们推测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一想法和其他假设，这对于理解人类逐渐物质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。该项目还为一名美国博士生提供全职现场监督工作。此外，作为该遗址考古实地学校的一部分，当地和国际学生有机会在斯沃特克兰挖掘。最后，对斯沃特克伦古人类学的新方面的研究将有助于我们对非洲及更远地区更新世期间人类进化和行为的理解。在当地范围内，这一点很重要，因为Swartkrans是最近宣布的人类世界遗产豪腾摇篮的组成部分。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抨击。早期人类的Swartkrans化石和考古数据，与类似研究中产生的其他数据相结合，是应对和克服这一挑战的最有力武器，促进了对人类进化的科学理解。