Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: The Kansyore Phenomenon of East Africa

博士论文改进补助金：东非的 Kansyore 现象

• 批准号: 0620262
• 负责人: Richard Meadow
• 金额: $ 1.2万
• 依托单位: Harvard University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-06-01 至 2007-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0620262&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Grant; Kansyore

Under the supervision of Dr. Richard H. Meadow, Mary Prendergast will analyze archaeological data gathered during her excavations near Lake Eyasi in Tanzania and during previous excavations by the National Museums of Kenya near Lake Victoria. These lacustrine basins were home to foragers sharing a pottery tradition called Kansyore, found across parts of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda at sites reportedly dating between 8,000-2,000 years old. Prendergast's work will not only refine the chronology of Kansyore sites by dating organic materials from her excavations, but she will also examine in detail the dietary strategies pursued by the sites' occupants.Kansyore sites are remarkable for their deep, pottery-rich deposits and abundant food remains dominated by fish. This contrasts with findings from the past century of ethnographic research on African hunter-gatherers, who were shown to leave relatively lightly-used camps, consume a broad range of wild animals, and avoid using ceramics or other objects which require large investments of labor to produce. The study of Kansyore sites, particularly from a dietary perspective, is therefore essential to understanding the diversity of past foraging lifestyles. Furthermore, the appearance of bones of domestic caprines (sheep and/or goat) in the later levels of one Kansyore site suggests that the occupants were either in contact with local herders or adopted herding over time. Since interactions with herders have become a regular feature of life wherever hunter-gatherers remain today (typically in marginally productive areas, surrounded by herders or farmers), an historical perspective is essential to understanding past and present adoption of food production in East Africa. To understand the nature of Kansyore foraging and the degree of interaction with herders, Prendergast will pursue an in-depth study of the fish and mammal remains from three Kansyore sites, and will also draw on other sources of information, such as micromorphological analysis of sediments, to determine whether domestic animals were kept on-site for long periods of time.In addition to examining foraging variation and hunter-herder interactions, this project addresses broader environmental issues. The paleoecology of Lake Victoria has attracted the attention of the scientific community, since this young lake has managed to produce over 500 species or sub-species within a single fish family (Cichilidae) over just 12,000 years. Recent eutrophication and thermal stratification of the lake has led to declining fish populations, leaving ichthyologists racing to document its biodiversity. Although archaeological food remains are biased by both preservation conditions and human choices, Prendergast's analysis of the fish from Kansyore sites may offer the best available historical data on the past diversity of the lake and its tributaries.Finally, the project will also contribute to the growth East African archaeology, since the Tanzanian excavations will train students from the University of Dar es-Salaam. Some articles will be co-authored with local archaeologists, and the dissertation resulting from this work will be made available at three East African institutions. Papers in refereed journals and the publication of data in a free online databank will make the project results available to the scientific community and the public.

在理查德·H·梅多博士的监督下，玛丽·普伦德加斯特将分析她在坦桑尼亚埃亚西湖附近挖掘期间收集的考古数据，以及肯尼亚国家博物馆之前在维多利亚湖附近挖掘期间收集的考古数据。这些湖盆是采集者的家园，他们分享着一种名为Kansyore的陶器传统，据报道，在肯尼亚、坦桑尼亚和乌干达的部分地区发现的遗址可以追溯到8000到2000年前。Prendergast的工作不仅将通过对她挖掘的有机材料进行年代测定来完善Kansyore遗址的年代学，而且她还将详细研究这些遗址的居住者所追求的饮食策略。Kansyore遗址以其深厚的陶器储量和丰富的食物残留而闻名，这些食物仍然以鱼类为主。这与上个世纪对非洲狩猎采集者的人种学研究结果形成了鲜明对比，研究显示，非洲狩猎采集者离开相对较少使用的营地，食用广泛的野生动物，避免使用陶瓷或其他需要大量劳动力投资才能生产的物品。因此，对Kansyore遗址的研究，特别是从饮食角度来看，对于了解过去觅食生活方式的多样性至关重要。此外，在Kansyore遗址的较后一层中出现的家养山羊(绵羊和/或山羊)的骨骼表明，居住者要么与当地牧民接触，要么随着时间的推移采用了放牧。由于与牧民的互动已成为当今狩猎-采集者生活的一个常规特征(通常是在被牧民或农民包围的边际生产区)，历史视角对于理解东非过去和现在采用粮食生产是至关重要的。为了了解Kansyore觅食的性质以及与牧民的互动程度，Prendergast将对三个Kansyore遗址的鱼类和哺乳动物遗骸进行深入研究，并将利用其他信息来源，如沉积物的微形态分析，以确定家畜是否被长期饲养。除了研究觅食变化和猎人与牧民的互动外，该项目还解决了更广泛的环境问题。维多利亚湖的古生态引起了科学界的注意，因为这个年轻的湖泊在短短12,000年的时间里，在一个鱼类家族(慈鱼科)中成功地产生了500多个物种或亚种。最近该湖的富营养化和热层化导致鱼类数量下降，使得鱼类学家争先恐后地记录其生物多样性。虽然考古食物残留物受到保存条件和人类选择的影响，但普伦德加斯特对坎绍尔遗址鱼类的分析可能会提供有关该湖及其支流过去多样性的最佳历史数据。最后，该项目还将有助于东非考古学的发展，因为坦桑尼亚的发掘将培养达累斯萨拉姆大学的学生。一些文章将与当地考古学家共同撰写，这项工作产生的论文将在东非的三个机构提供。在被引用的期刊上发表论文，并在一个免费的在线数据库中公布数据，将使科学界和公众能够获得项目成果。