SGER: Bioarchaeological Fieldwork and Exploratory Biochemical Testing at Gobero, Republic if Niger

在国家科学基金会的支持下，Christopher Stojanowski博士、Kelly J.Knudson博士和Alicia Wilbur博士将对尼日尔共和国Tenere沙漠阿加德兹以东的Gobero早期全新世墓地的骨骼遗骸进行探索性、高风险、现场和实验室研究。支持的工作将包括挖掘和保护墓穴，初步筛选线粒体DNA保存，以及碳、锶和氧同位素分析，以开始产生关于饮食和流动性的基线数据。Gobero是芝加哥大学的Paul Sereno博士在2003年对白垩纪化石床进行实地勘察时发现的，由于风的作用，该遗址正在积极而迅速地被侵蚀，并面临被掠夺的风险。一个由考古学家、地质学家和生物考古学家组成的国际团队将于2006年10月和11月登陆撒哈拉沙漠，挖掘这座正在迅速侵蚀的墓地。斯托亚诺夫斯基将领导亚利桑那州立大学的生物考古学家队伍，并指导现场挖掘的骨学部分。在这一实地考察季节，将绘制出大约80个埋葬地点的地图，并将其移走进行分析。由Wilbur和Knudson分别进行的遗传和同位素分析将于2006年9月开始，其依据的是2005年首次地面调查中发现的材料。正是在这次调查中，Gobero的意义变得显而易见。发现了包括动物群、陶器、石器、骨器、骨鱼叉和珠宝在内的各种材料遗骸。在地表上绘制了大约200个埋葬地点的地图。物质文化表明，在公元前10,000到6,000年左右，当更潮湿的条件盛行时，该遗址被居住在撒哈拉沙漠的基菲亚渔民占据。在戈贝罗发现之前，撒哈拉沙漠的这个古老遗址最多只有几个墓葬。从来没有一个容纳200-300人的大型墓地被挖掘出来。挖掘一个原址墓地以及相关的居住地和湖泊沉积物，将为研究撒哈拉最早居民的生活提供前所未有的机会，包括生存、健康、活动模式和太平间做法。形态和遗传分析还将为北非人口历史的研究提供信息。该项目的更广泛影响包括在阿加德兹建立一个人类学博物馆，将少数族裔高中生纳入探索项目的赞助下的研究，该项目是芝加哥的一个非营利性组织，向服务不足的社区教授科学，一个来自Gobero和其他北非网站的骨学数据在线数据库，以及本科生和研究生在野外挖掘技术以及遗传学、同位素和形态实验室分析方面的培训。

With support from the National Science Foundation, Drs. Christopher Stojanowski, Kelly J. Knudson, and Alicia Wilbur will conduct exploratory, high risk, field and laboratory research on skeletal remains from the early Holocene cemetery of Gobero, located east of Agadez in the Tenere Desert, Republic of Niger. Work supported will include excavation and conservation of the burials, preliminary screening for mtDNA preservation, and carbon, strontium, and oxygen isotope analysis to begin generating baseline data on diet and mobility. Gobero was discovered in 2003 during field reconnaissance of Cretaceous fossil beds by Dr. Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago and the site is actively and quickly eroding due to wind action and is at risk for looting. An international team of archaeologists, geologists, and bioarchaeologists will descend on the Sahara and excavate the rapidly eroding cemetery in October and November 2006. Stojanowski will lead the Arizona State University contingent of bioarchaeologists and direct the osteological component of field excavation. During this field season approximately 80 burials will be mapped and removed for analysis. Genetic and isotopic analyses, performed by Wilbur and Knudson, respectively, will begin in September 2006 based on material recovered during initial surface survey in 2005. It was during this survey that the significance of Gobero became apparent. A wide array of material remains including fauna, ceramics, lithics, bone tools, bone harpoons, and jewelry were recovered. Approximately 200 burials were mapped on the surface. Material culture suggests the site was occupied by Kiffian fishing populations that inhabited the Sahara when wetter conditions prevailed ca. 10,000 to 6,000 bp. Prior to Gobero's discovery, sites of this antiquity in the Sahara contained a handful of burials at most. Never has a large cemetery containing 200-300 individuals been excavated. Excavation of an in situ cemetery with associated habitation and lake deposits will allow unprecedented opportunity to examine the lives of the Sahara's earliest inhabitants, including subsistence, health, activity patterns, and mortuary practices. Morphological and genetic analysis will also inform research on the population history of northern Africa. The broader impacts of this project include the establishment of an anthropological museum in Agadez, the incorporation of minority high school students in the research under the auspices of Project Exploration, a Chicago non-profit organization that teaches science to underserved communities, an online database of osteological data from Gobero and other North African sites, and undergraduate and graduate student training in field excavation techniques and genetic, isotopic, and morphological laboratory analyses.