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

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，克里斯托弗·斯托扬诺夫斯基、凯利·J·努森和艾丽西娅·威尔伯博士将对位于尼日尔共和国泰内雷沙漠阿加德兹以东的戈贝罗早全新世墓地的骨骼遗骸进行探索性、高风险、实地和实验室研究。 支持的工作将包括墓葬的挖掘和保护，线粒体DNA保存的初步筛选，以及碳、锶和氧同位素分析，以开始生成关于饮食和活动性的基线数据。 戈贝罗是芝加哥大学的保罗·塞雷诺博士在2003年对白垩纪化石层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，并有被掠夺的危险。 一个由考古学家、地质学家和生物考古学家组成的国际小组将于2006年10月和11月降临撒哈拉沙漠，挖掘这座迅速被侵蚀的墓地。 斯托扬诺夫斯基将领导亚利桑那州立大学的生物考古学家队伍，并指导实地挖掘的骨骼学部分。 在这个野外季节，大约80个墓葬将被绘制地图并移走进行分析。 将于2006年9月开始分别由Wilbur和Knudson根据2005年初步地表调查期间回收的材料进行基因和同位素分析。正是在这次调查中，戈贝罗的重要性变得显而易见。 一系列广泛的材料遗骸，包括动物，陶瓷，石器，骨工具，骨鱼叉和珠宝被发现。 大约有200个墓葬被绘制在地表上。 物质文化表明，该遗址被居住在撒哈拉沙漠的基菲捕鱼人口占据，当时潮湿的条件占主导地位。10,000到6,000 bp。 在Gobero发现之前，撒哈拉沙漠中的这些古代遗址最多只包含少量墓葬。从来没有一个大的墓地包含200-300人被挖掘。 挖掘现场墓地与相关的居住和湖泊沉积物将提供前所未有的机会来研究撒哈拉最早居民的生活，包括生存，健康，活动模式和丧葬习俗。 形态学和遗传学分析也将为北方非洲的人口历史研究提供信息。 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，让少数民族高中学生参与"探索项目“主持下的研究，该项目是一个向服务不足的社区教授科学的芝加哥非营利组织，一个关于戈贝罗和其他北非遗址骨学数据的在线数据库，并对本科生和研究生进行实地挖掘技术和遗传学方面的培训，同位素和形态学实验室分析。

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.