Neandertal Pyrotechnology and Burial: Excavations at Roc de Marsal

来自国家科学基金会的资金将支持在Roc de Marsal（法国多尔多涅）的旧石器时代中期遗址进行两个季节的挖掘。 该遗址包含两个极其罕见的旧石器时代中期组成部分-一个潜在的故意尼安德特人埋葬和保存完好的离散壁炉-直接关系到尼安德特人的行为和适应的性质。 这个研究小组汇集了来自美国、加拿大、法国和德国的国际科学家，他们将共同运用各种复杂的方法来充分记录和分析这些特征。自从150年前首次发现尼安德特人以来，尼安德特人一直陷入争议之中。关于它们与我们的分类关系，它们使用语言和符号的能力，甚至它们的智力水平，这些问题仍在争论中，毫无疑问，关于它们的行为和适应，还有更多的东西需要了解。当然，这些争论之所以继续存在，有许多原因，包括缺乏足够的证据。更糟糕的是，许多可用的证据，特别是那些罕见的、往往更有趣的行为方面的证据，都是在现代挖掘和记录技术出现之前收集的。这可能会导致我们依赖于分析的集合的完整性方面的严重问题，并且有无数的例子表明更新的恢复方法可以从根本上改变我们的解释。这就是为什么有时候重访一些多年前挖掘的遗址是很重要的。Roc de Marsal就是这样一个几十年前被部分挖掘的遗址，但那里的新工作表明，它仍然具有解决有关尼安德特人行为的许多重要问题的巨大潜力，包括他们使用火和对待死者。虽然墓葬本身在几十年前就被从遗址中移走了，但最近在遗址上的工作发现了一个特征，似乎与为它描述的环境类似。这个特征是否也包含尼安德特人遗骸目前尚不清楚，但无论是哪种情况，对这个特征的更清晰的了解都可以解决最初的墓葬是在故意挖掘的坑中发现的说法，这将对尼安德特人对待死者的方式产生重大影响。 然而，这需要在这个特征的直接区域进行更广泛的挖掘。到目前为止，只有部分暴露的炉床在这个时代的遗址中保存得非常好，它们提供了更多关于旧石器时代中期烟火技术和尼安德特人使用洞穴内空间的可能性。 该研究的主要目标包括：了解Roc de Marsal的尼安德特人埋葬的背景，包括埋葬坑是否是故意挖掘的;获得埋葬的绝对日期;调查壁炉的位置，结构和用途;并调查它们发生或不发生的条件。 理解它们的作用的一个主要关键是通过与Pech de l 'Aze IV进行比较，其中存在类似的工业和炉床，并且由许多相同的团队成员挖掘。 这项研究的广泛影响有三方面。 首先，无论尼安德特人是否是现代人的祖先，了解他们的行为和适应的性质对于理解人类文化进化显然是重要的。 烟火技术和对死者的仪式处理都是人类文化发展的两个重要因素，对它们的深入了解将大大有助于我们对早期人类行为的更广泛的了解。 第二，开发新的方法来记录和分析这些发现将有助于更广泛的考古研究方法。 最后，国际学生参与挖掘将成为下一代旧石器时代考古学家的重要培训经验。

Funds from the National Science Foundation will support two seasons of excavation at the Middle Paleolithic site of Roc de Marsal (Dordogne, France). The site contains two exceedingly rare Middle Paleolithic components -- a potentially intentional Neandertal burial and well preserved, discrete hearths - that have direct bearing on the nature of Neandertal behavior and adaptation. The research team brings together an international group of scientists from the United States, Canada, France, and Germany who, together, will apply a wide range of sophisticated methods to fully document and analyze these features.Ever since their initial discovery 150 years ago, Neandertals have been mired in controversy. Questions regarding their taxonomic relationship to us, their capacity for, and use of, language and symbols, and even their level of intelligence are still being debated, and there is unquestionably much more to learn about their behavior and adaptation. There are, of course, many reasons why these debates continue, including a lack of sufficient evidence. To make matters worse, much of the available evidence, particularly for the rare and often more interesting aspects of behavior, was collected before modern techniques of excavation and recording. This can result in serious questions regarding the integrity of the collections that we depend on for analysis, and there are endless examples of how newer recovery methods can fundamentally change our interpretations. This is why it is sometimes important to revisit certain sites that were dug many years earlier. Roc de Marsal is one such site that was partially excavated decades ago, but new work there demonstrates that it still contains significant potential to address many important questions regarding Neandertal behavior, including their use of fire and treatment of the dead. While the burial itself was removed from the site decades ago, recent work at the site has discovered a feature in the site that appears to be analogous to the context described for it. Whether or not this feature also contains Neandertal remains is unknown at this time, but in either case a clearer understanding of this feature can address the claim that the original burial was found in a pit that was intentionally dug, which will have significant implications for Neandertal treatment of their dead. This requires, however, a much more extensive excavation in the immediate area of this feature. The hearths, which have so far only been partially exposed, are truly exceptional in their preservation for sites of this age, and they offer the possibility to learn much more about Middle Paleolithic pyrotechnology and Neandertal use of space within the cave. The major goals of the research include: to gain an understanding of the context of the Neandertal burial at Roc de Marsal including whether or not it the burial pit was intentionally dug; to obtain absolute dates for the burial; to investigate the placement, structure, and use(s) of the hearths; and to investigate the conditions under which they occur or do not occur. A major key to understanding their role will be through comparisons with Pech de l'Aze IV, where similar industries and hearths are present and which was excavated by many of the same team members. The broader impacts of this research are three-fold. First, whether or not Neandertals are ancestors of modern humans, understanding the nature of their behavior and adaptation is of clear importance for understanding human cultural evolution. Both pyrotechnology and ritual treatment of the dead are two important elements of human cultural development, and a deeper understanding of them will contribute significantly to our broader knowledge of earlier human behavior. Second, the development of new methods to document and analyze these finds will contribute to the broader methodology used in archaeological research. And finally, international student participation in the excavation will serve as an important training experience for the next generation of Paleolithic archaeologists.