Collaborative Research: Bioarchaeological Signatures of Sedentism in the California Delta

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，以及已确定的美洲原住民最有可能后裔（MLD）的全力支持下，Jelmer Eerkens博士和Eric Bartelink博士将对最近从沼泽溪遗址（CA-CCO-548）挖掘出的近250具史前人类骨骼进行稳定同位素分析。该遗址位于加州中部的三角洲地区，墓葬可以追溯到大约4500-3000年前，这段时间通常被称为“风磨坊”或“早期”。“早期被普遍认为是三角洲社会开始定居并建立永久村庄的时间，这一过程被称为sedentism。目前还不清楚这种转变是突然发生的，还是经过数百年甚至数千年的发展。这项研究的主要目的是研究稳定同位素数据所反映的sedentism对人口的影响。此外，AMS放射性碳测年的大部分埋葬，数据将收集在一个精细的规模水平，将揭示如何迅速发生的转变。有三个主要组成部分的研究，提供生活史数据的个人埋在沼泽溪。第一个试图了解sedentism对饮食的影响，反映在稳定的碳和氮同位素。随着社会的安定，考古学家预测植物和小鱼的消费量（r选择物种）会增加。第二个研究sedentism对移民和婚后居住模式的影响，反映在锶同位素。如果人们越来越依赖植物和小鱼，考古学家预测对妇女劳动的依赖和价值会增加，并通过扩展，matrilocality（男人在结婚后搬到女人的村庄生活和抚养家庭）。第三部分探讨了由牙齿的氮同位素分析确定的sedentism对断奶的影响。如果女性更加努力地工作，预测断奶的年龄会更早，这将同时减少生育间隔，最终导致人口增长。这项研究的更广泛影响将为加州史前史提供新的信息，这将有助于阐明长期存在的考古学问题，如狩猎采集文化中的sedentiism的起源和相关性。利用新开发的分析技术，它将展示考古和生物考古研究在重建过去方面的价值。这将是对来自加州的人类墓葬进行的第一次同位素迁移研究。同样，这也是第一次研究这个地区古老的断奶模式。人类学教师、研究生和本科生都将为该项目做出贡献，该项目将为培训下一代新的分析方法提供途径。最后，该网站是在约翰马什财产所拥有的加州州立公园。在不久的将来，将建造一个游客中心，包括考古和民族志展览。在MLD的支持下，该项目的成果和游客中心将为考古学家、加州原住民和公众提供一个互动、对话、学习和展示加州过去的场所。

With support from the National Science Foundation, and full support from the identified Native American Most Likely Descendant (MLD), Drs. Jelmer Eerkens and Eric Bartelink will conduct stable isotope analysis on nearly 250 prehistoric human skeletons recently excavated from the Marsh Creek site (CA-CCO-548). The site is located in the Delta region of central California and the burials date to approximately 4500-3000 years ago, a window of time often referred to as "Windmiller" or the "Early Period." The Early Period is generally recognized as the time when societies in the Delta began to settle down and establish permanent villages, a process known as sedentism. It is unclear if this transition occurred abruptly or developed over hundreds or even thousands of years. The main goal of the research is to examine the effects of sedentism on human populations, as reflected in stable isotope data. Moreover, with AMS radiocarbon dates on the majority of the burials, the data will be collected at a fine-scale level that will reveal how quickly the transition occurred.There are three main components to the research that provide life-history data for individuals buried at Marsh Creek. The first seeks to understand the effects of sedentism on diet, as reflected in stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes. As societies settled down, archaeologists predict increasing plant and small fish consumption (r-selected species). The second examines the effects of sedentism on migration and post-marital residence patterns, as reflected in strontium isotopes. If people increasingly relied on plants and small fishes, archaeologists predict an increased reliance on, and value in, womens labor, and by extension, matrilocality (where men, after marriage, move to the women's village to live and raise families). The third explores the effects of sedentism on weaning as determined by nitrogen isotope analysis of teeth. If women were working harder, the prediction is earlier ages at weaning, which should concomitantly decrease inter-birth intervals and ultimately lead to population increase.The broader impacts of the study will contribute novel information to California prehistory that will shed light on longstanding archaeological issues such as the origins and correlates of sedentism among hunter-gatherer cultures. Using newly developed analytical techniques, it will demonstrate the value of archaeometric and bioarchaeological research in reconstructing the past. This will be the first isotopic migration study on human burials from California. Likewise, this is the first study to examine ancient weaning patterns in this region. Anthropology faculty and graduate and undergraduate students will all contribute to the project, which will provide an avenue for training the next generation in new analytical methods. Finally, the site is within the John Marsh property owned by California State Parks. A visitor's center including archaeological and ethnographic displays will be constructed in the near future. With the support of the MLD, the project results and visitor's center will provide a venue for archaeologists, Native Californians, and the general public to interact, dialogue, learn about and bring alive California's past.