Collaborative Research: Bioarchaeological Signatures of Sedentism in the California Delta

在国家科学基金会的支持下，以及被确认的美洲原住民最有可能的后裔(MLD)的全力支持下，Jelmer Eerkens博士和Eric Bartelink博士将对最近从Marsh Creek遗址(CA-CCO-548)出土的近250具史前人类骨骼进行稳定的同位素分析。该遗址位于加利福尼亚州中部的三角洲地区，埋葬时间可以追溯到大约4500-3000年前，这一时间窗口通常被称为“温德米勒”或“早期”。早期通常被认为是三角洲地区的社会开始定居并建立永久村庄的时期，这一过程被称为封建主义。目前尚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而形成的。这项研究的主要目标是检查稳定的同位素数据所反映的世俗主义对人类种群的影响。此外，由于大多数墓葬都有AMS放射性碳测年，数据将在精细的水平上收集，以揭示这种转变发生的速度有多快。这项研究包括三个主要组成部分，为埋葬在马什克里克的个人提供生活史数据。第一个研究试图了解稳定的碳和氮同位素所反映的饮食习惯对饮食的影响。随着社会安定下来，考古学家预测，植物和小型鱼类的消耗量(r-精选物种)将会增加。第二部分考察了定居制度对移民和婚后居住模式的影响，如锶同位素所反映的。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将增加，进而增加母系关系(男性在婚后搬到妇女村生活和养家)。第三部分通过对牙齿的氮同位素分析，探讨了断奶对断奶的影响。如果女性更努力地工作，那么预测是断奶年龄更早，这应该会伴随着缩短生育间隔，最终导致人口增加。这项研究的更广泛影响将为加州史前提供新的信息，将揭示长期存在的考古学问题，如狩猎-采集文化中的封建主义的起源和相关性。利用新开发的分析技术，它将展示考古测量和生物考古研究在重建过去方面的价值。这将是对加州人类墓葬进行的第一次同位素迁移研究。同样，这是第一次对该地区的古代断奶模式进行研究。人类学教师、研究生和本科生都将为该项目做出贡献，这将为培训下一代新的分析方法提供一条途径。最后，该地块位于加州州立公园拥有的John Marsh地产内。一个包括考古和民族志展示的游客中心将在不久的将来建成。在MLD的支持下，项目成果和游客中心将为考古学家、加州原住民和普通公众提供一个互动、对话、了解加州历史并使其生动活泼的场所。

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.