Test Excavations at MUGHR EL-HAMAMAH, AJLUN DISTRICT, JORDAN: A Newly Identified Paleolithic Cave Site in the E. Jordan Valley

约旦阿杰伦区 MUGHR EL-HAMAMAH 的试掘：东约旦河谷新发现的旧石器时代洞穴遗址

• 批准号: 1025352
• 负责人: Aaron Stutz
• 金额: $ 2.5万
• 依托单位: Emory University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-06-01 至 2011-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1025352&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Test; Excavations; MUGHR; EL; HAMAMAH

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Aaron Stutz, Dr. Liv Nilsson Stutz, and an interdisciplinary research team will conduct summer 2010 test excavations at the prehistoric cave site of Mughr el-Hamamah, Ajlun Governate, Jordan. Unknown to archaeologists until it was identified by a recent field survey in 2006, "The Caves of the Doves" was subsequently mapped - with any surface artifacts identified and collected - by Dr. Stutz and colleagues in 2008. A diverse assemblage of flint blades and points, along with tell-tale flint tool manufacturing waste, was found eroding out onto the main cave chamber and terrace surface. These artifacts provide the critical indication warranting intensive test excavations. The surface materials demonstrate the potential of buried, stratified archaeological layers dating from the Middle Paleolithic (250,000 - 50,000 BP [before present]), Upper Paleolithic (50,000-20,000 BP), and Epipaleolithic (20,000-12,000 BP) periods. In Southwest Asia this broad time range encompasses (in chronological order): the emergence of anatomically modern humans from Africa; the neandertals' southward expansion from Europe; the subsequent virtual disappearance of neandertal anatomy from the modern human pool of variation; the associated major expansion of anatomically modern humans - and the Upper Paleolithic societies they constituted - from the Southern Levant; and the long-term emergence of sedentary settlement, food storage, and horticulture. Excavations at Mughr el-Hamamah may help to explain how and why these major developments unfolded at the crossroads between Africa, Asia, and Europe. Located in only a preliminarily explored district of Jordan, Mughr el-Hamamah is well positioned geographically to yield a higher resolution understanding of the biocultural evolution of Homo sapiens. Mughr el-Hamamah has only been subject to non-intrusive investigation. The 2010 test excavations, supported by the NSF program High Risk Research in Archaeology and Physical Anthropology, are designed to evaluate preservation and stratigraphy of prehistoric deposits at the site. If they prove substantial, the archaeological deposits from Mughr el-Hamamah have the potential to elucidate the biocultural evolutionary processes that shaped the emergence of modern human biological variation, while also structuring long-term trends in demography, social networks, and technology. The broader impact of investigating Mughr el-Hamamah is twofold. First, the intellectual merit of investigating a new Paleolithic site in a geographically key region links to wider questions of contemporary concern: why has the genus Homo exhibited recurrent, long-term increasing impacts on our ecosystem, and how have demographic and cultural processes played a role in these impacts? Second, the proposed investigation of Mughr el-Hamamah is part of a long-term project to document and excavate cave and open-air sites in the Ajlun District, Jordan. The project will help to build local and regional support for cultural resource management and education in the Ajlun District and Jordan Valley areas of Jordan.

在国家科学基金会的支持下，Aaron Stutz博士、Liv Nilsson Stutz博士和一个跨学科研究小组将于2010年夏季在约旦阿杰伦省Mughr el-Hamamah的史前洞穴遗址进行测试挖掘。直到2006年最近的一次实地调查才发现，考古学家们才知道，“鸽子洞”随后在2008年被Stutz博士及其同事绘制成地图，其中包括任何识别和收集的表面文物。一个不同的组合燧石刀片和点，沿着与告密燧石工具制造废物，被发现侵蚀到主洞穴室和阶地表面。这些文物提供了关键的迹象，阻止密集的测试挖掘。这些表面材料表明，埋藏的分层考古层的潜力可以追溯到旧石器时代中期（250，000 - 50，000 BP），旧石器时代晚期（50，000 - 20，000 BP）和Epipaleolithic（20，000 - 12，000 BP）。在西南亚，这一广泛的时间范围包括（按时间顺序）：解剖学上的现代人从非洲出现;尼安德特人从欧洲向南扩张;随后尼安德特人的解剖学从现代人的变异库中消失;解剖学上的现代人的相关主要扩张-以及他们构成的旧石器时代晚期社会-从南黎凡特;以及定居、食物储藏和园艺的长期出现。在穆格尔哈马马的发现可能有助于解释这些重大发展如何以及为什么在非洲、亚洲和欧洲的十字路口展开。Mughr el-Hamamah位于约旦的一个初步探索区，地理位置优越，可以更好地了解智人的生物文化进化。Mughr el-Hamamah只受到非侵入性调查。2010年的测试挖掘，由国家科学基金会的考古学和物理人类学高风险研究计划支持，旨在评估遗址史前沉积物的保存和地层学。如果它们被证明是大量的，Mughr el-Hamamah的考古沉积物有可能阐明塑造现代人类生物变异出现的生物文化进化过程，同时也构建了人口统计学，社交网络和技术的长期趋势。调查Mughr el-Hamamah的广泛影响是双重的。首先，在一个地理位置关键的地区调查一个新的旧石器时代遗址的知识价值与当代关注的更广泛的问题有关：为什么人属对我们的生态系统表现出周期性的，长期增加的影响，以及人口和文化过程如何在这些影响中发挥作用？第二，拟议的Mughr el-Hamamah调查是记录和挖掘约旦Ajlun区洞穴和露天遗址的长期项目的一部分。该项目将帮助约旦阿杰伦区和约旦河谷地区建立地方和区域对文化资源管理和教育的支持。