The Role of the Middle Cauca River Valley, Colombia, in the Early Domestication and Dispersal of New World Crops

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下。Anthony Ranere， Ruth Dickau和一个国际研究小组将在哥伦比亚中部考卡河谷进行为期两年的考古和古生态实地调查。该项目汇集了来自美国、英国和哥伦比亚各机构的研究人员和学生，他们具有考古学、古民族植物学、古生态学和地质学方面的专业知识。该研究试图记录在考卡中河流域人口的生存策略中种植的最初出现，并确定在该地区驯化或从南美或中美洲其他地方进口的植物物种。迄今为止的研究表明，从墨西哥到巴西的物种早在全新世（约9000 - 10000年前）就开始被驯化，并在接下来的两千年或三千年里广泛分布。许多作物似乎已经在南美洲北部的季节性热带森林中被驯化，包括竹芋、甘薯、莲子、秋葵，可能还有椰子树，以及各种南瓜。哥伦比亚中部考卡河谷是研究植物物种早期种植、驯化和传播的一个特别有希望的地区，因为在这里发现了许多全新世早期沉积物，其中既有微化石遗迹，也有植物种植的人工证据。该项目将侧重于从已经由项目人员鉴定和测试的考古遗址的工具和沉积物中恢复植物遗骸。此外，还将开展一项现场调查和测试计划，旨在确定将该地区的职业历史追溯到晚更新世的遗址。植被历史将通过分析花粉和植物岩序列来建立，特别注意反映栽培活动的干扰指标。具体分类群的鉴定将主要依靠淀粉粒和植物岩的分析，其次是植物大化石和花粉的分析。为了准确区分驯化种与野生祖系和近缘系产生的淀粉粒和植物岩，将对驯化和野生分类群进行植物收集，为研究区建立全面的参考资料。植物的驯化——以及随后农业经济的发展——构成了人类历史上最具变革性的事件之一。这个项目的智力价值在于，它将有助于我们理解在热带美洲，从采集植物到种植植物的关键转变是在何时、何地和何种情况下首次出现的。该项目更广泛的影响包括为来自几个学术机构的学生提供参与研究的实地和实验室方面的机会，从而有助于他们成为未来的专业人士。此外，淀粉粒和植物岩的比较参考资料将在网上提供，供其他研究美洲热带地区古代植物用途的研究人员使用。一个载有项目生成数据的地理信息系统数据库也将放在网上。

With the support of the National Science Foundation, Drs. Anthony Ranere, Ruth Dickau and an international team of researchers will conduct archaeological and paleoecological fieldwork over a two year period in the Middle Cauca River Valley of Colombia. The project brings together researchers and students from institutions in the United States, Great Britain and Colombia with expertise in archaeology, paleoethnobotany, paleoecology and geology. The research seeks to document the initial appearance of cultivation in the subsistence strategies of populations in the Middle Cauca River Valley and to identify the plant species that were either domesticated in this region or imported from elsewhere in South America or Central America. Research to date has demonstrated that species from Mexico to Brazil came under domestication early in the Holocene (ca. 9,000-10,000 years ago) and became widely dispersed over the next two or three millennia. A number of crops appear to have been domesticated in the seasonal tropical forests of northern South America, including arrowroot, sweet potato, leren, achira and possibly cocoyam, as well as a variety of squash. The Middle Cauca River Valley of Colombia is an especially promising region for examining the early cultivation, domestication and dispersal of plant species because of the numerous sites identified here with early Holocene deposits containing both microfossil remains and artifactual evidence for plant cultivation.The project will focus on the recovery of plant remains from tools and sediments in archaeological sites already identified and tested by project personnel. Additionally, a site survey and testing program will be carried out aimed at locating sites that would extend the occupational history of the region back into the Late Pleistocene. Vegetational history will be established through an analysis of pollen and phytolith sequences paying particular attention to disturbance indicators reflecting cultivation activities. The identification of specific taxa utilized will rely primarily on analysis of starch grains and phytoliths, and secondarily on plant macrofossils and pollen. In order to confidently distinguish starch grains and phytoliths produced by domesticated species from those produced by their wild progenitors and relatives, botanical collecting of both domesticated and wild taxa will be undertaken to establish comprehensive reference collections for the study region.The domestication of plants - and the subsequent development of agricultural economies - constitutes one of the most transformative episodes in human history. The intellectual merit of the project is the contribution it will make to our understanding of when, where and under what circumstances the critical change from gathering to cultivating plants first came about in tropical America. The broader impact of the project includes providing students from several academic institutions with the opportunity to participate in both field and laboratory aspects of the research, thereby contributing to their training as future professionals. In addition, the comparative reference collections of starch grains and phytoliths will be made available on the web for use by other researchers studying the ancient use of plants in the American tropics. A GIS database with project generated data will also be put on the web.