Collaborative Research: Human Responses to Late Pleistocene Coastal Environmental Change in Portuguese Estremadura

合作研究：人类对葡萄牙埃斯特雷马杜拉更新世晚期沿海环境变化的反应

• 批准号: 1118183
• 负责人: Michael Benedetti
• 金额: $ 13.6万
• 依托单位: University of North Carolina at Wilmington
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-07-15 至 2015-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1118183&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Human; Responses; Late

With support from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Jonathan Haws (University of Louisville) and Dr. Michael Benedetti (University of North Carolina Wilmington) will lead a three-year geoarchaeological study along the coast of central Portugal. The project brings together an international team of archaeologists, geologists, paleoecologists, and physical geographers to study Neanderthal and early modern human responses to environmental change during the Paleolithic. Portugal is recognized as a key location in archaeological, paleobotanical, and oceanographic studies, and coastal landscapes are increasingly recognized as a key setting for understanding Neanderthal extinction and establishment of modern human populations in Western Europe. This study will establish new evidence of Paleolithic settlement in coastal wetlands, beaches, and dune fields to test hypotheses about this important transition in human history. Haws and Benedetti are focusing efforts on the Estremadura coast north of Lisbon, where a unique geologic history has preserved sedimentary evidence of the Paleolithic coastline including several Neanderthal sites. In particular, extensive Pleistocene sand deposits in the region record landscape response to abrupt cold and arid phases of the last glacial stage.This interdisciplinary project will foster a deeper understanding of coupled anthropogenic and geomorphic system responses, and will shed light on human decision-making in the face of dramatic environmental change. Thus, on an overarching level the results stand to inform environmental policy and planning decisions.This geoarchaeological project is built around two main objectives: (1) conducting detailed excavations at newly-discovered coastal Neanderthal sites (Praia Rei Cortiço and Mira Nascente) and a cave site near the coastal margin (Gruta das Pulgas); and (2) establishing a chronology of coastal geomorphic response to climate and sea level change in the study area. The methods employed will include analysis of stone tools, animal bones, paleosols and sediments, palynology, and geochemical fingerprinting of ancient depositional environments. Age control will be established by radiocarbon dating of organic matter and optically-stimulated luminescence of quartz sand grains. The archaeological and geoscience objectives of this project are complementary; both test emerging models of response to climate change in physical and human landscapes. The archaeological component addresses models of technological efficiency, subsistence strategies, and use of coastal resources in the Paleolithic. Geodynamic models involve the relative importance of climate change versus sea level fluctuations as controls on hillslope erosion, fluvial aggradation, and aeolian dune building. The broader impacts of this project include collaborative partnerships between the American research team and colleagues at the University of Algarve in Faro, Portugal. The project offers a combination of scientific engagement and cultural enrichment for student participants, including first-generation college students from working poor and rural backgrounds in Kentucky and North Carolina. With the support of the participating universities, these students will develop independent research projects and co-author papers and presentations of results. The project also raises the profile of American research teams in international Quaternary science, and contributes to the long-term goal of connecting paleoenvironmental research efforts across the North Atlantic basin.

在国家科学基金会的支持下，乔纳森·霍斯博士（路易斯维尔大学）和迈克尔·贝内代蒂博士（北卡罗来纳州威尔明顿大学）将领导一项为期三年的地质考古研究，沿着葡萄牙中部的海岸沿着。该项目汇集了一个由考古学家，地质学家，古生态学家和自然地理学家组成的国际团队，研究尼安德特人和早期现代人类对旧石器时代环境变化的反应。葡萄牙被认为是考古学，古植物学和海洋学研究的关键地点，沿海景观越来越多地被认为是了解尼安德特人灭绝和西欧现代人口建立的关键环境。这项研究将建立新的证据，旧石器时代的解决在沿海湿地，海滩和沙丘领域，以测试有关人类历史上这一重要转变的假设。Haws和Benedetti正集中精力研究里斯本以北的埃斯特雷马杜拉海岸，那里独特的地质历史保存了旧石器时代海岸线的沉积证据，包括几个尼安德特人遗址。特别是，在该地区广泛的更新世砂沉积记录景观响应的突然寒冷和干旱阶段的末次冰期。这个跨学科的项目将促进耦合的人为和地貌系统的响应更深入的了解，并将揭示在面对巨大的环境变化的人类决策。因此，在总体水平上，研究结果将为环境政策和规划决策提供信息。这个地质考古项目围绕两个主要目标进行：（1）在新发现的沿海尼安德特人遗址进行详细的挖掘（Praia Rei Cortiço和Mira Nascente）和海岸边缘附近的洞穴遗址（2）建立了研究区海岸地貌对气候和海平面变化响应的年表。所采用的方法将包括分析石器、动物骨骼、古土壤和沉积物、孢粉学以及古代沉积环境的地球化学指纹。年龄控制将建立有机质的放射性碳测年和石英砂颗粒的光激发发光。该项目的考古和地球科学目标是互补的;两者都测试了自然和人文景观中应对气候变化的新模型。考古部分涉及旧石器时代的技术效率，生存战略和沿海资源的使用模式。地球动力学模型涉及气候变化与海平面波动的相对重要性，作为山坡侵蚀，河流加积和风成沙丘建设的控制。该项目的更广泛影响包括美国研究小组与葡萄牙法鲁阿尔加维大学同事之间的合作伙伴关系。该项目为学生参与者提供了科学参与和文化丰富的组合，包括来自肯塔基州和北卡罗来纳州贫困和农村背景的第一代大学生。在参与大学的支持下，这些学生将开发独立的研究项目，并共同撰写论文和成果展示。该项目还提高了美国研究团队在国际第四纪科学中的知名度，并有助于实现连接北大西洋盆地古环境研究工作的长期目标。

项目成果

The hydrogen isotopic compositions of sedimentary mid-chain n-alkanes record ecological change at a Portuguese paleowetland

• DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2019.09.009
• 发表时间: 2019-11
• 期刊: Quaternary International
• 影响因子: 2.2
• 作者: Audrey K. Taylor;M. Benedetti;Jonathan A. Haws;C. S. Lane

Late Pleistocene Landscape and Settlement Dynamics of Portuguese Estremadura

葡萄牙埃斯特雷马杜拉更新世晚期景观和聚落动态

• DOI: 10.1080/00934690.2020.1733780
• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: Journal of Field Archaeology
• 影响因子: 1.9
• 作者: Haws, Jonathan A.;Benedetti, Michael M.;Funk, Caroline L.;Bicho, Nuno F.;Pereira, Telmo;Marreiros, João;Daniels, J. Michael;Forman, Steven L.;Minckley, Thomas A.;Denniston, Rhawn F.
• 通讯作者: Denniston, Rhawn F.