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

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，乔纳森·豪斯博士（路易斯维尔大学）和迈克尔·贝内代蒂博士（北卡罗来纳大学威尔明顿分校）将领导一项为期三年的葡萄牙中部海岸地质考古研究。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，沿海景观越来越被认为是了解尼安德特人灭绝和西欧现代人类种群建立的关键地点。这项研究将在沿海湿地、海滩和沙丘地建立旧石器时代定居的新证据，以检验关于人类历史上这一重要转变的假设。霍斯和贝内代蒂将重点放在里斯本北部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的遗址。特别值得一提的是，该地区广泛的更新世砂沉积记录了末次冰期突然寒冷和干旱阶段的景观响应。这个跨学科的项目将促进对人为和地貌系统耦合反应的更深入的理解，并将在面对剧烈的环境变化时阐明人类的决策。因此，在总体水平上，结果可以为环境政策和规划决策提供信息。该地质考古项目围绕两个主要目标展开：(1)对新发现的沿海尼安德特人遗址（Praia Rei cordinorso和Mira Nascente）和沿海边缘的洞穴遗址（Gruta das Pulgas）进行详细挖掘；(2)建立研究区沿海地貌对气候和海平面变化响应的年代学。所采用的方法将包括石器、动物骨骼、古土壤和沉积物、孢粉学和古沉积环境的地球化学指纹分析。通过对石英砂颗粒进行放射性碳定年和光激发光测定，建立年龄控制。这个项目的考古和地球科学目标是互补的；两者都是对自然和人类景观中应对气候变化的新兴模式的考验。考古部分解决了旧石器时代技术效率、生存策略和沿海资源利用的模型。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、河流淤积和风成沙丘形成的控制。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的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结合，其中包括来自肯塔基州和北卡罗来纳州贫困工作和农村背景的第一代大学生。在参与大学的支持下，这些学生将发展独立的研究项目，并共同撰写论文和发表成果。该项目还提高了美国研究团队在国际第四纪科学中的地位，并有助于实现将北大西洋盆地的古环境研究工作联系起来的长期目标。

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.