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

在国家科学基金会的支持下，路易斯维尔大学的乔纳森·豪斯博士和北卡罗来纳大学威尔明顿大学的迈克尔·贝内代蒂博士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西欧尼安德特人灭绝和现代人类种群建立的关键背景。这项研究将建立旧石器时代在沿海湿地、海滩和沙丘地区定居的新证据，以检验关于人类历史上这一重要转变的假设。胡斯和贝内代蒂正专注于里斯本北部的Estremadura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，该地区广泛的更新世砂岩沉积记录了对末次冰期突如其来的寒冷和干旱阶段的景观响应。这一跨学科项目将促进对人为和地貌系统耦合响应的更深入理解，并将阐明人类在面对剧烈环境变化时的决策。这一地质考古项目围绕两个主要目标：(1)对新发现的沿海尼安德特人遗址(Praia Rei Cortiço和Mira Nascente)和沿海边缘附近的洞穴遗址(Gruta Das Pulgas)进行详细挖掘；(2)建立研究区域内沿海地貌对气候和海平面变化的响应年表。所采用的方法将包括对石器、动物骨骼、古土壤和沉积物的分析、孢粉学和古代沉积环境的地球化学指纹分析。年龄控制将通过有机质的放射性碳测年和石英砂颗粒的光激发发光来建立。该项目的考古和地球科学目标是相辅相成的；两者都在实际和人文景观中测试应对气候变化的新兴模式。考古学部分涉及旧石器时代技术效率、生存战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，作为对山坡侵蚀、河流沉积和风沙沙丘形成的控制。该项目的更广泛影响包括美国研究团队与葡萄牙法罗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，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，这些学生将开发独立的研究项目，并与他人合作撰写论文和展示结果。该项目还提高了美国研究团队在国际第四纪科学领域的知名度，并为连接整个北大西洋盆地的古环境研究努力的长期目标做出了贡献。

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.