Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Large Mammal Extinction and Human Colonization

在唐纳德·K·格雷森博士的指导下，Kayla Wopschall女士将分析考古遗址Akrotiri Aetokremnos中已灭绝的侏儒河马(Phanourios Minutus)的遗骸。Aetokemnos位于地中海东部塞浦路斯岛的最南端。它可以追溯到大约10,500年前，是岛上已知的最古老的考古遗址，并提供了地中海人最早的航海活动的证据。此外，该网站还包含了塞浦路斯侏儒河马的最新已知标本。岛上最早的人类殖民和这种大型哺乳动物的消失之间的联系，让许多人认为人类狩猎是侏儒河马最终死亡的原因。沃普舒尔将重点研究这一物种的骨骼、牙齿和古代DNA，以确定人类是否确实通过狩猎和/或引入其他可能成为资源竞争对手的动物而产生了影响。她还将记录在这段时间内可能发生的任何史前气候变化，以及这种变化可能对侏儒河马消失产生的潜在影响。考古学家和古生物学家经常发现，最初人类对岛屿环境的殖民导致了脊椎动物的消失。人类对幼稚动物的狩猎加上间接的人为影响(例如大规模焚烧和/或引入入侵物种)对岛屿物种造成了毁灭性的后果。然而，随着更多工作的完成，科学家们发现了多个案例，在岛屿脊椎动物灭绝之前，人类与这些脊椎动物共存了很长一段时间，如果真的发生了灭绝的话，也有岛屿脊椎动物在没有人类占领的情况下灭绝的情况。因此，人类对岛屿的殖民会导致岛屿动物灭绝的假设需要针对每一个物种进行严格的检验。此外，以前的大多数研究都集中在全新世(最近10,000年)，涉及鸟类，而不是哺乳动物，和/或没有很好的年代学控制。很少有案例表明，大型哺乳动物可能在这样的环境中灭绝。塞浦路斯的侏儒河马提供了一个独特的机会来研究一种来自更新世的大型哺乳动物，该地点具有出色的年代学控制。这项研究将为了解岛屿上大型哺乳动物的动态以及它们对人类狩猎、新物种引入和/或重大气候变化等不同应激因素的反应提供有价值的见解。除了解决这些研究问题，该项目还将在整个塞浦路斯岛、Aetokemnos所在的英国皇家空军基地和美国提供教育材料和推广活动。公共教育和外展活动将以儿童和年轻人为重点，并将以公众对考古学乃至更广泛的科学的理解为中心。该项目的结果将在同行评议的出版物中传播，并通过华盛顿大学的档案数据库向公众提供原始数据。这些发现将被纳入沃普夏女士未来在大学层面教授的课程中。

Under the guidance of Dr. Donald K. Grayson, Ms. Kayla Wopschall will analyze the remains of the extinct pygmy hippopotamus (Phanourios minutus) from the archaeological site Akrotiri Aetokremnos. Aetokremnos is located in the southernmost portion of the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Dating to ca. 10,500 years ago, it is the oldest known archaeological site on the island and provides evidence of some of the earliest seafaring by people in the Mediterranean. Furthermore, this site also contains the most recent known specimens of the Cypriot pygmy hippo. The connection between the earliest human colonization of the island and the disappearance of this large mammal has led many to believe that human hunting was the cause of the pygmy hippo's ultimate demise. Ms. Wopschall will focus on the bones, teeth and ancient DNA of this species to determine if humans did make an impact by hunting and/or introducing other animals that may have become competitors for resources. She will also document any prehistoric climatic change that may have occurred during this time and the potential impact such a change may have had on the disappearance of the pygmy hippo. Archaeologists and paleontologists often find that initial human colonization of island environments leads to the disappearance of vertebrates. Human hunting of naïve fauna coupled with indirect anthropogenic affects (e.g. large scale burning and/or the introduction of invasive species) has had devastating consequences for island species. However, as more work has been done, scientists have discovered multiple cases where humans have coexisted for long periods of time with island vertebrates before those vertebrates became extinct, if extinction occurred at all, as well as situations in which island vertebrates have gone extinct in the absence of human occupation. As a result, the assumption that human colonization of islands leads to the extinction of island fauna needs to be rigorously tested for each individual species. In addition, most prior studies have focused on the Holocene (the last 10,000 years), deal with birds, not mammals, and/or have poor chronological control. There are very few cases where it has been shown that large mammals may have become extinct in such settings. The pygmy hippopotamus of Cyprus presents a unique opportunity to study a large mammal from the Pleistocene at a location with excellent chronological control. This study will provide valuable insight to the dynamics of large mammals on islands and their response to such different stressors as human hunting, the introduction of new species, and/or significant climate change.In addition to addressing these research issues, the project will provide educational material and outreach activities on the island of Cyprus as a whole, the British Royal Air Force base where Aetokremnos is located, and in the United States. Public education and outreach activities will be focused on children and young adults and will be center on the public understanding of archaeology and, more broadly, science. The results of this project will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications and the raw data made available to the public through an archival database at the University of Washington. The findings will be incorporated in future courses taught by Ms. Wopschall at the university level.