Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Material Symbolism and Ochre Use in Middle Stone Age East-Central Africa

象征主义，包括语言，被广泛认为是现代人类行为的基本要素。然而，证明这种行为的进化起源是困难的。赭石颜料（氧化铁）是解释人类何时开始通过符号交流的主要证据。肯尼亚Olorgesailie考古发掘；马拉维Karonga;和赞比亚的双子河发现了赭石文物，可能表明很早就出现了象征主义。然而，矿物颜料也可能在考古遗址中自然形成，或者可能具有技术用途而不是象征性用途。这个项目将评价和进一步发展分析方法，对这三个非洲地方的赭石文物和来源进行化学“指纹鉴定”。利用激光烧蚀-电感耦合等离子体质谱法和仪器中子活化分析来促进文物与来源沉积物的匹配，博士生安德鲁·齐普金（乔治华盛顿大学）在艾莉森·布鲁克斯博士的指导下，将展示人类祖先愿意寻找和运输特定色素的程度。该项目还将使用颜色量化技术来确定中石器时代的人类是否在他们收集和修改的赭石中表现出颜色偏好。颜色偏好可能暗示了赭石的象征性使用，因为赋予不同颜色的含义，比如国旗，是现代人类行为的一个众所周知的方面。论文的最后一个方面将是提议的非象征性使用赭石的实验评估。另一种主要的解释是，赭石是植物树脂粘合剂中的一种成分，用于制造复合工具，如石尖矛。与材料科学家合作，研究人员将测量不同赭石矿物在配方粘合剂中的有效性，以测试胶水生产而不是象征意义是否可以解释过去的赭石采购选择。这项研究将有助于发展美国、澳大利亚、加拿大、马拉维和赞比亚研究人员之间的国际合作，以及为普通公众开展外联活动。对矿物资源进行“指纹识别”的新分析方法的发展将得到广泛的应用，不仅是考古学家，还包括艺术史学家、调查非法运输被盗文物的国家机构和法医科学家。

Symbolism, including language, is widely viewed as an essential element of modern human behavior. Documenting the evolutionary origins of such behavior, however, has proven difficult. Ochre pigments (iron oxides) form a major part of the evidence used to interpret when humans began communicating through symbols. Excavations at Olorgesailie, Kenya; Karonga, Malawi; and Twin Rivers, Zambia have yielded ochre artifacts that may indicate very early occurrences of symbolism. Yet mineral pigments may also form naturally in archaeological sites, or may have technological rather than symbolic uses. This project will evaluate and further develop analytical approaches to the chemical "fingerprinting" of ochre artifacts and sources from these three African localities. Using Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry and Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis to facilitate the matching of artifacts to source deposits, the doctoral student Andrew Zipkin (George Washington University), under the supervision of Dr. Alison Brooks, will demonstrate the extent to which human ancestors were willing to seek out and transport specific pigments. This project also will use color quantifying technologies to determine if Middle Stone Age humans exhibited color preferences in the ochres that they collected and modified. Color preference potentially suggests symbolic use of ochre since the meaning given to different colors, such as in national flags, is a well-known aspect of modern human behavior.The dissertation's final aspect will be an experimental evaluation of proposed non-symbolic uses of ochre. The leading alternative explanation is that ochre was an ingredient in plant resin adhesives used to construct compound tools, like stone-tipped spears. In collaboration with material scientists, the investigators will measure the effectiveness of different ochre minerals in formulating adhesives to test if glue production rather than symbolic meaning could explain past ochre procurement choices.The research will contribute to the development of international collaborations between American, Australian, Canadian, Malawian, and Zambian researchers, as well as outreach activities for the general public. The development of new analytical approaches for "fingerprinting" mineral sources will find broad application in usage not just by archaeologists, but also by art historians, state agencies investigating the illegal transport of stolen antiquities, and forensic scientists.