Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: The Paleoecology of Diet Breadth in the Basin-Plateau Region, USA

大量使用来自许多植物物种的小种子是人类饮食历史上的一个关键转折点。通常被称为“广谱革命”，这种潜在食物资源使用的变化早在12000年前的放射性碳年就已经在世界上的许多文化中发生了。许多主食，从面包到早餐麦片，都是用经过深度加工的小种子制成的。在8500到8000年前，北美西部干旱的大盆地和科罗拉多高原北部似乎经历了自己版本的广谱革命，这场革命融合了密集的小种子加工和研磨石技术。导致这些饮食变化的机制还不是很清楚。在唐纳德·格雷森博士的指导下，利斯贝思·劳德贝克将从犹他州南部层次分明的考古遗址北溪避难所(NCS)生成植物资源使用模式。这项研究将包括从NCS沉积物中鉴定植物大型化石(树叶、树枝和种子)和微型化石(花粉和淀粉粒)，以及壁炉等考古特征，以及在文物本身上发现的化石。这些结果将提供一个精细的视角，了解饮食中包含的一系列食物资源的变化，包括使用10,000到6,000年前经过深度加工的小种子。具体地说，这个项目将测试a)人类饮食广度是否如预测的那样发生在8000年前，b)是否如预测的那样发生在8000年前，以及c)是否与当地日益干旱减少了人们可获得的食物资源范围相吻合。从NCS挖掘出的丰富的动植物材料组合可以用来描述过去10,000年来饮食广度的变化。动物材料将在时间顺序的沉淀层中进行重新检查，从而详细说明动物食品的模式。在同一时间框架内新纳入植物宏观和微观化石，将确定小型种子使用的开始及其强度。还将审查利用这些资源的技术的普及性。这些分析将提供对盆地高原人饮食中食物资源范围的严格检查。在北美西部，对与动物用途、磨石技术和环境变化有关的植物宏微化石遗骸进行如此全面的分析从未尝试过。这一对饮食广度的全面描述将为人类在具有挑战性的环境条件下进行创新提供一个具体的例子。该项目将在主要科学期刊(如《考古科学杂志》、《美国古物》、《民族生物学杂志》)上广泛传播，并在国家公园管理局档案馆提供其数据集。公开介绍将在当地的BLM大楼梯-埃斯卡兰特国家纪念碑游客中心进行。在过去的一年里，劳德巴克一直在华盛顿大学对本科生进行古植物学方法培训和指导，并将她之前的研究成果纳入了她教授的大型考古学入门课程。她计划继续教学，并扩大她在考古学和古环境分析方面的辅导课程，以提供尽可能广泛的教育影响。

The intense use of small seeds from many plant species was a crucial turning point in human dietary history. Often termed the "broad spectrum revolution", this change in the use of potential food resources occurred in many of the world's cultures beginning as early as 12,000 radiocarbon years ago. Many dietary staples, from bread to breakfast cereals, are produced from heavily processed small seeds. Between 8,500 and 8,000 years ago, the Great Basin and northern Colorado Plateau of arid western North America seemed to go through their own version of a broad spectrum revolution, one that saw the incorporation of intensive small seed processing and grinding stone technology. The mechanisms responsible for these dietary changes are not well understood. Under the guidance of Dr. Donald Grayson, Lisbeth Louderback will generate patterns of plant resource use from North Creek Shelter (NCS), a well-stratified archaeological site in southern Utah. The research will include the identification of plant macrofossils (leaves, twigs, and seeds), and microfossils (pollen and starch grains) from NCS sediments, archaeological features such as hearths, and found on artifacts themselves. The results will provide a fine-grained view of changes in the array of food resources ("diet breadth") incorporated into the diet, including the use of intensively-processed small seeds from 10,000 to 6,000 years ago. Specifically, this project will test whether a) a change in human diet breadth occurs at NCS, b) if it occurred at 8,000 years ago, as predicted and c) if it coincides with increasing local aridity that decreased the range of food resources available to people.The rich assemblage of animal and plant material excavated from NCS can be used to characterize changes in diet breadth during the past 10,000 years. The animal material will be re-examined within time-sequenced sediment layers thus detailing patterns of animal foods. The novel incorporation of plant macro- and microfossils within this same temporal frame will identify the inception of small seed use as well as its intensity. The prevalence of technology for exploiting such resources will also be examined. These analyses will offer a rigorous examination of the range of food resources in the diets of the Basin-Plateau people. Such a comprehensive analysis of plant macro- and microfossil remains in relation to animal use, grinding stone technology and environmental change has never been attempted in western North America. This full description of diet breadth will provide a concrete example of human innovation in the face of challenging environmental conditions. This project will be widely disseminated in major scientific journals (e.g. Journal of Archaeological Science, American Antiquity, Journal of Ethnobiology) and its datasets made available in National Park Service archives. Public presentations will be made locally at the BLM Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Visitor Center. For the past year, Ms. Louderback has been training and supervising undergraduate students in paleobotanical methods at the University of Washington and has incorporated the results of her previous research in the large introductory courses in archaeology that she has taught. She plans to continue teaching and to expand her tutorial offerings in archaeology and paleoenvironmental analysis to deliver the broadest possible educational impacts.